No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes (out 16 September 2025)

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, which was longlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her non-fiction includes, Pandora’s Jar, a bestseller in both the UK and the US, and Divine Might. 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.

'Haynes is the modern embodiment of the best of Homer' – Radio Times 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. Based on the classic tragedy by Euripides, this is Medea as you've never seen her before . . . Praise for Natalie Haynes: ‘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