Stone Blind

Natalie Haynes, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships, brings life to the infamous myth of Medusa with a heartbreaking, feminist retelling unlike any other.

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Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023.

In Stone Blind, the instant Sunday Times bestseller, Natalie Haynes brings the infamous Medusa to life as you have never seen her before.

'Witty, gripping, ruthless' – Margaret Atwood via X (Twitter)

‘So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters’

Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt.

When Poseidon commits an unforgiveable act against Medusa in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can: on his victim. Medusa is changed forever – writhing snakes for hair and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. She can look at nothing without destroying it.

Desperate to protect her beloved sisters, Medusa condemns herself to a life of shadows. Until Perseus embarks upon a quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .

‘A fierce feminist exploration of female rage, written with wit and empathy’ – Glamour

Praise for Natalie Haynes, the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships:

‘With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism… her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished’ - Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles and Circe

‘Haynes combines a wide-ranging knowledge of the original myths with a gift for compelling narrative’ - The Times

‘Natalie Haynes is both a witty and an erudite guide. She wears her extensive learning lightly and deftly drags the Classics into the modern world’ - Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life

‘Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories’ - Telegraph

‘Haynes is the nation’s greatest muse’ - Adam Rutherford