I, Medusa
20 November 2025Imprint: Zaffre
Synopsis
From New York Times bestselling author Ayana Gray comes a new kind of villain origin story, reimagining one of the most iconic monsters in Greek mythology as a provocative and powerful young heroine.
Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else's story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents-both gods, albeit minor ones-she dreams of leaving her family's island for a life of adventure. So when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.
In Athens' colourful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena's favoured acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy's promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.
Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity-not as a victim, but as a vigilante-and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.
Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the cross currents between her heart's deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.
Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else's story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents-both gods, albeit minor ones-she dreams of leaving her family's island for a life of adventure. So when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.
In Athens' colourful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena's favoured acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy's promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.
Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity-not as a victim, but as a vigilante-and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.
Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the cross currents between her heart's deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.
Details
20 November 2025400 pages
9781785306822Imprint: Zaffre
Reviews
Gray captures the diversity and sweeping expanse of classical antiquity in this tense, poignant, and compassionate reworking of the myth of Medusa. Deeply relevant to both the ancient and the modern worlds, it packs a punch as hard as stone - yet still leaves room for the fragile joys of the mortal condition, from sisterhood and romance to self-discovery.Samantha Shannon, bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree
Ayana Gray brings her fresh, dynamic storytelling to one of the most legendary and misunderstood women of Greek myth: the monstered, maligned Medusa. I loved how this novel engaged with all the girls that Medusa was and could have been, and conjured something vivid and striking and new. Medusa's myth never ceases to be relevant and important, and this heartfelt and compelling book delves into all the complexities while sweeping the reader away in a beautifully written story.Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne
There is no fury like a woman scorned, nor no wrath like a myth retold. Ayana Gray has granted us all a gift in this thoughtful and heartfelt retelling of the infamous villain. But perhaps it is Medusa who has been given the greatest gift by Gray: a chance to tell her truth and be listened to-an opportunity so few Black women get. Vindication and vengeance are a heady mix.Saara El-Arifi, bestselling author of Faebound