From snaky Echidna - half-nymph, half snake and mother of monsters - to the fearsome bull-headed Minotaur, the strange and terrible creatures of Greek myth have been grabbing our attention for thousands of years. In Irresistible Monsters, bestselling author, broadcaster and passionate classicist Natalie Haynes turns her inimitable gaze on the inhuman, and reveals that even the things we thought we knew aren't necessarily so: a Cyclops doesn't always have one eye, Cerberus doesn't start out with three heads and why might the Sphinx enjoy kidnapping handsome young men?Along the way, she examines how we think about monsters: what makes a monster, and why do we need them?
Why is the Chimera - hybrid of goat, snake and lion - a monster while Pegasus the winged horse is not? Was Scylla always sharp-toothed and dog-bellied? Do monsters subvert the world as we know it, or subtly reinforce our expectations?
Is a monster human or animal, mortal or divine? And how do you defeat a multi-headed snake when it has a giant crab as its henchman?
| ISBN: | 9781529089523 |
| Publication date: | 4th March 2027 |
| Author: | Natalie Haynes |
| Publisher: | Picador an imprint of Pan Macmillan |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 288 pages |
| Primary Genre | Fantasy |
| Other Genres: |
From snaky Echidna - half-nymph, half snake and mother of monsters - to the fearsome bull-headed Minotaur, the strange and terrible creatures of Greek myth have been grabbing our attention for thousands of years. In Irresistible Monsters, bestselling author, broadcaster and passionate classicist Natalie Haynes turns her inimitable gaze on the inhuman, and reveals that even the things we thought we knew aren't necessarily so: a Cyclops doesn't always have one eye, Cerberus doesn't start out with three heads and why might the Sphinx enjoy kidnapping handsome young men?Along the way, she examines how we think about monsters: what makes a monster, and why do we need them?
Irresistible Monsters features in the following genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Ancient history, Ancient Greek and Roman literature, Ancient Greek religion and mythology
Paperback, Hardback. £18.00, down from the £20.00 cover price. Pre-order. 4th March 2027.
Irresistible Monsters was written by Natalie Haynes and published by Picador an imprint of Pan Macmillan
Irresistible Monsters has 288 pages
£18.00, reduced from £20.00. Pre-order. 4th March 2027.
Natalie Haynes is a writer, broadcaster, reviewer and classicist. She was once a stand-up comic, but retired when she realised she preferred tragedy to comedy. Always keen to be paid for what she would be reading anyway, she judged the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2010, The Women's Prize for Fiction in 2012, and the Man Booker Prize in 2013. The Amber Fury is her first novel.
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