The Greek myth of Medea is transposed to 18th century India in Rani Selvarajah’s debut novel, Savage Beasts. Although I haven’t read very much about Medea – except where she has appeared as a secondary character in other novels I’ve read, such as Madeline Miller’s Circe – it was actually the Indian setting that attracted me to this book rather than the Greek myth aspect and I expect it will have equal appeal to readers of historical fiction and those who enjoy mythology retellings.
The novel opens in 1757 in Calcutta (now known as Kolkata). The East India Company, under the leadership of Sir Peter Chilcott, are advancing on Bengal and war seems inevitable, but James Chilcott, Sir Peter’s nephew, has arrived in Calcutta ready to make a bargain. He is prepared to betray the company and reveal their plans, he says, but he wants something from the Nawab of Bengal in return. Although the Nawab isn’t convinced, his daughter, Meena, is captivated by the handsome young Englishman and agrees to help him. When things go wrong, James and Meena are forced to flee Bengal, leaving a scene of death and devastation in their wake.
So far, I could see the parallels with mythology – Meena in the role of Medea, daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, and James as Jason, who comes to Colchis on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. When Meena and James leave Bengal, they encounter Meena’s aunt, Kiran, whom I quickly identified with Circe. The later parts of the myth are less familiar to me, but as far as I could tell the novel continued to follow the basic outline, with one or two nice twists towards the end.
What let this novel down for me was the writing. I hate to be too critical of an author’s first novel, but I did find some of the word choices odd or inappropriate. Characters ‘smirk’ all the time, on almost every page – that’s when they’re not ‘sneering’ or ‘scoffing’. I lost count of how many times these words were repeated. I also struggled to believe in Meena as a convincing woman of her time. It seemed unlikely that the daughter of a Nawab (a Mughal ruler of similar status to a prince) would have the freedom to hang around the docks of Bengal on her own, as Meena does in the opening chapter, and her subsequent actions feel more and more anachronistic.
I did like the basic concept of moving the Medea story to 18th century India and the idea of James/Jason as part of a colonial power coming to take what they can from Bengal/Colchis is an intriguing one. For this to work, though, there really needed to be a stronger sense of time and place, but sadly, I couldn’t think of the characters as anything other than modern people in historical costume. Despite my negativity, I stuck with the book to the end and did occasionally become drawn into the story; it’s been receiving a mixture of reviews, including plenty of four and five star ones, so evidently other readers have enjoyed it more than I did. Give it a try if it appeals – and please let me know if there are any other retellings of the Medea myth you can recommend!
Thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
This is book 21/50 read for the 2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
She Reads Novels 
Medea in an Indian context! Now there’s a twist. I too have read – and enjoyed – Miller’s book, and I was a real fan of Greek myths as a child. I’d give this one a whirl, but as you’re critical of the writing, I shan’t leave no stone unturned to find it. A very interesting premise though.
Yes, I loved the premise and the Indian setting. I just wish the writing had been better.
Would love to give my thoughts after reading SAVAGE BEASTS! I think it is a stunning retelling of Medea. Meena/Medea becomes so many women who face torment and survival, but with the edge of Greek tragedy that makes an incredible and dramatic story. Rani Selvarajah gets deep into Meena’s mind and motivation. I was in for a gripping, harrowing and emotional journey.
That’s certainly an interesting spin on the Medea story; too bad it had some problems in execution.
Yes, the premise was fascinating and I liked the setting – it’s disappointing because this could have been a great book.
I have to confess to getting tired of these rewritten myths, but the setting did sound interesting. It’s too bad about the writing. The Medea story is not one for the faint-hearted, though.
Yes, I thought this one would be interesting because it sounded so different. The writing really let it down.
Overuse of the word smirk is a huge pet peeve of mine! And I hate when authors misuse it, especially in romances. It’s not a cute, flirtatious smile! Sorry the writing wasn’t better in this one.
It was definitely overused in this book! She just seemed to be using it as an alternative for the word smile, which as you say, it isn’t.
Love myths and legends of all cultures. Most of the modern Greek re-tellings are excellent, so was looking forward to Jason and Medea from a different perspective. But this book is absolutely dire. Only read up to page sixty three and really dislike it. The characters are so unbelievable, flat and boring. I really don’t care what happens to any of them. Very rarely give up on a book but will struggle to finish this one.
I managed to finish it, but I don’t think you’ll be missing much if you don’t. I was so disappointed with it – the characters just didn’t feel like real 18th century people at all. It could have been such a great book!
I mostly agree with your review. I think the idea is fantastic and I read the book within two days because I found it compelling enough. But I also struggled with the anachronisms, which I am sure were a choice but not one I would have made. I also struggled to buy the initial love story. I would still recommend the book.
As for other Medea retellings, watch out for the next book by Natalie Haynes. She is currently working on a Medea novel, and if her other mythology retellings (A Thousand Steps, Stone Blind) are anything to go by, it’s going to be great.
OMG, and how could I forget?? There is a Medea retelling by German author Christa Wolf published in 1996 that has also been translated into English and it’s a masterpiece.
Thank you – I’ll definitely consider reading the Christa Wolf book. I’m pleased to hear Natalie Haynes is working on a Medea novel. I loved both A Thousand Ships and Stone Blind, so that should be one to look forward to.