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The Dawn Palace
Having been trained in supernatural knowledge, thirteen-year-old Medea finds herself in a unique position to help when the Greek hero Jason comes to her father's kingdom in search of the Golden Fleece.
244 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
About the author
Helen Mary Hoover
19 books56 followershttp://www.orrt.org/hoover/
Over the course of her twenty-three-year career as a writer, H.M. Hoover won eight awards for her writing, including three Best Book for Young Adult designations from the American Library Association and two Parent's Choice Honor Awards. Another Heaven, Another Earth received the Ohioana Award in 1982.
H.M. Hoover lived in Burke, Virginia. Her last published work was The Whole Truth - And Other Myths: Retelling Ancient Tales, in 1996.
Hoover changed her pen name to H.M. Hoover before Children came out because there was already a children's author named Helen Hoover.
Over the course of her twenty-three-year career as a writer, H.M. Hoover won eight awards for her writing, including three Best Book for Young Adult designations from the American Library Association and two Parent's Choice Honor Awards. Another Heaven, Another Earth received the Ohioana Award in 1982.
H.M. Hoover lived in Burke, Virginia. Her last published work was The Whole Truth - And Other Myths: Retelling Ancient Tales, in 1996.
Hoover changed her pen name to H.M. Hoover before Children came out because there was already a children's author named Helen Hoover.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 24, 2014
Kind of a downer. But seriously, it's the Medea story, what were you expecting?
I always wondered why the name Jason remained so popular; he's pretty much the douchiest of Greek heroes.
There's a great end note explaining the different versions of this story (the ones that most villainize Medea are the later ones) and discussing various theories as to when and where some of the adventures took place
I always wondered why the name Jason remained so popular; he's pretty much the douchiest of Greek heroes.
There's a great end note explaining the different versions of this story (the ones that most villainize Medea are the later ones) and discussing various theories as to when and where some of the adventures took place
October 28, 2015
This book had a huge impact on my life and I am not sure I can tell you why. First of all, Hoover was one of my favorite authors as a child. I read every book of hers the library had. Her books featured intelligent, strong, female characters and this book was no exception.
It takes the story of Medea of Colchis and traces her life from her perspective from childhood through the tragic death of her children. It paints a different picture of that horrible ending, one where she is framed for their murder. After reading it, I researched the story and found that there is a lot of scholarly support for this version, that Euripides was actually paid to write an anti-Media play.
While I don't know if it's true, the turning on edge of a familiar story really affected me. Although my parents had already taught me to question, this was a good example of why we need to not always take things at face value, why we need to question society's assumptions.
Plus, it was just a really good story. It made life back in that era come alive for me. I recommend it for any young woman who is interested in ancient culture and/or stories about powerful women.
It takes the story of Medea of Colchis and traces her life from her perspective from childhood through the tragic death of her children. It paints a different picture of that horrible ending, one where she is framed for their murder. After reading it, I researched the story and found that there is a lot of scholarly support for this version, that Euripides was actually paid to write an anti-Media play.
While I don't know if it's true, the turning on edge of a familiar story really affected me. Although my parents had already taught me to question, this was a good example of why we need to not always take things at face value, why we need to question society's assumptions.
Plus, it was just a really good story. It made life back in that era come alive for me. I recommend it for any young woman who is interested in ancient culture and/or stories about powerful women.
March 15, 2013
Children of Morrow was a favorite when I was younger. It’s a post-apocalypse YA novel about two mutant children who flee the murderous intentions of their village’s mayor and his henchman. I reread it about a decade ago and found that it held up rather well. It was thus that when I resolved to read The Dawn Palace (part of my recent fixation with Greek myths – see my reviews of The Iliad (Mitchell trans.), The Odyssey (Fagles trans.), For Her Dark Skin (Everett), Ransom (Malouf) and Medea (Wolf), among others) I was confident that I would like the story.
I’m happy to report that not only did I like the story, I liked it a lot. I thought this was one of the better interpretations of the Jason/Medea legend, and – despite its target audience of older YAs – it can appeal to adults as well.
Hoover wisely – I think – elects to make Medea a 14-year-old girl, and Jason is not many years older. She is the daughter of Asterodeia, the daughter of Helios the sun god, and Aeëtes, an expatriate Corinthian, who is king of Colchis from his marriage to her. The novel opens when Medea is five and sees a vision of her mother departing. Come the morning, she finds the court in mourning because Asterodeia has apparently died during the night. I say “apparently” because the child discovers that the covered body is not her mother’s. Asterodeia has gone back to her father, leaving Aeëtes to rule as regent for Medea (so she thinks). The years pass. Medea’s aunt Circe teaches her about herbs, magic and other knowledge astrally, visiting her in dreams and taking her to a timeless place where they she can study and learn undistracted. This is a time of change, however. The ancient matriarchal dynasties and the goddess-centered religion are being displaced by patriarchs and the male-centered Olympian pantheon. Aeëtes has remarried and plans to put Apsyrtus, the son of that union, on the throne. Medea learns of the betrayal shortly before Colchis is honored by the arrival of Jason and his Argonauts. Hurt, betrayed and feeling lost, Medea falls hard for the charming, unscrupulous and handsome Greek. Subsequently, the story departs from the received version (i.e., Euripides’) of the legend by making Jason solely responsible for killing Apsyrtus and it is he who murders his and Medea’s children. But it doesn’t exonerate Medea. Before she finally realizes his true nature, she does great evil because of her love for the man.
Outside of the author’s take on the myth, there were two things that made this book so enjoyable for me, and those are Hoover’s characterizations of Hercules and Medea. Hercules’ and Medea’s paths cross three times. The first time they meet is near Troy, which Hercules has sacked because Laomedon, its king, had cheated him:
He warns her that Jason will betray her just as he betrayed him because they are both children of the gods, and promises to be a friend when that day comes. A promise that greatly disturbs Medea as she realizes he is on the knife-edge of madness and despair.
Their second meeting occurs several years later. She and Jason and their children have found succor in Corinth with Creon, its king. Hercules’ madness “was more evident now. His throat moved as if he were carrying on an angry internal dialogue, obsessed by old injustices” (p. 178). He reiterates his friendship for her and that he’ll help when Jason inevitably abandons her.
The final time they meet, Medea has fled Corinth, finally recognizing Jason for what he is and taking her revenge against him, Creon and Glauce. Hercules has murdered Deianeira, his wife, and his children. He’s holed up in his palace and so sunk into madness that “[h]e sat naked and hunched up, his huge arms hugging his knees so tightly that his muscles bulged and strained. His eyes were wide and unfocused; his jaws clenched, his throat working. As she watched, appalled, he began to rock in that spastic frenzy peculiar to lunatics. Faster and faster he rocked, until his heels were lifting higher with each backward lunge, and he finally tipped over and fell sideways, his head thudding against the roof” (pp. 203-4). She nurses him back to physical and mental health, and finds that – in the end – he can’t protect her and she must find the strength in herself to salvage what she can of her life.
Hoover humanizes the elemental force of nature that is Hercules and makes the reader sympathize with his plight – a man who set out to do good in the world but whose every action turns out horribly wrong.
As with Hercules, so with Medea. Over the course of the novel, Hoover creates a complex, believable and sympathetic character. As I mentioned, she commits evil but she’s also capable of good, and it’s never simply a question of doing the right thing since there’s no act she can do that won’t have maleficent consequences. I don’t have any specific passages that could illustrate my point. It’s a matter of the author’s ability to flesh out Medea’s character throughout the story but it works. Even more so than Hercules, Hoover’s Medea is a fully human person who readers empathize with even if they can’t always condone what she does.
There are two further points I wanted to mention before closing out this review. The first is Hoover’s treatment of gods and magic. There certainly is an element of the supernatural; I’ve already mentioned how Circe visits Medea astrally. But, otherwise, the gods and magic are more noticeable in their absence. Much of Medea’s power comes from greater knowledge of the physical world. For example, she murders Glauce and Creon with a dress and crown seeded with white phosphorus. Her murder of Pelias is accomplished with stage magic and duplicity. And her skill as a physician, not spells, saves lives. I wasn’t sure if this worked when I first read the novel but upon reflection I think it does, for the most part. I personally like the ambiguity of not knowing if the gods exist or to what extent – if they do – that they interfere in human affairs.
The second point is that if there is a weakness in this novel it’s that the author compresses the second half of the story (after Jason and Medea reach Greece), and it feels rushed and incomplete. I would have liked 50-100 pages more devoted to Medea’s life in Greece so that its sudden disruption would have had as much emotional “oomph” as the events of the first part.
That aside, this novel comes highly recommended by yours truly (I’ll be sending a copy to my niece for her birthday), and it makes me intrigued about Hoover’s other work. Children of Morrow had already proved she could be an interesting writer but if her other work matches The Dawn Palace, I’m even more interested in seeking out her stuff.
I’m happy to report that not only did I like the story, I liked it a lot. I thought this was one of the better interpretations of the Jason/Medea legend, and – despite its target audience of older YAs – it can appeal to adults as well.
Hoover wisely – I think – elects to make Medea a 14-year-old girl, and Jason is not many years older. She is the daughter of Asterodeia, the daughter of Helios the sun god, and Aeëtes, an expatriate Corinthian, who is king of Colchis from his marriage to her. The novel opens when Medea is five and sees a vision of her mother departing. Come the morning, she finds the court in mourning because Asterodeia has apparently died during the night. I say “apparently” because the child discovers that the covered body is not her mother’s. Asterodeia has gone back to her father, leaving Aeëtes to rule as regent for Medea (so she thinks). The years pass. Medea’s aunt Circe teaches her about herbs, magic and other knowledge astrally, visiting her in dreams and taking her to a timeless place where they she can study and learn undistracted. This is a time of change, however. The ancient matriarchal dynasties and the goddess-centered religion are being displaced by patriarchs and the male-centered Olympian pantheon. Aeëtes has remarried and plans to put Apsyrtus, the son of that union, on the throne. Medea learns of the betrayal shortly before Colchis is honored by the arrival of Jason and his Argonauts. Hurt, betrayed and feeling lost, Medea falls hard for the charming, unscrupulous and handsome Greek. Subsequently, the story departs from the received version (i.e., Euripides’) of the legend by making Jason solely responsible for killing Apsyrtus and it is he who murders his and Medea’s children. But it doesn’t exonerate Medea. Before she finally realizes his true nature, she does great evil because of her love for the man.
Outside of the author’s take on the myth, there were two things that made this book so enjoyable for me, and those are Hoover’s characterizations of Hercules and Medea. Hercules’ and Medea’s paths cross three times. The first time they meet is near Troy, which Hercules has sacked because Laomedon, its king, had cheated him:
The dark form moved. Living wood creaked and broke. Rocks chinked and sparks flew. Flames licked up and grew bright, and the smell of burning cedar pitch mingled with the salt air. When he raised the flaming fatwood brand, she saw him clearly.
The arm that held the impromptu torch was thicker than her waist. He was nearly seven feet tall and heavily muscled. As a cape, he wore the dried-out, shabby pelt of a huge lion. Its head served as his helmet. His face was framed by the teeth left in the lion’s grotesquely dislocated jaws. His nose had been repeatedly broken; his dark eyes were fever-bright. His own dark hair, the dead beast’s mane, and his red beard seemed all tangled into one bushy mass. The pelt’s forepaws were fastened to his leather breastplate. The hind legs and tail flapped at the back of his bare knees. A belt secured a leather apron at his waist and also held the widest sword she’d ever seen. (pp. 129-30)
He warns her that Jason will betray her just as he betrayed him because they are both children of the gods, and promises to be a friend when that day comes. A promise that greatly disturbs Medea as she realizes he is on the knife-edge of madness and despair.
Their second meeting occurs several years later. She and Jason and their children have found succor in Corinth with Creon, its king. Hercules’ madness “was more evident now. His throat moved as if he were carrying on an angry internal dialogue, obsessed by old injustices” (p. 178). He reiterates his friendship for her and that he’ll help when Jason inevitably abandons her.
The final time they meet, Medea has fled Corinth, finally recognizing Jason for what he is and taking her revenge against him, Creon and Glauce. Hercules has murdered Deianeira, his wife, and his children. He’s holed up in his palace and so sunk into madness that “[h]e sat naked and hunched up, his huge arms hugging his knees so tightly that his muscles bulged and strained. His eyes were wide and unfocused; his jaws clenched, his throat working. As she watched, appalled, he began to rock in that spastic frenzy peculiar to lunatics. Faster and faster he rocked, until his heels were lifting higher with each backward lunge, and he finally tipped over and fell sideways, his head thudding against the roof” (pp. 203-4). She nurses him back to physical and mental health, and finds that – in the end – he can’t protect her and she must find the strength in herself to salvage what she can of her life.
Hoover humanizes the elemental force of nature that is Hercules and makes the reader sympathize with his plight – a man who set out to do good in the world but whose every action turns out horribly wrong.
As with Hercules, so with Medea. Over the course of the novel, Hoover creates a complex, believable and sympathetic character. As I mentioned, she commits evil but she’s also capable of good, and it’s never simply a question of doing the right thing since there’s no act she can do that won’t have maleficent consequences. I don’t have any specific passages that could illustrate my point. It’s a matter of the author’s ability to flesh out Medea’s character throughout the story but it works. Even more so than Hercules, Hoover’s Medea is a fully human person who readers empathize with even if they can’t always condone what she does.
There are two further points I wanted to mention before closing out this review. The first is Hoover’s treatment of gods and magic. There certainly is an element of the supernatural; I’ve already mentioned how Circe visits Medea astrally. But, otherwise, the gods and magic are more noticeable in their absence. Much of Medea’s power comes from greater knowledge of the physical world. For example, she murders Glauce and Creon with a dress and crown seeded with white phosphorus. Her murder of Pelias is accomplished with stage magic and duplicity. And her skill as a physician, not spells, saves lives. I wasn’t sure if this worked when I first read the novel but upon reflection I think it does, for the most part. I personally like the ambiguity of not knowing if the gods exist or to what extent – if they do – that they interfere in human affairs.
The second point is that if there is a weakness in this novel it’s that the author compresses the second half of the story (after Jason and Medea reach Greece), and it feels rushed and incomplete. I would have liked 50-100 pages more devoted to Medea’s life in Greece so that its sudden disruption would have had as much emotional “oomph” as the events of the first part.
That aside, this novel comes highly recommended by yours truly (I’ll be sending a copy to my niece for her birthday), and it makes me intrigued about Hoover’s other work. Children of Morrow had already proved she could be an interesting writer but if her other work matches The Dawn Palace, I’m even more interested in seeking out her stuff.
June 23, 2024
This a retelling of the ancient play about Jason and the Argonauts originally written by Euripides. Hoover has taken all of the myths and went down a center line with what she thought was logical for the geography of the land and what is known about that time. The story features Medea, daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis. She is 5 years old at the beginning of the story. If you read the author's notes at the end, she sets Colchis in the former USSR area of Georgia.
Medea meets Jason, of the Argonauts (around 1300 BC) when he comes across the seas in his ship, the Argo. He comes in quest for the Golden Fleece, which is a sacred item guarded by the priestesses in the temple in Colchis. He needs it to reverse a curse placed by the gods. She is immediately obsessed by him. She is only 13 years old. The reader is thinking, "Oh no!" because it's obvious that he is treacherous. By Colchis law, she will inherit the kingdom and rule as queen since it passes down the female line. But her father tells her that he became King by protecting her mother, the Queen, and he will pass the kingdom on to his son, her young half-brother. Disinherited and angry, she uses her skills learned from the goddess Circes (who is also her aunt) to insure that Jason wins the quest set by her father and then when he does, she escapes with him and the Argonauts.
From there it's all downhill. She loves him desperately but he is not what he seems. She is ridiculed, although feared, as a barbarian witch in the kingdoms they visit. She helps him obtain several kingdoms but they are lost.
The end of the story is a bloodbath. If you don't like dark stories, don't read this one. But it is interesting because the original story was supposedly based on real people. And i was amazed to read in the author's notes that in 1300 BC there were palaces with heated floors, flush toilets, bathtubs, charcoal-filtered water and there were vast libraries with stone tablets written in 8 languages. Plus, Haley's Comet was known, had been named. Chickens had been domesticated for 1000 years. Troy had been demolished by earthquakes and rebuilt 8 times. But the people believed in gods and goddesses and curses.
Medea meets Jason, of the Argonauts (around 1300 BC) when he comes across the seas in his ship, the Argo. He comes in quest for the Golden Fleece, which is a sacred item guarded by the priestesses in the temple in Colchis. He needs it to reverse a curse placed by the gods. She is immediately obsessed by him. She is only 13 years old. The reader is thinking, "Oh no!" because it's obvious that he is treacherous. By Colchis law, she will inherit the kingdom and rule as queen since it passes down the female line. But her father tells her that he became King by protecting her mother, the Queen, and he will pass the kingdom on to his son, her young half-brother. Disinherited and angry, she uses her skills learned from the goddess Circes (who is also her aunt) to insure that Jason wins the quest set by her father and then when he does, she escapes with him and the Argonauts.
From there it's all downhill. She loves him desperately but he is not what he seems. She is ridiculed, although feared, as a barbarian witch in the kingdoms they visit. She helps him obtain several kingdoms but they are lost.
The end of the story is a bloodbath. If you don't like dark stories, don't read this one. But it is interesting because the original story was supposedly based on real people. And i was amazed to read in the author's notes that in 1300 BC there were palaces with heated floors, flush toilets, bathtubs, charcoal-filtered water and there were vast libraries with stone tablets written in 8 languages. Plus, Haley's Comet was known, had been named. Chickens had been domesticated for 1000 years. Troy had been demolished by earthquakes and rebuilt 8 times. But the people believed in gods and goddesses and curses.
January 1, 2022
Having recently read Euripides' Medea, I was very much pleased by this author's alternate telling. The author's note is especially interesting. In the note, she references Robert Graves' scholarly work, The Greek Myths, which tells that Euripides was paid by the citizens of Corinth to write the play in a manner which would absolve them of any guilt of the murder of Medea's children. The author also takes time to explain Medea's position as a foreigner and a woman in the very patriarchal Greek culture in which she lived her adulthood.
Thus, there are major differences between this book and Euripides' play. The book also begins the story much earlier, in Medea's young childhood, rather than just after Jason's betrayal of her as in Euripides' play.
The book is categorized as YA, but it deals with very adult themes. For example, bed slaves and eunuchs are mentioned in the first chapter. My only disappointment with this book was its short length. I wished for much more detail and exploration of Medea and her life before Jason. Her time learning from her aunt Circe, for example, could have been a richer source of characterization. All, said, well worth your time if you are interested in the story of Medea or in mythology in general.
Thus, there are major differences between this book and Euripides' play. The book also begins the story much earlier, in Medea's young childhood, rather than just after Jason's betrayal of her as in Euripides' play.
The book is categorized as YA, but it deals with very adult themes. For example, bed slaves and eunuchs are mentioned in the first chapter. My only disappointment with this book was its short length. I wished for much more detail and exploration of Medea and her life before Jason. Her time learning from her aunt Circe, for example, could have been a richer source of characterization. All, said, well worth your time if you are interested in the story of Medea or in mythology in general.
December 1, 2009
I was drawn to this book by my infatuation with Greek mythology. While at first it was difficult to get into, after the first few chapters, I was hooked. Hoover's devotion to research and historical accuracy is astounding, something I didn't fully realize or appreciate until reading her author's notes at the end. While the romantic in me wishes for a happier, more Hollywood (or at least "normal") ending for Medea, all sources and history points to no, so in that sense, at least I bow to Hoover's resolution to be true to her story and her work. In short, while I had my doubts at first, this eventually became a memorable and enjoyable retelling of an old, "familiar" tale. If you hadn't noticed, I am a sucker for those.
February 9, 2013
The only thing I knew of Madea was seeing some of Zoe Caldwell's masterful performance that was shown on PBS years ago. As someone who is interested in both witches and magic, I found this telling of the Madea myth well detailed and at times exciting. Though I was expecting the hard, revengeful, Medea of Euripides' play, I thought this book to actually present a more rounded version of the character. The author's notes are almost as interesting, if not more so, than the book. I never heard of this author but am glad someone gave me this book to read.
October 23, 2010
An amazing re-telling of the Medea story, and how women throughout time have been wronged and their stories twisted to suit a male perspective. This has to be Hoover's best book - and she's written a lot of great ones.
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September 26, 2011Favorite childhood author, favorite childhood myth, remember disliking the combination but need to reread. I wish I could find that first-person historical novel told by Medea's companion/maid, who accompanied her on the Argonauts' voyage and fell in love with Orpheus (I think?); this isn't it.
June 12, 2012
i read this as a child and i can still remember the feeling i had when i finished it - i felt that it was the best book i ever read. EVER. i'm hoping to stumble upon a copy one day so i could read it again.
March 3, 2011
A feminist retelling of the Medea and Jason story. However, I don't think the story is any better by recasting the villain. It's still disturbing and grim.
May 1, 2013
Not bad. But if anyone's looking for a happy ending...don't read this!
April 27, 2014
I hadnt enjoyed this book as much as i enjoyed the other books i read this year, but i did finish reading this book.
May 28, 2008
Once again a creepy book, but brings interesting light to the Jason story.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews