Given the number of recent retellings of the stories of female protagonists from the Ancient World, including a number on Medea, it would be easy to overlook this as more of the same. However, from the first chapter, the reader is hooked, and it is easy to forget the story’s links to the original, as the writing is so gripping. Set in 1757, as the East India Company is on the brink of war with Calcutta, Selvarajah manages to make this familiar, magical, and shocking myth feel as though it is an entirely different story. Meena, the protagonist comes from an abusive family, similar to other versions of the myth but made more shocking given its more modern context. She is the ‘strange, alien foreigner’ we see in Medea who has a culture-clashed love affair with the ‘proper, civilised, traditional Greek’, here depicted as James, an Englishmen working for the East India Company who has come to warn Meena’s father of their impending attack in an attempt to prevent more bloodshed. The contrast between the two cultures is clear and easily understood. It is possibly a more relatable way for students to understand the way Medea is viewed by Greek society, especially with the historical context of the British Empire during this time explained and their treatment and view of the Indian people. This book could also be linked with an English lesson looking at some of the literature from that time, such as Rudyard Kipling’s poem, ‘The White Man’s Burden’; there are also many opportunities to discuss the themes that rise from this period, including slavery and imperialism within personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) or form times.

Despite the story being familiar, it was engaging and gripping, as the expected parts were told in such a creative way. The element of magic and Circe was framed through the art of healing and plants, making it seem less myth-like and more of a real ‘historical’ story. Circe’s depiction was also a contrast to the way she is usually displayed, and she was an interesting character in her own right, sensible and sage, offering sound advice. The help Meena gives James was also told in a more realistic way, without the use of monsters while keeping the idea that he had something to prove from her father.

The side characters also added to the story, and while there were familiar twinges which made the reader smile, Selvarajah has managed to make this an intriguing and absorbing read in its own right.

Unlike most tellings, rather than seeming all powerful, Meena came across at first as quite neglected, badly abused – both physically and emotionally – and, while confident at times, quite naive and very open to trusting James, who seems to be one of few people to show her kindness. She has less of the ‘godlike’ presence and power we tend to see in Medea and is quite traumatised by violence, avoiding it as far as possible. As the story develops, her understanding of her ‘power’ comes through but all rooted in a knowledge of plants and medicine, making it seem more realistic and less magical. It was particularly interesting to see how Medea escaping in a chariot pulled by dragons would be explained in a less mythological setting while in keeping with the historical period.

Meena’s ‘foreignness’ was made far clearer to a modern reader, and it was easier to empathise with her position than in Euripides’ depiction, for example. Her relationship with her family and the guilt she felt at her betrayal, alongside her feelings about India’s conquest, also made her a more relatable character than the play, where we do not get to experience this side of Medea.

This is a really useful, thought-provoking, and interesting story that is engaging and easy to read – highly recommended to all fans of mythical retellings but of particular use to those studying Medea and the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) Women in the Ancient World to provide an alternative perspective on her. There is a huge amount of cross curricular opportunities within the book and areas for PSHE or wider discussion about imperialism and different cultures and learning about how people have been treated differently in the past owing to the colour of their skin or perceived status within a society.