Circe

A FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION, FEATURING A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR

Woman. Witch. Myth. Mortal. Outcast. Lover. Destroyer. Survivor. CIRCE.

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child - not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods or mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When her gift threatens the gods, she is banished to the island of Aiaia where she hones her occult craft, casting spells, gathering strange herbs and taming wild beasts. Yet a woman who stands alone will never be left in peace for long - and among her island's guests is an unexpected visitor: the mortal Odysseus, for whom Circe will risk everything.

So Circe sets forth her tale, a vivid, mesmerizing epic of family rivalry, love and loss - the defiant, inextinguishable song of woman burning hot and bright through the darkness of a man's world.

Companion to the bestselling special hardback edition of The Song of Achilles

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

Review

A novel to be gobbled greedily in a single sitting ― Observer

Circe is poised to become the literary sensation of the summer, as much for the quality of its writing as its timeliness ― Sunday Times Magazine

Enough magic, enchantment, voyages and wonders to satisfy the most jaded sword-and-sorcery palate. Miller approaches Odysseus's story from Circe's point of view, richly evoking her protagonist's overlapping identities as goddess, witch, lover and mother -- Adam Roberts ― Guardian, Books of the Year

A triumph ― The Times, Books of the Year

Circe back as superwoman . Homer's witch get a kickass modern makeover. Miller's Me Too-era, kickass portrait of a woman trying to defy the men and Fates arrayed against her is enchanting. Blisteringly modern ― The Times

In a thrilling tour de force of imagination, Miller makes her otherworldly heroine a complex, sympathetic figure for whom we cheer throughout. Circe is a truly spellbinding novel, the mesmerising shimmer of ancient magic rising from it like a heat haze ― Mail on Sunday

A brilliantly strange work of mythic science fiction, as effortlessly expressive within the palaces of gods as it is about the world below . Superb . This is both a fabulous novel and a fascinating retelling; the best compliment, perhaps, that any myth could hope for ― Daily Telegraph

This year's novels were filled with the angry clamour of women's voices: ignored, idealistic or excitingly ambivalent. Madeline Miller reflected the mood for feminist revisionism with her lissom follow-up Circe, which casts the witch goddess in the Odyssey not as a bit player in a man's epic but as the star of her own show -- Claire Allfree ― Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year

It was a big year for creative retelling of myth and pre-modern literature; a favourite was Madeline Miller's Circe, a distinctive, lyrical novel about power, agency and reponsibility, from the point of view of this crafty, much-misunderstood goddess -- Emily Wilson ― Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year

The writing is lovely, the tone assured, and the touch just right -- Alexander McCall Smith ― Independent, Books of the Year

It is out of these insights that Miller achieves real narrative propulsion . Supple, pitched in a register that bridges man and myth ― Guardian

The first witch in Western literature sets Homer straight as she tells her life story, from her unhappy childhood to her lonely island exile. The woman who emerges is complex and sympathetic. A spellbinding tour de force of imagination ― Mail on Sunday, ‘Sizzling summer reads’

Miller has effected a transformation just as impressive as any of her heroine's own: she's turned an ancient tale of female subjugation into one of empowerment and courage full of contemporary resonances -- Lucy Scholes ― Independent

About the Author

Madeline Miller is the author of The Song of Achilles, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction 2012, was shortlisted for the Stonewall Writer of the Year 2012, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and was translated into twenty-five languages. Madeline holds an MA in Classics from Brown University, and she taught Latin, Greek and Shakespeare to high school students for over a decade. She has also studied at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought, and at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms. Her essays have appeared in publications including the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Lapham's Quarterly and NPR.org. She lives outside Philadelphia.