Madeline Miller (born July 24, 1978) is an American novelist, author ofThe Song of Achilles (2011) andCirce (2018). Miller spent ten years writingThe Song of Achilles while she worked as a teacher of Latin and Greek. The novel tells the story of the love between the mythological figuresAchilles and Patroclus; it won theOrange Prize for Fiction, making Miller the fourth debut novelist to win the prize. She is a 2019 recipient of theAlex Awards.
Miller was born on July 24, 1978, inBoston and grew up inNew York City andPhiladelphia.[2][3] Miller attendedBrown University, completing both a bachelor's and master's degree inclassics (2000 and 2001, respectively). She started writing her first novel,The Song of Achilles, during the final year of her bachelor's after codirecting a production ofTroilus and Cressida. She has said that the scene in the play that showsPatroclus' death sparked her interest in telling his story and pushed her to start writing.[4] Prior to this moment, she already had a deep interest in Greek mythology and classics. Her mother, a librarian, started reading herThe Iliad at five years old and she started learning Latin at 11.[4]
As a little girl she had a keen fascination for Greek mythology. Growing up on the Upper East Side, she spent a lot of her time at theMetropolitan Museum of Art.[5] One of her favorite warriors at the Met is a marble statue of a wounded Amazon warrior which has blood drops on the side of her breast.[5]
After completing her degrees, Miller then went on to teach Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students.[2][3][6] While working as a teacher, Miller continued work on her novel.[4]
She has discussed howlong COVID has affected her life since a February 2020COVID-19 infection. In an op-ed inThe Washington Post in August 2023, she said that having had the disease for three years, she had regained the ability to write but her fatigue had worsened.[8]
Circe, Miller's second novel, was released on April 10, 2018.[10] The book is a modern reimagining told from the perspective ofCirce, an enchantress inGreek mythology who is featured in Homer'sOdyssey.Circe was ranked the second-greatest book of the 2010s byPaste.[11]Tutor House rankedCirce in its top books for Classics students in 2021.[12] An 8-part miniseries adaptation of the book has been green-lit forHBO Max.[13]Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are set to write and produce the adaptation.[14]
Miller was motivated to writeCirce in part out of disappointment in the character's role in theOdyssey. She explained in an interview, “Odysseus has told his story for the last 3,000 years ... It was time for Circe to speak for herself.”[15]Circe focuses on the titular character, with Odysseus only playing a minor role.[16] Miller inCirce channels many feminist themes: rejection of patriarchal norms, empowerment, and self-reliance. Miller said thatCirce is "a story about a woman coming into her power and into her voice in a world hostile to women in power and the female voice".[15]
The novel won the following awards and honors:[17]
A short story originally released as ane-book in 2013.[18] It was later released in hardback in March 2022.[19] The novel is a retelling of the Greek mythPygmalion from the perspective of the sculptor's statue.[18]
A short story contained withinThe Song of Achilles and published in a Waterstones Special edition ofThe Song of Achilles[20] on August 7, 2012,Heracles' Bow takes from the perspective ofPhiloctetes, how he suffered his snake bite, and his abandonment by his companions. Much of the story takes place as a dialogue between Philoctetes and an imaginary Heracles, though other characters fromThe Song of Achilles also appear in it.
Miller is known for writing mythological realism.[22] Miller's novels re-imagine stories fromGreek mythology, while focusing on themes that she considers timeless, like dysfunctional families and homesickness.[23][24] She has said that she finds relevance to retellingThe Odyssey because it related to "universal human experiences."[24] In an interview, Miller said that she sees genre as "permeable and changeable"[25] but said that her books could be characterized as "either literary adaptation or mythological realism. Or just plain old fiction!".[25] Miller has said though that her approach to the original material was quite different for her two novels. InThe Song of Achilles, she took an existing story "hidden in the material already", and forCirce, she challenged the classic texts by taking out Odysseus's voice and replacing it with Circe's,[26] a more "subversive retelling".[27]
Homer has always been a guide for Miller. In reading theIliad she wondered constantly about who the man in the shadows was. She noted in an interview withWomen's Prize titled, "Archives: Q&A with Madeline Miller" that she took great inspiration to writeThe Song of Achilles after finishing directing her production of Troilus and Cressida.[28] Her main concern forThe Song of Achilles was Patroclus. The character of Patroclus came from Homer, but she used Homer as a guide to elaborate more on Patroclus and Achilles' characters.[28] Patroclus' character was created by hints given from Homer: his gentleness and kindness.
Song plays a big role inThe Song of Achilles. In the interview withWomen's Prize, Miller notes how her knowledge of Achilles being a talented singer is what let her to include songs being significant in the novels.[28] In addition to this, she goes on to note how the word Illiad literally means "The Song of Troy," hence giving her the idea for the book's title. Just how she grew up honoring the deities, warriors, and heroes of Ancient Greek mythology, she felt that she needed to honor the name Illiad in her novel.[28]
