Circe

By Madeline Miller Bloomsbury, 352pp, £16.99

Madeline Miller is a Latin and Greek teacher who excels at reworking myths and legends for a modern audience. She won the Orange Prize for fiction in 2012 for her bestselling The Song Of Achilles ,and in Circe she tackles the story of the daughter of the Sun god Helios and the nymph Perse. Through her lonely childhood in her father’s palace, where she is overshadowed by her more successful siblings, to her eternity of exile on a remote island, to which she is banished for using magic and mixing with mortals, the character of Circe is brought fully to life. On the island she grows stronger, develops her gift for sorcery and her fascination with mortals continues. Miller conjures up a cast of strong, relatable characters, from cold-hearted gods and flawed heroes to deadly monsters – and best of all – a strong female protagonist. Fabulously readable. ■