Natalie Haynes

This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s. They have waited long enough for their turn . . . This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . . In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen. From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war. A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told.

My siblings and I have grown up in a cursed house, children of cursed parents... Jocasta is just fifteen when she is told that she must marry the King of Thebes, an old man she has never met. Her life has never been her own, and nor will it be, unless she outlives her strange, absent husband. Ismene is the same age when she is attacked in the palace she calls home. Since the day of her parents' tragic deaths a decade earlier, she has always longed to feel safe with the family she still has. But with a single act of violence, all that is about to change. With the turn of these two events, a tragedy is set in motion. But not as you know it. In The Children of Jocasta, Natalie Haynes takes a fresh perspective on an ancient story, reimagining in gripping prose how the Oedipus and Antigone stories would look if the oft-overlooked female characters took centre stage. Retelling the myth to reveal a new side of an ancient story.

A fresh take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman. They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster. The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know. When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene's temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge--on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon's actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude. Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon... In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman--injured by a powerful man--is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa's story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.

The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships returns with a fascinating, eye-opening take on the remarkable women at the heart of classical stories Greek mythology from Helen of Troy to Pandora and the Amazons to Medea. The tellers of Greek myths--historically men--have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil--like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world's suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over. In Pandora's Jar, the broadcaster, writer, stand-up comedian, and passionate classicist turns the tables, putting the women of the Greek myths on an equal footing with the men. With wit, humor, and savvy, Haynes revolutionizes our understanding of epic poems, stories, and plays, resurrecting them from a woman's perspective and tracing the origins of their mythic female characters. She looks at women such as Jocasta, Oedipus' mother-turned-lover-and-wife (turned Freudian sticking point), at once the cleverest person in the story and yet often unnoticed. She considers Helen of Troy, whose marriage to Paris "caused" the Trojan war--a somewhat uneven response to her decision to leave her husband for another man. She demonstrates how the vilified Medea was like an ancient Beyonce--getting her revenge on the man who hurt and betrayed her, if by extreme measures. And she turns her eye to Medusa, the original monstered woman, whose stare turned men to stone, but who wasn't always a monster, and had her hair turned to snakes as punishment for being raped. Pandora's Jar brings nuance and care to the millennia-old myths and legends and asks the question: Why are we so quick to villainize these women in the first place--and so eager to accept the stories we've been told?

When you open up, who will you let in? When Alex Morris loses her fiancé in dreadful circumstances, she moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Alex takes a job at a Pupil Referral Unit, which accepts the students excluded from other schools in the city. These are troubled, difficult kids and Alex is terrified of what she's taken on. There is one class - a group of five teenagers - who intimidate Alex and every other teacher on The Unit. But with the help of the Greek tragedies she teaches, Alex gradually develops a rapport with them. Finding them enthralled by tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge, she even begins to worry that they are taking her lessons to heart, and that a whole new tragedy is being performed, right in front of her...

When you open up, who will you let in? When Alex Morris loses her fiancé in dreadful circumstances, she moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Alex takes a job at a Pupil Referral Unit, which accepts the students excluded from other schools in the city. These are troubled, difficult kids and Alex is terrified of what she's taken on. There is one class - a group of five teenagers - who intimidate Alex and every other teacher on The Unit. But with the help of the Greek tragedies she teaches, Alex gradually develops a rapport with them. Finding them enthralled by tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge, she even begins to worry that they are taking her lessons to heart, and that a whole new tragedy is being performed, right in front of her...

In this thoroughly engaging book, Natalie Haynes brings her scholarship and wit to the most fascinating true stories of the ancient world. The Ancient Guide to Modern Life not only reveals the origins of our culture in areas including philosophy, politics, language, and art, it also draws illuminating connections between antiquity and our present time, to demonstrate that the Greeks and Romans were not so different from is Bart Simpson the successor to Aristophanes? Do the Beckhams have parallel lives with The Satiricon's Trimalchio? Along the way Haynes debunks myths (gladiators didn't salute the emperor before their deaths, and the last words of Julius Caesar weren't "et tu, brute?") from Athens to Zeno's paradox, this irresistible guide shows how the history and wisdom of the ancient world can inform and enrich our lives today.

A humorous and informative look at historical characters from ancient Greece and Rome. Natalie is a recovering comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome. Each week she takes a different figure from the ancient world and tells their story through a mix of stand-up comedy and conversation. Over the course of these four series she tells the stories of Sophocles (who invents the TV detective with Oedipus - bad things happen), Virgil (who creates Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Aspasia (how to be a notorious woman in ancient Greece), Ovid (expect frottage at the races), Plato (on the chunky side, but very good at wrestling) and Sappho (a lot of gossip from over 1,000 years ago), among others. Featuring special guests including classicists Professor Edith Hall and Professor Llewelyn Morgan, novelists Stella Duffy and Ben Okri and comedians Katy Brand and Al Murray.

'There is one question that devours me still. Why didn’t I close my eyes?' Medusa is the only mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her sisters, she quickly realizes that she is the only one who gets older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know. When desire pushes a God to commit the unforgivable, Medusa’s mortal life is changed forever. Her punishment is to be turned into a Gorgon: sharp teeth, snakes for hair, and a gaze that will turn any living creature to stone. Appalled by her own reflection, Medusa can no longer look upon anything she loves without destroying it. She condemns herself to a life of solitude in the shadows to limit her murderous range. That is, until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . . This is the story of how a young woman became a monster. And how she was never really a monster at all.

No Friend To This House is an extraordinary reimagining of the myth of Medea from The Sunday Times bestselling author of Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes.This is what no one tells you, in the songs sung about Jason and the Argo. This part of his quest has been forgotten, by everyone but me . . .Jason and his Argonauts set sail to find the Golden Fleece. The journey is filled with danger, for him and everyone he meets. But if he ever reaches the distant land he seeks, he faces almost certain death.Medea – priestess, witch, and daughter of a brutal king – has the power to save the life of a stranger. Will she betray her family and her home, and what will she demand in return?Medea and Jason seize their one chance of a life together, as the gods intend. But their love is steeped in vengeance from the beginning, and no one – not even those closest to them – will be safe.Praise for Natalie ‘Witty, gripping, ruthless’ – Margaret Atwood on Stone Blind‘Fiercely feminist . . . A many-layered delight’ – The Guardian on A Thousand Ships‘Passionate and gripping’ – Madeline Miller on The Children of Jocasta

„Tysiąc okrętów” to hołd dla kobiet, których życie zmieniła wojna trojańska. Choć już wiele o niej mówiono – nie powiedziano jeszcze wszystkiego. Wojna trojańska to zarówno wojna mężczyzn, jak i kobiet. Tych wszystkich, które obudziły się w nocy i patrzyły, jak ich ukochane miasto stoi w płomieniach. A one już wystarczająco długo czekały na swoją kolej, by opowiedzieć tę historię z własnej perspektywy. „Tysiąc okrętów” Natalie Haynes to powieść poświęcona wszystkim kobietom powiązanym z dziesięcioletnim konfliktem między Grekami i Trojanami. Poczynając od trojańskich kobiet, których los leży w rękach Greków, przez amazońską księżniczkę, która w ich imieniu walczyła z Achillesem, Penelopę oczekującą powrotu Odyseusza, aż po trzy boginie, od których waśni wszystko się zaczęło. Życie, miłość i rywalizacja tych kobiet na zawsze zmieniły się w wyniku tej długiej i tragicznej wojny. Sięgając po „Tysiąc okrętów”, poznasz matki, córki, siostry, żony i boginie, które wychowywały, kochały, niszczyły i opłakiwały sławnych bohaterów. Dowiesz się, czy Penelopa była tak delikatna, jak o niej mówiono, oraz czy uroda Heleny faktycznie wywołała wojnę. Ta książka to epopeja o kobietach, które znalazły się w centrum największej opowieści świata zachodniego.

'There is one question that devours me still. Why didn’t I close my eyes?' Medusa is the only mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her sisters, she quickly realizes that she is the only one who gets older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know. When desire pushes a God to commit the unforgivable, Medusa’s mortal life is changed forever. Her punishment is to be turned into a Gorgon: sharp teeth, snakes for hair, and a gaze that will turn any living creature to stone. Appalled by her own reflection, Medusa can no longer look upon anything she loves without destroying it. She condemns herself to a life of solitude in the shadows to limit her murderous range. That is, until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . . This is the story of how a young woman became a monster. And how she was never really a monster at all.

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of all of them… In the middle of the night, Creusa wakes to find her beloved Troy engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of brutal conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over, and the Greeks are victorious. Over the next few hours, the only life she has ever known will turn to ash . . . The devastating consequences of the fall of Troy stretch from Mount Olympus to Mount Ida, from the citadel of Troy to the distant Greek islands, and across oceans and sky in between. These are the stories of the women embroiled in that legendary war and its terrible aftermath, as well as the feud and the fatal decisions that started it all… Powerfully told from an all-female perspective, A Thousand Ships gives voices to the women, girls and goddesses who, for so long, have been silent. In A Thousand Ships, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective.

Medusa è l'unica mortale in una famiglia di dèi. Crescendo insieme alle sorelle, presto si rende conto che è la sola a essere vulnerabile, accudita e protetta proprio per la sua fragilità. Questo la rende sensibile e piena di un ardore che gli immortali faticano a comprendere. Quando però, nel tempio di Atena, il desiderio spinge Poseidone a commettere un atto imperdonabile, la vita di Medusa viene stravolta per sempre. La dea, furiosa e oltraggiata, dirige la sua vendetta sull'innocente ragazza, trasformandola in una gorgone con i capelli di serpente e uno sguardo che tramuta in pietra chiunque osi incrociarlo. Inorridita dal proprio riflesso, Medusa non può più guardare ciò che ama senza distruggerlo, e si condanna a una vita di sofferenza, solitudine ed esilio. Almeno fino a quando Perseo non si imbarca in una fatidica impresa per aggiudicarsi la sua testa... Unendo l'arguzia a un'approfondita conoscenza dei classici, Natalie Haynes ci racconta la vita di una donna che viene ingiustamente punita: nelle pagine di questo romanzo, Medusa diventa un'eroina tragica, per la prima volta protagonista della narrazione, e la sua storia si trasforma in una profonda riflessione sulla mortalità, il tradimento e l'egoismo degli uomini. Alternando la sua voce a quella di divinità capricciose e volubili, l'autrice rende finalmente giustizia a un personaggio tanto affascinante quanto controverso, restituendone un ritratto raffinato e sorprendente.

It's the summer holidays and Millie's bored stiff. Every week, she has to clean windows with her dad at a nearby laboratory. But she's sure something weird is going on inside… Then, one day, a cat comes hurtling through the lobby towards her… and asks her for help. And Max needs a lotof help. He's trying to escape, he wants to know who kidnapped him, and why - who on earth would want to make cats that can talk? And he needs Millie to help him rescue the friends he's left behind before it's too late… Interntional animal-struggling, iliicit computer-hacking, break-neck chases and a fast-talking cat. Just your ordinary summer holidays...

Una novela magistral sobre la guerra de Troya desde una perspectiva femenina. «Ésta nunca ha sido la historia de una mujer, ni de dos: es la de todas.» En plena noche, una mujer se despierta y observa que su amada ciudad está envuelta en llamas. Los diez años de conflicto entre griegos y troyanos, que parecían no tener fin, quedan atrás, con Troya reducida a cenizas. Desde las mujeres troyanas, cuyos destinos ahora están en manos de los griegos, hasta la princesa amazona que, en nombre de ellas, luchó contra Aquiles, pasando por Penélope, que espera el regreso de Ulises, o las tres diosas con cuya contienda empezó todo... Éstas son las fabulosas historias de unas mujeres envueltas en una guerra legendaria y marcadas por sus terribles secuelas.

Medusa es la única mortal en una familia de dioses. Cuidada precisamente por su fragilidad y extraordinaria belleza, su vulnerabilidad la hace sensible, llena de una compasión que los inmortales desean aniquilar y de un sentido de urgencia de la vida que su familia nunca conocerá. Cuando Poseidón comete un acto imperdonable en el templo de Atenea, la diosa descarga su venganza sobre la inocente Medusa, transformándola en una gorgona de pelo de serpiente con una mirada que convierte en piedra a cualquiera que ose cruzarse con ella. Horrorizada por sus poderes, Medusa ya no puede mirar a las personas que ama sin destruirlas y se condena a una vida de soledad y exilio. Al menos hasta que Perseo se embarca en una búsqueda heroica para ganarse su cabeza.

Alles ist so gekommen, wie sie es vorausgesagt hatten…… nur noch schlimmer! Troja brennt, der Krieg ist verloren. Warum hat Priamos nicht auf die skeptischen Worte seiner Frau gehört?Denn während die Männer im Krieg ihr Leben verlieren, verlieren Hekabe, Polyxena und Andromache alles andere. Es gibt Angst, Wut und Schuldgefühle, doch die Frauen zeigen ihren Kummer nicht. Vielmehr erzählen sie ihre Geschichte als wäre sie ein melodisch, klug und unterhaltsam. Ihre Erinnerungen sind schmerzhaft, doch ihr Kampfgeist ist ungebrochen. Ist nicht das der eigentliche Maßstab für Größe?›A Thousand Ships – Die Heldinnen von Troja‹ füllt eine Endlich hören wir von den Frauen, deren Leben, Lieben und Rivalitäten durch den tragischen Krieg für immer verändert wurden.

New York Times bestselling author Natalie Haynes returns to the world of ancient Greek myth in this scintillating follow-up to Pandora’s Jar. Few writers today have reshaped our view of the ancient Greek myths more than revered bestselling author Natalie Haynes. Divine Might is a female-centered look at Olympus and the Furies, focusing on the goddesses whose prowess, passions, jealousies, and desires rival those of their male kin, Infused with Haynes’s engaging charm and irrepressible wit, Divine Might is a refreshing take on the legends and stories we thought we knew.

The Greek myths are one of the most important cultural foundation-stones of the modern world. Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay of epic poetry and Greek tragedy, from Homer to Virgil to from Aeschylus to Sophocles and Euripides. And still, today, a wealth of novels, plays and films draw their inspiration from stories first told almost three thousand years ago. But modern tellers of Greek myth have usually been men, and have routinely shown little interest in telling women’s stories. Now, in Pandora’s Jar, Natalie Haynes – broadcaster, writer and passionate classicist – redresses this imbalance. Taking Greek creation myths as her starting point and then retelling the four great mythic sagas: the Trojan War, the Royal House of Thebes, Jason and the Argonauts, Heracles, she puts the female characters on equal footing with their menfolk. The result is a vivid and powerful account of the deeds – and misdeeds - of Hera, Aphrodite, Athene and Circe. And away from the goddesses of Mount Olympus it is Helen, Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Antigone and Medea who sing from these pages, not Paris, Agamemnon, Orestes or Jason.