Join Miller for a virtual conversation about her work and the retelling of Greek classics
The Three Rivers Public Library is hosting a special online event featuring Madeline Miller, the bestselling author of two novels, The Song of Achilles and Circe.
Join the fascinating exploratory conversation with Miller on Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m., where she will talk about her body of work and her process in retelling Greek classics into modern epics in fiction.
You can register for the event, which is free and open to the public, here.
In The Song of Achilles, Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.
When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
In Circe, the daughter of Helios — the god of the sun — is born neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in mythology. Ultimately, Circe must choose whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love during her quest to discover her true self.
About the author
Miller has received numerous awards for her work, including the Orange Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2012 for The Song of Achilles, and Circe, which was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2019.
Her books have been translated into over 32 languages. Miller holds an MA in Classics from Brown University, studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms, and taught Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over a decade.
