Irresistible Monsters: The brilliant new book from the host of Radio 4's Stands Up for the Classics

Natalie Haynes – writer and presenter of Radio 4's Stands Up for the Classics and bestselling author of Pandora's Jar – takes a razor-sharp romp through the monsters we know, love and fear from the fable stories of the ancient world.

Whether it's snaky Echidna – half-nymph, half snake and mother of monsters – or the fearsome bull-headed Minotaur, the strange and terrible creatures of Greek myth have been grabbing our attention for thousands of years.

In Irresistible Monsters, bestselling author, broadcaster and passionate classicist Natalie Haynes turns her inimitable gaze on the inhuman, and reveals that even the things we thought we knew aren’t necessarily so: a Cyclops doesn’t always have one eye, Cerberus doesn’t start out with three heads and why the Sphinx might enjoy kidnapping handsome young men.

Along the way, she examines how we think about monsters: what makes a monster, and why do we need them? Why is the Chimera – hybrid of goat, snake and lion – a monster while Pegasus the winged horse is not? Was Scylla always sharp-toothed and dog-bellied? Do monsters subvert the world as we know it, or subtly reinforce our expectations? Is a monster human or animal, mortal or divine? And how do you defeat a multi-headed snake when it has a giant crab as its henchman?

Praise for Natalie Haynes' Pandora's Jar:

'The most enjoyable book about Greek Myths you will ever read' – Mark Haddon
'Funny, sharp' – Margaret Atwood
'Never has ancient misogyny been presented with so much wit and style' – Amanda Foreman
'Natalie Haynes is the nation's muse' – Adam Rutherford