No Friend to This House is Natalie Haynes’s retelling of the story of Jason and the Argonauts, but with Medea as the central character. It is told in the points of view of almost anyone (human, god, animal, ship) who had a part in the story, such as Alcimede, Jason’s mother; Aphrodite; the Argo; the Naiads; etc; as well as Medea herself.
The Argo, built with the help of Athene, sets sail with Jason and his crew to Colchis to retrieve the golden fleece for Pelias, Jason’s uncle. The goddesses realize that Jason, on his arrival, must have help to complete this task, so Cupid aims an arrow of love at Medea, who falls in love with Jason. Her father Iolcus gives Jason a task and promises to give him the golden fleece if he can accomplish this trial. Medea, under the influence of Cupid’s arrow, goes against her family to help Jason and escapes Colchis with Jason and the fleece. Jason promises to marry her and when they arrive in Aeaea, they set up housekeeping and have children. When Jason betrays her and marries another, Medea is set up for the maternal filicide of her sons that will define her through history.
Medea is often characterized as an innocent, used by Jason, a man who is far less the hero than he is often portrayed as he would have been unable to accomplish his heroics without the interference of the gods. In Haynes’s novel, Medea is a complex, powerful woman who’s also loving and devoted to Jason and her family.
As always, Haynes’s research is impeccable, and she shifts the narrative into female-centric retellings that are not only entertaining but long overdue.
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No Friend to This House (Harper, March 10, 2026) is available through:
Your local independent bookseller | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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You can read my reviews of other of Natalie Haynes’s books here:
Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth
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