“I thought: I cannot bear this world a moment longer. Then, child, make another.”
Madeline Miller’s Circe weaves a captivating retelling of Greek mythology, casting a spell on readers with its enchanting narrative. Renowned for her appearance in Homer’s Odyssey, Circe, the powerful witch who transformed Odysseus’s men into pigs, takes centre stage in Miller’s 2018 bestseller. The novel unfolds Circe’s journey from her birth under the sun god Helios to her exile on the mystical island of Aiaia, where she refines her magical prowess and encounters legendary figures like Daedalus, the Minotaur, Hermes, and the cunning Odysseus. Celebrated for its fresh perspective, poetic prose, and the empowerment of a feminine character in a traditionally male-centric tale, Circe was lauded as ‘highly psychologised, redemptive and ultimately exculpatory’ by the New York Times.
Join us at What We Reading as we present the best books like Circe. These literary gems share historical-inspired backdrops and delve into themes of power, love, identity, and the quest for meaning, making them the perfect companions for those who loved Miller’s spellbinding tale!
Who Wrote Circe?
Having been born in Boston and grown up in New York and Philadelphia, author Madeline Miller earned her BA and MA in Classics at Brown University. She has taught tutoring Latin, Greek and Shakespeare, and studied at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought as well as at the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama where she focused on the adaptions of classics into modern forms. Circe was published in 2018 and would win Best Fantasy in the Goodreads Choice Awards, the Red Tentacle Kitschie Award and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
The Song Of Achilles – Madeline Miller
If you loved Circe, why not revisit Madeline Miller’s debut work, The Song of Achilles? Like Circe, it is a book set in the heart of Greek mythology, unfolding the legendary tale of Achilles, Patroclus, and the backdrop of the Trojan War.
The son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the mighty king Peleus, Achilles is swift, strong and beautiful. Patroclus, on the other hand, is a socially awkward exiled prince after a terrible act of violence. By chance, the pair are brought together, forging an inseparable bond. They train in war and medicine under the centaur Chiron but are aware that their relationship risks the wrath of the gods. However, when news arrives that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped and all the Greek heroes are summoned to lay siege to Troy, Achilles joins the cause. Patroclus follows, but little do these two know how cruel fates will soon test them both, demanding one terrible sacrifice.
The Penelopiad – Margaret Atwood
For another book like Circe that retells the story of Odysseus from a feminist perspective, Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad remains a must-read. The book is an enchanting contemporary twist on the ancient story of Penelope – wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy.
Rather than the submissive, faithful wife she is depicted as in the ancient story, this dazzling retelling gives Penelope a new life and reality. What was Penelope really up to that led to twelve of her maids being killed upon Odysseus’ return from Troy? As wise and compassionate as it is haunting and disturbing, Atwood lifts the lid on the lives and times of Penelope, setting out to provide an answer to this much-discussed ancient mystery.
Antigoddess (Goddess War #1) – Kendare Blake
Kendare Blake asks what happens when supposedly immortal gods meet their ends in her Goddess War series. Athena and Hermes are cursed with a disease. Feathers sprout beneath her skin and a fever eats away at his flesh, both promising a slow and agonising death. They set out to trek the world in search of a cure, curating allies and discovering new enemies along the way.
Their search leads them to Cassandra, a once extraordinary prophetess protected by the love of a powerful god, but who no longer knows they exist. Yet, she is about to become the key player in the goddess war that is about to get underway. Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with one of the ancient Olympians and begun picking off her rivals one at a time to prolong their own lives. But these immortal gods don’t just die out. Some choke on feathers, others become hideous corrupted monsters. All of them rage on until their final breath. This thrillingly told opening book in a classic retelling trilogy is one of the best books similar to Circe who loved Miller’s feminist-led perspective.
Check Out The Best Ancient Greek Historical Fiction Books
Atalanta – Jennifer Saint
Like Circe, Jennifer Saint paints a dazzling portrait of a woman who cannot be contained in Atalanta. This 2023 Goodreads Choice Award-nominated book offers a reimaging of the classic myth of Atalanta, the only woman in the famous band of heroes, the Argonauts.
When Princess Atalanta is born, a daughter rather than the son they were hoping for, she is left on a mountainside to die. Instead, she is raised by a mother bear under the watchful eye of the goddess Artemis. Wild and free in her beautiful forest home, she is given just one warning by Artemis: do not get married. When the goddess presents her with the opportunity to join the Argonauts and fight in her name on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece, Atalanta accepts and proves herself more than capable alongside the men around her. But, as she finds herself caught up in a passionate affair against Artemis’ warnings, she soon starts to ponder what the goddess’ true intentions may be. Full of adventure, Saint’s book exhilarating read firmly plants Atalanta in the pantheon of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology.
Check Out The Best Historical Fiction Books From 2023
The Silence Of The Girls (Women of Troy #1) – Pat Barker
Pat Barker whisks readers into the heart of the Greek camp during the Trojan War and sheds light on the thousands of women caught in the crossfires of the conflict. Briseis was once a queen of a city like Troy, until the hero Achilles sacked it, killed her family and took her for his concubine. Now, a decade into the siege of Troy, the Greek leader, Agamemnon, has demanded her for himself.
Unflinching in the face of the horrors of war and keenly observant, Briseis watches on as Achilles and Agamemnon lock horns in a standoff that will not only determine the Trojan War’s outcome but also decide the fate of Briseis’ people and the entire ancient world. One of the best books like Circe for giving voice to the women of these classic mythological tales, The Silence of the Girls offers a nuanced portrait of the characters and stories readers have become so familiar with, as well as supplying several new and shocking revelations.
Lavinia – Ursula K. Le Guin
For another book like Circe that reimagines a silenced heroine, look no further than Ursula K. Le Guin’s Lavinia. In The Aeneid, Virgil’s hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is set to found an empire. Throughout the entire epic, Lavinia never utters a single word. Now, Le Guin takes readers to the muddy hills of Italy when Rome was a mere smattering of huts to give voice to her in this beautifully told story of passion and war.
Growing up, Lavinia has known nothing but peace and freedom. That all changes when her potential suitors arrive. Her mother wants her to wed the handsome and ambitious handsome, ambitious Turnus. But the prophecies spoken by the sacred springs tell her she must marry a foreigner, that he will not live long and that she will start a bloody war. It is only when a fleet of Trojan ships sail up the Tiber River that Lavinia decides to take her fate into her own hands, retelling the story of her life and her true love.
Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie
Another book like Circe that was nominated for Best Fantasy in the Goodreads Choice Awards on the back of its mythological retellings comes from Kamila Shamsie in Home Fire. In it, Shamsie reimagines the myth of Antigone, spinning it within a modern setting.
After years of watching out for her younger siblings, Isma is free. She accepts a position under an American mentor that finally allows her to pursue a dream she has long deferred. And yet, she cannot stop worrying about her headstrong, beautiful sister Aneeka back in London, or her brother, Parvaiz, who has disappeared pursuing a dream of his own half a world away. And then Eamonn enters the sisters’ lives. Son of a powerful political figure with a birthright of his own, does he stand as a chance for love? A possible salvation for Parvaiz? Two families’ fates become intertwined in Shamsie’s thrilling literary novel that asks how many sacrifices are readers willing to make for the ones they love.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
