Savage Beasts

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What to expect

‘A beautiful and unique retelling of Medea. I loved it!’ Sunday Times bestselling author Sophie Irwin

‘Absorbing and thoughtful…full of page-turning drama and vibrantly drawn characters. Bold and illuminating’ Claire Heywood, author of Daughters of Sparta

A propulsive retelling inspired by the Greek myth of Medea

Calcutta, 1757.

Bengal is on the brink of war. The East India Company, led by the fearsome Sir Peter Chilcott, are advancing and nobody is safe. Meena, the Nawab’s neglected and abused daughter, finds herself falling under the spell of James Chilcott, nephew of Sir Peter, who claims he wants to betray the company . . . for a price.

Caught between friend and foe, Meena and James escape Calcutta, their hands stained in blood and pockets filled with gold. In Ceylon, they’re cleansed of their sins by Meena’s beloved aunt Kiran, before the young lovers set sail for the Dutch controlled Cape of Good Hope, with the promise of a new life.

Yet past resentments and present betrayals begin to pile up as they struggle to overcome their differences. And as Meena yet again finds herself in a foreign land without anyone to turn to, she is forced to find out what she is willing to sacrifice when love turns to hate.

The perfect read for fans of The Song of Achilles, Ariadne and Pandora

‘Extraordinary… Selvarajah skillfully interweaves the familiar story of Medea with something vivd, vibrant and brand new’ Sarah Underwood, author of New York Times bestseller Lies We Sing to the Sea

‘A clever and compassionate retelling of the Medea myth . . . an ending worth of the great Greek playwrights’ Laura Shepperson, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Heroines

‘Mythic, rageful and timely… a devastating must read’ Tasha Suri, author of TikTok sensation, The Jasmine Throne

‘A beautiful and unique retelling of Medea’ Sunday Times bestselling author Sophie Irwin

‘Powerful and entrancing’ USA Today bestseller, Andie Newton

‘A vivid picture of a dark and difficult world… an emotional journey of a woman’s strength and determination despite all the odds’ Siya Turabi, author of The Last Beekeeper

Critics Review

‘Savage Beasts is a powerful, exquisitely crafted story with astutely drawn parallels to myth. It is as sharply clever as it is utterly gripping’
Bea Fitzgerald, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen

‘Rani Selvarajah is a sublime storyteller. Savage Beasts is a searing excoriation of colonialism and a chilling interrogation of the compromises required by foreign women to survive brutal so-called civilised societies’
Jennifer Hayashi Danns, author of Beneath the Burning Wave

‘Selvarajah skilfully explores the evils of colonialism and the particular demonisation and dehumanisation of foreign women as her fierce and tragic heroine hurtles towards the inevitable, and yet cleverly twisted, ending’
Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas

‘Man oh man, I cannot wait to throw this book at everyone I know’ Pyae Moe Thet War, author of You’ve Changed, a Malala Bookclub Pick

Readers love Savage Beasts:

‘Wow. So Medea is one of my all time favorite characters in Greek mythology. And I have been dying for someone to write a book worthy of her.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This book is nothing short of spectacular.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This was a great concept for a Medea retelling.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I really loved this story. The world building and the characters were excellent.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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