News, Reviews and Recommendations from the Ancient World

It seems a long time since Madeline Miller won the Women's Prize for fiction (it was the Orange Prize then) in 2012 for The Song of Achilles but the wait for a second novel from this talented writer is almost over. It is a retelling of the story of Circe; the first Witch in Western literature and a fascinating character to me and I'm sure many others. Circe is released next April. Here is a short video of Madeline Miller introducing the book.

https://twitter.com/BloomsburyBooks/status/912255514737823744

If you have yet to discover Miller's writing and want to know more about her first book here is an interview she did back in 2012 about writing The Song of Achilles. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/01/madeline-miller-song-of-achilles

and here is a link to the author's own website
http://www.madelinemiller.com/the-song-of-achilles/

If you are interested in Classical Literature then you need to follow Jean's Bookish Thoughts on YouTube. She recommends all sorts of books but as a Classics scholar she has a fascination with books that feature the ancient world and in a sea of samey booktubers all reviewing the exact same thrillers with irritating mid Atlantic accents her book choices and Scottish accent are a delight. Check out Jean's updates at the link HERE

If you are London based or London bound then you should definitely try to check out the newly reconstructed Temple of Mithras which is now open to the public all the details are in this article
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/nov/08/reconstructed-roman-temple-mithras-opens-public-bloomberg-hq

The first ever translation of the Odyssey by a woman is now available and you can read an extensive interview with the author in the New York Times HERE

If you aren't already subscribed to Dan Snow's History Hit then you are missing a treat. Dan interviews historians and authors of historical fiction and the podcasts are a fascinating companion while walking or working. Here's a link to a recent interview with classicist Mary Beard about her newest book Women and Power. http://www.historyhitpodcast.com/mary-beard/

I also listened to a fascinating interview earlier today with Catherine Nixey author of The Darkening Age but I cannot find the link for the life of me. However it was a History Hit podcast so it should be available there. Instead I will link you to an article in which Catherine passionately defends the study of Classics at University. I am sure her views will provoke some debate. HERE