Discover the Best Books Written by Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller is an American novelist and author of The Song of Achilles (2011) and Circe (2018). Miller spent ten years writing The Song of Achilles while working as a Latin and Greek teacher. The novel tells the story of the love between the mythological figures Achilles and Patroclus; it won the Orange Prize for Fiction, making Miller the fourth debut novelist to win the prize. In addition, she is a 2019 recipient of the Alex Awards.

Miller was born on July 24, 1978, in Boston and grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. After graduating from Brown University with a bachelor's and master's in Classics, Miller went on to teach high school students Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare. She also studied for a year at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought, working towards a Ph.D., and from 2009 to 2010, at the Yale School of Drama for an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. As of May 2012, Miller lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts teaching and writing.

Miller told a reporter from The Guardian that her inspirations include David Mitchell, Lorrie Moore, Anne Carson, and Virgil. Miller expressed "hate" and "visceral disgust" towards Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead. As she indicated, she hates the "ideas behind it." Instead, she prefers books by James Herriot and Chinua Achebe.

The Song of Achilles, Miller's debut novel, was released in September 2011. The book took her ten years to write. Set in Greece, the novel tells the story from Patroclus' point of view and the bond that grew between him and Achilles. The book won the 17th annual Orange Prize for Fiction.

Circe, Miller's second novel, was released on April 10, 2018. The book is a modern reimagining told from the perspective of Circe, an enchantress in Greek mythology who is featured in Homer's Odyssey. Circe was ranked the second-greatest book of the 2010s by Paste. In addition, tutor House ranked Circe in its top books for Classics students in 2021. An 8-part miniseries adaptation of the book has been greenlit for HBO Max. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are set to write and produce the adaptation.