Madeline Miller\, bestselling author of&nb sp\;The Song of Achilles \;and \;Circe\, chats a bout her body of work and her process in retelling Greek classics into mod ern epics in fiction. \;
\nIn \;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 toget her by chance\, they forge an inseparable bond\, despite risking the gods' wrath. \;When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped\, al l the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. S educed by the promise of a glorious destiny\, 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.
\nIn \;Circe\, to Helios\ , god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans\, a daughter is born. But Cir ce is a strange child--neither powerful like her father nor viciously allu ring 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 all of mythology\, including the Minotaur\, Daedalus an d his doomed son Icarus\, the murderous Medea\, and\, of course\, wily Ody sseus. But there is danger\, too\, for a woman who stands alone\, and Circ e unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods\, ultimately finding he rself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympi ans. To protect what she loves most\, Circe must summon all her strength a nd choose\, once and for all\, whether she belongs with the gods she is bo rn from or with the mortals she has come to love.
\nMadeline Miller' s \;books have been translated into over thirty-two 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 o f classical texts to modern forms\; and taught Latin\, Greek\, and Shakesp eare to high school students for over a decade.
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