Circe
The stunning new anniversary edition from the author of international bestseller The Song of Achilles
Published on 19. April 2018
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-4088-9008-0 (ISBN)
Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
SELECTED AS BOOK OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, I PAPER, IRISH TIMES, REFINERY29, SCOTSMAN, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, TIME MAGAZINE, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, AND WASHINGTON POST
From the Orange Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author of The Song of Achilles comes the powerful story of the mythological witch Circe, inspired by Homer's Odyssey
Chosen as must-read book of 2018 by the Guardian, i, Mail on Sunday, Sunday Express and Stylist
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.
When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.
There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
Breathing life into the ancient world, Madeline Miller weaves an intoxicating tale of gods and heroes, magic and monsters, survival and transformation.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
SELECTED AS BOOK OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, I PAPER, IRISH TIMES, REFINERY29, SCOTSMAN, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, TIME MAGAZINE, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, AND WASHINGTON POST
From the Orange Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author of The Song of Achilles comes the powerful story of the mythological witch Circe, inspired by Homer's Odyssey
Chosen as must-read book of 2018 by the Guardian, i, Mail on Sunday, Sunday Express and Stylist
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.
When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.
There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
Breathing life into the ancient world, Madeline Miller weaves an intoxicating tale of gods and heroes, magic and monsters, survival and transformation.
Reviews / Votes
Circe gives us a feminist slant on the Odyssey ... Miller makes these age-old texts thrum with contemporary relevance ... An airy delight, a novel to be gobbled greedily in a single sitting * Observer * 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 * 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 * A triumph * The Times, Books of the Year * 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 * 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 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
678 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-9008-0 (9781408890080)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Madeline Miller
Circe
The stunning new anniversary edition from the author of international bestseller The Song of Achilles
Book
09/2023
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€25.00
Available immediately
Additional editions
Madeline Miller
Circe
The Stunning New Anniversary Edition from the Author of International Bestseller the Song of Achilles
E-Book
04/2018
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€9.49
Available for download
Person
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.
madelinemiller.com
madelinemiller.com