The Children of Jocasta: A Viscerally Atmospheric Retelling of Greek Myth - Softcover

Haynes, Natalie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1529057132 ISBN 13: 9781529057133

Publisher: Picador, 2021

Synopsis

'Passionate and gripping' – Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe

A powerful retelling of Oedipus and Antigone that casts fresh light on the women the myths overlooked. From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes.

My siblings and I have grown up in a cursed house, children of cursed parents . . .

Jocasta is just fifteen when she is ordered to marry the King of Thebes, an old man she has never met. But it is her duty to produce an heir, who will alter the course of her life forever.

Ismene is the same age when she is attacked in the palace she calls home. Since the day of her parents' tragic deaths, it had been the one place she felt safe. 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 . . .

'A wonderful and inventive take on an ancient tale' – The Times

'Haynes’s fascination with this long vanished world is evident in every line' – The Guardian

'Glorious, gripping and brutal . . . I loved it' – Victoria Derbyshire, journalist and broadcaster

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Praise for Natalie Haynes:

'Witty, gripping, ruthless' – Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale, via X

'The great champion of women in Greek myth' – Daily Mail

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

About this title

About the Author

Natalie Haynes is a writer and broadcaster. She is the author of The Amber Fury, The Children of Jocasta, A Thousand Ships, which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020 and Stone Blind. Her non-fiction book about women in Greek Myth, Pandora’s Jar, was a bestseller in both the UK and the US. She has written and performed eleven series of her BBC Radio 4 show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics. In 2015 she was awarded the Classical Association Prize for her work in bringing Classics to a wider audience.

From the Back Cover

From the Women's Prize-shortlisted author Natalie Haynes comes a stunning reimagining of the Oedipus and Antigone myths, revealing a new side of an ancient story . . .

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1529057132
• ISBN 13: 9781529057133
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352