If you enjoyed Circe, Madeline Miller's first novel The Song of Achilles shares many qualities. In this retelling, the Trojan War and its famous hero Achilles appear through the eyes of Patroclus, Achilles' beloved companion.
Miller offers a sensitive portrayal of their relationship, turning heroic myth into a moving human story. As with Circe, her elegant prose captures ancient Greece vividly, demonstrating how love, ambition, and destiny shape characters largely overshadowed in traditional tales.
This novel brings warmth and depth to familiar myth, inviting readers directly into legendary hearts and lives.
Ariadne revisits the legend of Theseus, Minotaur, and labyrinth from the perspective of Ariadne and her sister Phaedra. Jennifer Saint portrays the sisters as vibrant, conflicted women entangled in the cruel power struggles between gods and heroes.
Ariadne emerges as far more than an aide to Theseus, as the novel explores her desires, fears, and ultimate fate.
Readers who appreciated Circe's feminist lens will find a similarly thoughtful grasp of myth here, particularly how these female characters navigate authority, betrayal, and their search for independence.
In Elektra, Jennifer Saint brings new life to the complex characters of Elektra, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra, all influenced deeply by the horrific events surrounding the Trojan War.
Each woman's voice reveals the personal costs and motivations behind actions depicted negatively or superficially in traditional myths.
Like Circe, this novel explores themes of power and vengeance, highlighting how lonely immortals and tragic heroes affect the fates of mortal women. Saint provides a thoughtful retelling focusing on the overlooked emotional realities that myth and legend often gloss over.
The Penelopiad retells elements of The Odyssey from Penelope's insightful perspective, with her recounting events from her place in the Underworld.
Margaret Atwood cleverly incorporates the perspectives of Penelope's murdered maids as a Greek-style chorus, enhancing the novel's depth.
If the sympathetic framing of a traditionally sidelined woman in Circe resonated with you, Penelope's ironic and poignant voice here offers a similarly compelling viewpoint.
Atwood succeeds in giving voice and complexity to female characters often portrayed as simply patient or tragic.
In Virgil's Aeneid, Lavinia is barely a footnote—a silent prize for the Trojan hero. Ursula K. Le Guin transforms Lavinia into a reflective, authoritative narrator of her own destiny.
As with Circe, themes of power and agency shape this novel, alongside loneliness and prophecy. Lavinia's thoughtful perspective enriches the Aeneid's familiar events, breathing new life into the classic epic.
Le Guin’s superb prose offers lyrical meditation on fate, desire, and what it truly means for women to be respected, or silenced, by history and myth.
C.S. Lewis presents Cupid and Psyche's myth told through the eyes of Psyche's older sister Orual. Written as Orual's brutally honest narrative and complaint against the gods, the book examines mortality and divine purpose deeply.
Readers drawn to Circe's exploration of loneliness, immortality, and misunderstood women will discover similar themes here, combined with intense reflection and philosophical depth.
Lewis masterfully questions what makes gods truly godlike and mortals fully human, using poetic intensity to explore love, jealousy, and hidden truths.
Pat Barker brings the brutal realities that Trojan women endured vividly to the forefront in The Silence of the Girls. Narrated primarily by Briseis, Achilles' war prize, the novel reveals the war's hidden victims and their quiet resistance.
Sharing Circe's approach, Barker doesn't shy away from confronting the glorified heroes who committed atrocities. The story stays grounded in stark humanity and resilience, giving profound weight to women's previously marginalized voices in this legendary conflict.
A Thousand Ships presents a sweeping narrative examining the Trojan War events through a diverse cast of female characters. From goddesses maneuvering against mortals to enslaved captives struggling for survival, Natalie Haynes gives voice and humanity to these women.
Like Circe, it challenges familiar narratives dominated by male deeds and questionable glory. Haynes's storytelling enriches understanding of mythology's untold human tragedy, vividly capturing women's endurance and courage amid divine whims.
Moving into Norse mythology, The Witch's Heart spotlights Angrboda, mother of monstrous children with Loki. Largely ignored or villainized by myth, Angrboda emerges here with vivid strength and emotional clarity.
The novel confronts immortality, loneliness, and prophetic magic through an extraordinary female lens.
Readers drawn to Circe's magical abilities, resilience, and complex relationships with gods will appreciate how skillfully Angrboda's story is crafted, revealing profound depth and humanizing warmth within harsh legendary landscapes.
Uprooted offers an enchanting tale inspired by Polish folklore and fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast. It weaves a captivating story of a brave heroine confronting dark magic, danger, and personal growth.
As in Circe, this novel centers on a woman's coming into herself through magic and determination, presenting sorcery as a powerful force shaping her life and relationships.
Naomi Novik creates a vivid magical setting with fresh twists, great emotional resonance, and surprising humanity beneath fairy-tale conventions.
Inspired by Rumpelstiltskin, Spinning Silver unfolds through multiple perspectives, weaving an elegant narrative of courage, wisdom, and transformation. Several strong-willed women dominate this tale, intricately connected yet remarkably distinct.
The novel expertly focuses on resilience and female strength, resonating profoundly with readers who valued Circe's empowerment journey.
Novik's fluid prose invites you into a world hauntingly magical yet genuinely human, exploring choices made under the threat of otherworldly powers.
In Kaikeyi, readers revisit India's epic Ramayana through the queen traditionally painted as a villain responsible for hero Rama's exile.
Patel retells Kaikeyi's narrative in an empathetic, nuanced manner, exploring her humanity, vulnerabilities, and struggles with familial power structures. As with Circe, Kaikeyi comes alive through insightful portrayals of a woman falsely demonized.
The novel navigates intricate relationships, deep spirituality, and the profound loneliness stemming from wielding power within a patriarchal tradition.
Natalie Haynes reimagines Stone Blind—Medusa—often villainized throughout Greek mythology—in Stone Blind. Through compassionate storytelling, it examines Medusa's tragic transformation from a mortal woman into a monster cursed by the capricious Olympians.
Haynes exposes hidden cruelties in heroic legends, humanizing gods and heroes alike.
Those captivated by Circe's depiction of misunderstood mythological figures will again find empathy, depth, and intricate explorations of victimization, powerlessness, and defiance against cruel fate here.
Focusing on the fierce Spartan queen, this novel explores Clytemnestra—famous for murdering her husband Agamemnon upon his return from Troy—in compelling detail.
Casati vividly depicts her growth from innocent princess to hardened queen, confronting complex choices shaped by violence, betrayal, and revenge.
As with Circe, themes of power, justice, and vilified women dominate the narrative, reclaiming a misunderstood woman's truth and giving fresh emotional power to familiar myth.
Although historical fiction rather than mythical retelling, The Wolf Den offers similar appeal, highlighting women forced to navigate wartime Pompeii’s brutal brothels. Harper focuses intensely on survival, agency, and the bonds women form under cruelty.
If Circe’s themes of female solidarity, personal agency, and overcoming loneliness spoke powerfully to you, you'll find these echoed in Harper’s sensitive yet unflinching narrative, deeply immersing readers in these resilient women's determination and struggles.