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Witch Princess
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1967
122 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy M. Johnson
50 books19 followersDorothy Marie Johnson (December 19, 1905–November 11, 1984) was an American author best known for her Western fiction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 28, 2018
I picked this book at random from a shelf in my elementary school library when I was eight years old. I really don't know what my life was before; it set me on fire, it set me on my course. A retelling of the story of Jason and the Argonauts from the point of view of Daphne, a handmaiden of a very sympathetically portrayed Medea. It doesn't matter if anyone else likes it or not, the book did its damage to me long ago. Glorious days.
October 23, 2020
I re-read this book after reading "Circe" (which I loved); my copy of "Witch Princess" is one that my parents gave to me in 1967 (LOL), and I remember reading it again and again when I was young. I just loved it!
And what's not to love? It is interesting and a great counterpoint to "Circe." Plus the author--Dorothy M. Johnson--is herself a fascinating person (because, of course, I had to Google her and learn more about her as I was re-reading "Witch Princess"). Dorothy M. Johnson was quite a character. She was born in Iowa in 1905 and died in Missoula, Montana, in 1984 (she is buried in Whitefish, Montana). She wrote "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and many other Western fiction books. There is a lot more to say about her, and I'm glad to have revisited this beloved book from my childhood because I will now try to learn more about this remarkable author.
So...truly...reading this book turned into more of a "walk down memory lane" than anything else. I recommend it!
And what's not to love? It is interesting and a great counterpoint to "Circe." Plus the author--Dorothy M. Johnson--is herself a fascinating person (because, of course, I had to Google her and learn more about her as I was re-reading "Witch Princess"). Dorothy M. Johnson was quite a character. She was born in Iowa in 1905 and died in Missoula, Montana, in 1984 (she is buried in Whitefish, Montana). She wrote "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and many other Western fiction books. There is a lot more to say about her, and I'm glad to have revisited this beloved book from my childhood because I will now try to learn more about this remarkable author.
So...truly...reading this book turned into more of a "walk down memory lane" than anything else. I recommend it!
January 1, 2023
I am so glad this was the last book I finished in 2022. When I was a child I stumbled upon this book at the age of eight. I found it in the school library and checked it out over and over again. We moved quite a bit, but every school library seemed to have a copy, so this became my comfort read. New school? Find the library, then Witch Princess, take it home for a week or three (depending on the library) and suddenly all is right with the new world again.
Then, when I began high school the book became scarce. I looked for it everywhere and simply could not find it. Fast forward to my adulthood and owning my first home and I always felt my personal library would not be complete without a copy. Before the internet I would scour used book shops. With the onset of the www I started looking online, Ebay, AbeBooks, ThriftBooks. Amazon, you name it. Every copy I tracked down was over $150, and that was just not in my budget. Until last week... the tickler I set up on AbeBooks let me know a copy was for sale for $5.00. I couldn't believe my luck and it fell into my hot, little hands.
This book was every bit as good reading as an adult as it had been when I was a child. Johnson has a way of relaying events that are very adult in a PG, non-threatening or scary way. The common story of Medea is told thus:
In Greek mythology, Medea (/mɪˈdiːə/; Ancient Greek: Μήδεια, Mēdeia, perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, appearing in Hesiod's Theogony around 700 BCE,[1] but best known from Euripides's tragedy Medea and Apollonius of Rhodes's epic Argonautica. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress and is often depicted as a priestess of the goddess Hecate.
Medea plays the archetypal role of helper-maiden, aiding Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece by using her magic to save his life out of love. Once he finished his quest, she abandons her native home of Colchis, and flees westwards with Jason, where they eventually settle in Corinth and get married. Euripides's 5th-century BCE tragedy Medea, depicts the ending of her union with Jason, when after ten years of marriage, Jason abandons her to wed King Creon's daughter Creusa. Medea and her sons by Jason are to be banished from Corinth. In revenge, she murders Creusa with poisoned gifts. Later, she murders her own sons by Jason before fleeing for Athens,[2] where she eventually marries king Aegeus.
In today's world of equality, this story feels very false. Johnson, in 1967 no less, told a much kinder, more believable (at least to me) tale. Medea, still daughter of Aeetes, priestess to Hecate, has handmaidens, who are her companions when she has time away from her religious duties. Daphne, a young, naïve peasant girl is sent to Medea because of her prophesies. They are simple prophesies, but rare nonetheless.
Medea's tale is told through Daphne's eyes. We learn that although Medea's priestess duties are often frightening and unpleasant, she must always smile while performing them. She trains herself to do this, so seems cold and unfeeling to the world around her when the exact opposite is true. Her smile almost always hides fear. She is not actually a witch, but very skilled at hypnotism and herbal remedies. She uses this to her advantage, adding much pageantry to the duties she performs thus instilling a sense of awe and fear in her audience. This is what leads to her eventual downfall and ruin.
When Jason and the Argonauts land on her father's shores she falls in love with the glorious Jason at first sight, helps him accomplish his impossible task with trickery, and defies her father to see him one last time as he is set to leave Colchis' shores. Jason kidnaps Medea and Daphne and carries them away to adventure and far off lands. That may sound exciting and romantic, but in reality it's terrifying and dangerous.
Once Jason has what he wants from Medea, including a kingdom he has no real interest in running, he abandons her for a new wife. He forces Medea to gift his new wife with a gown that is cursed, then promptly blames Medea for his new wife's death. Medea, in an attempt to keep her children and her own life, tricks everyone into believing she murdered her sons to punish Jason. Trick being the operative word in Johnson's version.
That's all story. The beauty in this book is the way that story is told. Young readers are given myths, lore, and legends, in an easily digested format through Daphne's eyes. The men in Greek and Roman mythology were the heroes, and nothing will change that, but I choose to believe the women were much put upon, badly treated, and heroes in their own right. Johnson shows us how the myths evolved to show something different, but the truth of the women can live alongside that myth if looked at in a different light.
I loved this book just as much as an adult and wish I could share it with any young person learning about Greek/Roman mythology just to show there are always two sides to any story.
Then, when I began high school the book became scarce. I looked for it everywhere and simply could not find it. Fast forward to my adulthood and owning my first home and I always felt my personal library would not be complete without a copy. Before the internet I would scour used book shops. With the onset of the www I started looking online, Ebay, AbeBooks, ThriftBooks. Amazon, you name it. Every copy I tracked down was over $150, and that was just not in my budget. Until last week... the tickler I set up on AbeBooks let me know a copy was for sale for $5.00. I couldn't believe my luck and it fell into my hot, little hands.
This book was every bit as good reading as an adult as it had been when I was a child. Johnson has a way of relaying events that are very adult in a PG, non-threatening or scary way. The common story of Medea is told thus:
In Greek mythology, Medea (/mɪˈdiːə/; Ancient Greek: Μήδεια, Mēdeia, perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, appearing in Hesiod's Theogony around 700 BCE,[1] but best known from Euripides's tragedy Medea and Apollonius of Rhodes's epic Argonautica. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress and is often depicted as a priestess of the goddess Hecate.
Medea plays the archetypal role of helper-maiden, aiding Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece by using her magic to save his life out of love. Once he finished his quest, she abandons her native home of Colchis, and flees westwards with Jason, where they eventually settle in Corinth and get married. Euripides's 5th-century BCE tragedy Medea, depicts the ending of her union with Jason, when after ten years of marriage, Jason abandons her to wed King Creon's daughter Creusa. Medea and her sons by Jason are to be banished from Corinth. In revenge, she murders Creusa with poisoned gifts. Later, she murders her own sons by Jason before fleeing for Athens,[2] where she eventually marries king Aegeus.
In today's world of equality, this story feels very false. Johnson, in 1967 no less, told a much kinder, more believable (at least to me) tale. Medea, still daughter of Aeetes, priestess to Hecate, has handmaidens, who are her companions when she has time away from her religious duties. Daphne, a young, naïve peasant girl is sent to Medea because of her prophesies. They are simple prophesies, but rare nonetheless.
Medea's tale is told through Daphne's eyes. We learn that although Medea's priestess duties are often frightening and unpleasant, she must always smile while performing them. She trains herself to do this, so seems cold and unfeeling to the world around her when the exact opposite is true. Her smile almost always hides fear. She is not actually a witch, but very skilled at hypnotism and herbal remedies. She uses this to her advantage, adding much pageantry to the duties she performs thus instilling a sense of awe and fear in her audience. This is what leads to her eventual downfall and ruin.
When Jason and the Argonauts land on her father's shores she falls in love with the glorious Jason at first sight, helps him accomplish his impossible task with trickery, and defies her father to see him one last time as he is set to leave Colchis' shores. Jason kidnaps Medea and Daphne and carries them away to adventure and far off lands. That may sound exciting and romantic, but in reality it's terrifying and dangerous.
Once Jason has what he wants from Medea, including a kingdom he has no real interest in running, he abandons her for a new wife. He forces Medea to gift his new wife with a gown that is cursed, then promptly blames Medea for his new wife's death. Medea, in an attempt to keep her children and her own life, tricks everyone into believing she murdered her sons to punish Jason. Trick being the operative word in Johnson's version.
That's all story. The beauty in this book is the way that story is told. Young readers are given myths, lore, and legends, in an easily digested format through Daphne's eyes. The men in Greek and Roman mythology were the heroes, and nothing will change that, but I choose to believe the women were much put upon, badly treated, and heroes in their own right. Johnson shows us how the myths evolved to show something different, but the truth of the women can live alongside that myth if looked at in a different light.
I loved this book just as much as an adult and wish I could share it with any young person learning about Greek/Roman mythology just to show there are always two sides to any story.
July 13, 2022
I read this the first time as a child and it stuck with me. Now that I tracked it down again, I got something different out of it. I didn't know anything about Medea the first time I read it. I was experiencing everything as Daphne was for the first time.
Now, I'm struck by how feminist and ahead of its time this was, portraying Medea in a favourable light as a strong woman who was mistreated by her husband. I love the ending about how she turned the tables on him and made him suffer.
Now, I'm struck by how feminist and ahead of its time this was, portraying Medea in a favourable light as a strong woman who was mistreated by her husband. I love the ending about how she turned the tables on him and made him suffer.
May 29, 2014
I loved this book. I really disliked reading until I was in hs and this is the book I picked for a book report I had to do. It was amazing.
December 23, 2024
I read this book when I was 8 and found it in the school library. It presents in general some mostly reasonable suggestions for how events may actually have taken place. I'm a classical archaeologist who decided to be an archaeologist a little before reading this book at the age also of 8 (so it wasn't due to the book that I chose my future career since I'd already decided on it), but it is because of this book that I chose to excavate at Surium, the possible capital of ancient Colchis in the western Republic of Georgia on the Black Sea, amazing everyone when I arrived since outside the general region, most people apart from archaeologists are unfamiliar with that historical nation. It was amazing to stand in the Temple of Hecate, and it was also interesting to speak with the professors supervising the site, some of whom believed the legends have basis in fact, as do I.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews