Audiobooks by Natalie Haynes

Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth Audiobook

Captivatingly read by the author, Natalie Haynes. In Divine Might Natalie Haynes, author of the bestselling Pandora's Jar, returns to the world of Greek myth and this time she examines the role of the goddesses. We meet Athene, who sprang fully formed from her father's head: goddess of war and wisdom, guardian of Athens. We run with Artemis, goddess of hunting and protector of young girls (apart from those she decides she wants as a sacrifice). Here is Aphrodite, goddess of sex and desire - there is no deity more determined and able to make you miserable if you annoy her. And then there's the queen of all the Olympian gods: Hera, Zeus's long-suffering wife, whose jealousy of his dalliances with mortals, nymphs and goddesses lead her to wreak elaborate, vicious revenge on those who have wronged her. We also meet Demeter, goddess of agriculture and mother of the kidnapped Persephone, we sing the immortal song of the Muses and we warm ourselves with Hestia, goddess of the hearth and sacrificial fire. The Furies carry flames of another kind - black fires of vengeance for those who incur their wrath. These goddesses are as mighty, revered and destructive as their male counterparts. Isn't it time we looked beyond the columns of a ruined temple to the awesome power within?

Natalie Haynes (Author), Natalie Haynes (Narrator)

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Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics: Series 5-8: More comical tales from Ancient Greece and Ro

Four more series of Natalie Haynes' BBC Radio 4 show taking a comic look at the ancient world Author, broadcaster and 'rock star classicist' Natalie Haynes is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome. In these four series, she explores some of the most prominent historical and mythological figures from the classical world, telling their stories through a mix of stand-up comedy and conversation. Series 5 asks how much Aristotle knew about elephants' tongues and bivalves on Lesbos; introduces us to Claudia Severa and other Roman-British women; and investigates Suetonius - biographer of the Caesars - and why Augustus used hot nuts to soften the hair on his thighs. Natalie also recounts the original epic story of Homer's The Iliad from memory (complete with magic bra and a very sulky Achilles). In Series 6, Natalie stands up for Helen of Troy (expect new insights into feathery sex); Penthesilea, Amazon warrior queen, (with a natty line in ankle boots); Eurydice (chased by a sex pest and killed by a snake on her wedding day); and Penelope (lots of suitors, but fortunately an adept weaver). Natalie also discusses Medusa, beloved sister and mother (but a hairdresser's nightmare); gives us the lowdown on Pandora (she of the box, which turns out to be a jar); tells the story of Jocasta (still spellbindingly shocking today); and asks whether Clytemnestra was the worst wife in Greek mythology (she murdered her husband, but was a good mother). Guests include Dr Adam Rutherford, Professor Edith Hall, Professor Llewelyn Morgan, Dr Paul Roberts, Anita Anand, and Chris Riddell. Production credits Presented by Natalie Haynes Music by Sarah Gabriel and Sarah Angliss Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery Special guests: Dr Adam Rutherford, Professor Edith Hall, Professor Llewelyn Morgan, Dr Paul Roberts, Anita Anand, and Chris Riddell First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 December 2019-13 January 2020 (Series 5), 17 May-7 June 2020 (Series 6), 18 May-8 June 2021 (Series 7), 13 September-4 October 2022 (Series 8) © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Natalie Haynes (Author), Natalie Haynes (Narrator)

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Marple: Twelve New Stories

A brand new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors. Read by Alex Kingston, Adrian Scarborough, Adjoa Andoh, Imogen Stubbs, Alison Steadman, Jodhi May, Chipo Chung, Cathy Tyson, Ramon Tikaram, Tanya Reynolds, Celia Imrie and Miriam Margolyes. This collection of twelve original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery. · Naomi Alderman · Leigh Bardugo · Alyssa Cole · Lucy Foley · Elly Griffiths · Natalie Haynes · Jean Kwok · Val McDermid · Karen M. McManus · Dreda Say Mitchell · Kate Mosse · Ruth Ware Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.

Agatha Christie, Alyssa Cole, Dreda Say Mitchell, Elly Griffiths, Jean Kwok, Karen M. Mcmanus, Kate Mosse, Leigh Bardugo, Lucy Foley, Naomi Alderman, Natalie Haynes, Ruth Ware, Val Mcdermid (Author), Various (Narrator)

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Stone Blind

'Witty, gripping, ruthless' - Margaret Atwood via Twitter 'Beautiful and moving' - Neil Gaiman via Twitter 'So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters.’ Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt. And her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know. When the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can – and Medusa is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. The power cannot be controlled: Medusa can look at nothing without destroying it. She is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness. Until Perseus embarks upon a quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . . In Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes – the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships – brings the infamous Medusa to life as you have never seen her before . . . PRAISE FOR NATALIE HAYNES: ‘With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism… her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished’ - Madeline Miller ‘Haynes combines a wide-ranging knowledge of the original myths with a gift for compelling narrative’ - The Times ‘Natalie Haynes is both a witty and an erudite guide. She wears her extensive learning lightly and deftly drags the Classics into the modern world’ - Kate Atkinson ‘Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories’ - Telegraph ‘Haynes is the nation’s greatest muse’ - Adam Rutherford

Natalie Haynes (Author), Natalie Haynes (Narrator)

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Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths

'Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!' – Margaret Atwood The Greek myths are among the world's most important cultural building blocks and they have been retold many times, but rarely do they focus on the remarkable women at the heart of these ancient stories. Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay of epic poetry and Greek tragedy, from Homer to Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, from the Trojan War to Jason and the Argonauts. And still, today, a wealth of novels, plays and films draw their inspiration from stories first told almost three thousand years ago. But modern tellers of Greek myth have usually been men, and have routinely shown little interest in telling women’s stories. And when they do, those women are often painted as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil. But Pandora – the first woman, who according to legend unloosed chaos upon the world – was not a villain, and even Medea and Phaedra have more nuanced stories than generations of retellings might indicate. Now, in Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths, Natalie Haynes – broadcaster, writer and passionate classicist – redresses this imbalance. Taking Pandora and her jar (the box came later) as the starting point, she puts the women of the Greek myths on equal footing with the menfolk. After millennia of stories telling of gods and men, be they Zeus or Agamemnon, Paris or Odysseus, Oedipus or Jason, the voices that sing from these pages are those of Hera, Athena and Artemis, and of Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Eurydice and Penelope.

Natalie Haynes (Author), Natalie Haynes (Narrator)

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A Thousand Ships

'With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War' Madeline Miller, author of Circe In A Thousand Ships, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective. This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of all of them. . . In the middle of the night, Creusa wakes to find her beloved Troy engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of brutal conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over, and the Greeks are victorious. Over the next few hours, the only life she has ever known will turn to ash . . . The devastating consequences of the fall of Troy stretch from Mount Olympus to Mount Ida, from the citadel of Troy to the distant Greek islands, and across oceans and sky in between. These are the stories of the women embroiled in that legendary war and its terrible aftermath, as well as the feud and the fatal decisions that started it all. . . Powerfully told from an all-female perspective, A Thousand Ships gives voices to the women, girls and goddesses who, for so long, have been silent.

Natalie Haynes (Author), Natalie Haynes (Narrator)

Audiobook

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics: Series 1-4: A comical guide to Ancient Greece and Rome

All four series of Natalie Haynes' BBC Radio 4 show combining comedy with classicism Writer, broadcaster and recovering comedian Natalie Haynes mixes comedy and conversation to bring the ancient world entertainingly up to date in these four radio series. Each episode sees her profiling a key figure from ancient Greece and Rome, and, aided by her special guests, creating a stand-up show around them. Series 1 investigates Petronius and the worst dinner party in history; asks whether Sophocles invented the TV detective with Oedipus; explains how Virgil was responsible for Buffy the Vampire Slayer; and introduces us to the notorious Aspasia. In Series 2, Natalie stands up for Aristophanes (expect a chorus of frogs and a sex strike); Ovid (featuring frottage at the races); Plato (a bit chunky, but a good wrestler) and Agrippina (pretty well connected and handy with the purse strings). Series 3 discusses Sappho, whose scorching poetry is now mainly lost; brings us some thousand-year-old gossip about Cicero; gives us the lowdown on Lucian, the forgotten inventor of science fiction; and tells the story of Juvenal, history's first great stand-up comedian. Finally, Series 4 explores Phryne, the Greek courtesan famed for her wit and beauty; Horace, the Roman poet who made friends of enemies through his writing; Euripides, whose Medea still shocks us today; and Livy, who gave us Hannibal crossing the Alps and the inspiration for Shakespeare's Coriolanus. Guests include Martin Rowson, Richard Dyer, Victoria Rimell, Professor Edith Hall, Frank McGuinness, Andrew Collins, Pamela Helen Stephen, Gordon Cutting, Dr Llewelyn Morgan, Sarah B. Pomeroy, Dr Ian Jenkins, Cate Haste, Rosie Wyles, Fiona Laird, Michael Squire, Philippa Perry, Stella Duffy, LiTTLe MACHiNe, Mark Stephens, Matthew Sweet, Armando Iannucci, Katy Brand, Ben Okri, Mark Ravenhill and Al Murray.

Natalie Haynes (Author), Natalie Haynes (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Children of Jocasta

In The Children of Jocasta, Natalie Haynes retells the Oedipus and Antigone myths to reveal a new side of an ancient story . . . My siblings and I have grown up in a cursed house, children of cursed parents . . . Jocasta is just fifteen when she is told that she must marry the King of Thebes, an old man she has never met. Her life has never been her own, and nor will it be, unless she outlives her strange, absent husband. Ismene is the same age when she is attacked in the palace she calls home. Since the day of her parents' tragic deaths a decade earlier, she has always longed to feel safe with the family she still has. 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.

Natalie Haynes (Author), Kristin Atherton (Narrator)

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The Furies

After losing her fiance in a shocking tragedy, Alex Morris moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Formerly an actress, Alex accepts a job teaching drama therapy at a school commonly referred to as "The Unit," a last-chance learning community for teens expelled from other schools in the city. Her students have troubled pasts and difficult personalities, and Alex is an inexperienced teacher, terrified of what she's taken on and drowning in grief. Her most challenging class is an intimidating group of teenagers who have been given up on by everyone before her. But Alex soon discovers that discussing the Greek tragedies opens them up in unexpected ways, and she gradually develops a rapport with them. But are these tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge teaching more than Alex ever intended? And who becomes responsible when these students take the tragedies to heart, and begin interweaving their darker lessons into real life with terrible and irrevocable fury? Natalie Haynes' The Furies is a psychologically complex, dark and twisting novel about loss, obsession and the deep tragedies that can connect us to each other even as they blind us to our fate.

Natalie Haynes (Author), Zara Ramm (Narrator)

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Attila The Hen

BBC Radio 4 programme all about the fashion for keeping chickens in your back garden, a hobby which shows no sign of waning. Natalie Haynes has heard some dark rumours about the true habits of the hen. Can they be true? However her own knowledge is limited entirely to chicken lives in Ancient Rome. Natalie hears from chicken breeders and keepers; but perhaps the most keen insight is from ornithologist Mark Cocker, who explains how things look from the chickens' own perspective. Poultry and people can be very good for one another, but like any relationship it does require respect! Last broadcast on 29 March 2011 and produced by Christine Hall.

Natalie Haynes (Author), Natalie Haynes (Narrator)

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