We chat with number one Sunday Times bestseller author Jennifer Saint about her latest Greek mythology retelling, Hera. Following the titular goddess, this is a unique take on the genre, informed by Saint’s extensive love of Greek mythology and background in Classics, becoming a Visiting Research Fellow in the Classics Department at King’s College, London. Saint has established a distinctive stamp on Greek mythology, exploring untold stories through fascinating lens that reframe the entire narrative from the one we may think we know.
Hi Jennifer, thank you for joining us today! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and your latest book Hera?
I’m a full-time author and I live in Yorkshire, England with my husband and two sons. I’ve always had a passion for Greek mythology and consider myself very lucky to be able to write about it for a living! I’m fascinated by the women of these ancient stories and there is none more challenging and controversial than Hera, Queen of the Olympians and notorious for her rage. We know Hera as the archetypal jealous wife, constantly striking out in anger at the women who catch her husband’s roving eye – but that’s only one side of her story.
You’ve established a brand of fiercely feminist, character driven Greek mythological retellings that set the imagination on fire. What’s your process like for selecting which figure to focus on and adapting that story into your style?
The inspiration always comes as a complete scene in my head. It’s something that makes me angry – like Ariadne waking up alone on Naxos – or that feels irresistibly exciting, like the infant Atalanta growing up among the bears. I know it’s got potential if it feels like something I have to write, something that feels compelling and urgent. If it stirs up emotion in me, I know that it will speak to readers too, and the rest of the novel grows from that scene. It gives me the direction and purpose that I need; whether that’s to give Ariadne the catharsis she needs to prove herself without Theseus, or to explore the wildness and fearlessness that Atalanta’s early years instil in her psyche and what that drives her to accomplish. For Hera, the inspiration was actually the ending of the novel! For once, the conclusion to my heroine’s story wasn’t already decided by the shape of existing mythology, because this was the first time I’d written about a goddess and, of course, there is no end to her story. This gave me the opportunity to really delve into the importance of myth in human lives and to think about what Hera represents – I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I knew what journey she was going to embark on and where it would take her and it made me so eager to write the novel so I could get there!
What surprised you while writing this book?
Hera, as the goddess of marriage and wife to Zeus, is so often portrayed in a very domestic sphere. It reduces and contains her, making her this embittered spouse who lashes out at innocent women and reinforces the patriarchal status quo all the time. But if you dig deeper into Hera’s mythology, there is a lot more to this goddess. One of the first visual inspirations I found was a vase painting, in which Hera is depicted as crowned and regal but brandishing a huge spear that she’s about to sink into the stomach of a giant who is falling underneath her blows. This is Hera the warrior queen, who fought in the Titanomachy and the Gigantomachy – two major battles between immortals that occur in Greek mythology. A lesser-known title for Hera is the Mother of Monsters – my favourite epithet! – due to her penchant for nursing wild and ferocious creatures that pose a threat to all the gods. Growing up, I’d always considered her as one of the more dull characters of myth, always appearing as the antagonist but in researching this novel I found so many stories of her vivid intelligence, her strategic nature and her rebellious spirit, along with her penchant for the darkness. I think there is a lot in the novel that will surprise readers!
Hera as a protagonist is challenging and stubborn at times – what does it mean to you to create such three-dimensional and flawed characters, particularly when depicting a deity?
I thought of Hera all the time that I was writing as the ultimate survivor. She’s one of the original six Olympians, born to the Titan Cronus whose rule over the world is cruel and tyrannical, and she fights alongside her siblings to overthrow him and his brothers and establish a new world order. She survives a forced marriage to Zeus, her brother, and the violence, control and humiliation which characterises their relationship. There is an iron strength to Hera, and a determination to keep going. This makes her difficult in all sorts of ways, and the ruthlessness that she learns in order to thrive can sometimes make it hard to condone her actions when she’s wrong – which she often is! But I think readers will still root for her to succeed. Greek gods are far from perfect, after all. But Hera was worshipped in the ancient world: a wife and mother who strikes back at the injustices dealt to her and refuses to surrender. While she’s terrifying in many ways, she’s also a source of strength and comfort – and maybe even inspiration.
I feel across your books so far there’s often a subtle representation of female rage, particularly within and against the constraints of a patriarchal society. What themes would you like to stick with readers and is there a particular message you’d like them to take from Hera and your other work?
Hera’s anger is a defining characteristic in the myths. But her rage is uniquely physical, almost more human than divine. It’s a rage born of bile – an acid, choking sensation in her throat that poisons her all the time. I came across a story while researching of a temple statue of Hera that was said to vomit fountains of blood when the townspeople annoyed her, and it really struck me as an emblem of a very female kind of rage. The kind that you suppress, that you swallow down until it becomes corrosive and toxic and eats away at your insides. Hera’s frustration stems from the fact that she cannot strike out at the real subject of her rage – Zeus, the figurehead of the patriarchy. It means that her anger is often misdirected, and frequently it’s other women who are her target. Maybe the message of the novel is to recognise who the real enemy is, a lesson that Hera has to learn.
What songs would form the soundtrack to Hera for you?
I listened endlessly to Taylor Swift’s Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve and Vigilante Shit while writing and those two songs are inextricably entwined with the novel for me. I would also say Goddess by Laufey feels particularly apt and at the risk of going full Swiftie, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is the perfect song for Zeus, while Hera’s anthem would probably be Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? Beyonce’s Don’t Hurt Yourself would need to be on there too. As someone who was utterly obsessed with Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill in the 90s, I’d also include You Oughta Know. Without a doubt, Violet by Hole. And definitely Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine. Really, anything that could appear on a playlist entitled Female Rage!
What books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I loved The Witch of Colchis by Rosie Hewlett, which tells the story of Medea – another notorious villainess of Greek mythology! The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald is a gorgeous sapphic reimagining of the Trojan War if Helen and Cassandra fell in love with each other, which I adored. I can’t wait to get my hands on Boudicca’s Daughters by Elodie Harper which will be out in 2025 – a historical fiction novel about the daughters of the famous female warrior, and Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan which is also out in 2025 and looks amazing! Finally, the first installment of Nikita Gill’s underworld goddess trilogy, Hecate, is one of my most anticipated books!
I love how you have a dedicated notebook for each project! Can you give us any hints about your next notebook and therefore the project hidden within?
It’s pink and lavishly decorated with red hearts – I’m taking on a more romantic project next time!
What’s one retelling you’d love to tackle but isn’t currently in the works?
I really loved writing about the women of the Trojan War in Elektra and I’d like to revisit that world some day. There are so many more intriguing women to explore – Hecabe, the queen of Troy for example or Andromache, wife of Hector. I have no immediate plans, but that’s one that always hovers in the back of my mind as a maybe one day…
Please could you recommend three books Hera would sit well with on the shelf?
The aforementioned Witch of Colchis – I think Medea and Hera would discover they had a lot to talk about if they got together! Also Babylonia by Costanza Casati, which is the rich and immersive story of Semiramus, a queen of Ancient Mesopotamia – another powerful, fascinating and complicated woman and another fabulous book that I enjoyed this year. I also loved Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi which is a loose retelling of the Persephone myth set in medieval West Africa and was such a vibrant, glorious read – I think if you like Hera, you would be hungry for this novel to transport you to another world and introduce you to another woman determined to survive and succeed.
Finally, if you could only use five words to describe Hera, what would they be?
Queen, survivor, antihero, warrior, goddess.
