We all know the story told in The Odyssey – if not from Homer, then likely from James Joyce, Stanley Kubrick, or the 2004 classic ‘The Spongebob Squarepants Movie’. Aeaea, the island home to the witch-goddess Circe, is just one of the stops that Odysseus makes on his long journey. But what happened to Circe before Odysseus stayed with her, and what was her life like after he left? Circe, daughter of Helios, is forced into exile after she is exposed as a witch, forced to live out her days on an abandoned island that she makes her home. Understanding the threat she faces on the island alone, even as a goddess, she uses her magic to turn the men that darken her door into literal swine. The novel is at once imaginative and provably well-researched, bringing a modern eye to these ancient tales without compromising the magic and mythology the original stories provide. MG

Published by Bloomsbury