Madeline Miller was born in Boston and grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. She attended Brown University, where she earned her BA and MA in Classics. For the last ten years she has been teaching and tutoring Latin, Greek and Shakespeare to high school students. She also studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms. She currently lives in Cambridge, MA, where she teaches and writes.
We Must Not Think of Ourselves (2023) Lauren Grodstein "This book is a masterpiece: profound, gripping, urgent, and beautiful. In its clear-eyed and devastating portrait of the past, Grodstein invites us into the present; to bear witness to the lives that have come before us, while finding meaning and courage for our own."
The Hexologists (2023) (Hexologists, book 1) Josiah Bancroft "Bancroft is a wonder as ever! The Hexologists was a joyous delight on every page - buoyantly inventive, witty, poignant, gripping, and deeply satisfying."
The Ghost Ship (2023) (Joubert Family Chronicles, book 3) Kate Mosse "Mosse is a master storyteller."
American Mermaid (2023) Julia Langbein "Brilliantly sharp, funny, and thought-provoking, the gripping story of a woman trying to find her way in our chaotic world."
Medusa (2021) Jessie Burton "A riveting feminist retelling, filled with excitement, imagination, magic, and just the right touch of darkness."
The President and the Frog (2021) Carolina De Robertis "A joy to read. Playful and profound, unearthly yet deeply rooted, this sublime and gripping novel is above all about hope: that within the world's messy pain there is still room for transformation and healing."
Piranesi (2020) Susanna Clarke "Piranesi astonished me. It is a miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling, at once a gripping mystery, an adventure through a brilliant new fantasy world, and a deep meditation on the human condition: feeling lost, and being found. I already want to be back in its haunting and beautiful halls!"
With or Without You (2020) Caroline Leavitt "With or Without You is a moving novel about twists of fate, the shifting terrain of love, and coming into your own."
Writers & Lovers (2020) Lily King "Lily King is one of our great literary treasures and Writers & Lovers is suffused with her brilliance. It is captivating, potent, incisive, and wise, a moving story of grief, and recovering from grief, and of a young woman finding her courage for life."
The Mercies (2020) Kiran Millwood Hargrave "A gripping novel inspired by a real-life witch hunt. Hargrave’s prose is visceral and immersive; the muddy, cold life and politics of a fishing village leap to vivid life. But her most vital insights are about the human heart: how terrifyingly quickly prejudices can turn into murder, and how desperately we need love and courage to oppose it. Beautiful and chilling."
This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019) Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone "This book has it all: treachery and love, lyricism and gritty action, existential crisis and space-opera scope, not to mention time travelling superagents. Gladstone's and El-Mohtar's debut collaboration is a fireworks display from two very talented storytellers."
The Age of Light (2019) Whitney Scharer "Whitney Scharer’s storytelling is utterly immersive and gorgeous in its details . . . powerful, sensual and gripping."
Once Upon a River (2018) Diane Setterfield "Once Upon a River is one of the most pleasurable and satisfying new books I've read in a long time. Setterfield is a master storyteller, her language flowing with a dark magic very like the river at the heart of her tale: swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful. Give yourself a treat and read it!"
Marilla of Green Gables (2018) Sarah McCoy "Fans of the Anne of Green Gables series will rejoice at this warm and heartfelt addition to their world. McCoy's love for the characters is palpable, and with an insightful eye she illuminates the original Avonlea, while also offering glimpses into the turbulent history of the time."
The Verdun Affair (2018) Nick Dybek "A haunting, beautiful, and wholly absorbing book, that is at once a gripping story of war, a poignant coming of age, and a bittersweet romance. Dybek conjures the time period with elegance and visceral detail. I didn't want it to end!"
Folk (2018) Zoe Gilbert "Folk is absolutely stunning. I loved it. With gorgeous, incantatory prose, it submerges you in a mysterious and utterly compelling world. Its illumination lingers long after you close the book."
The Atomic City Girls (2018) Janet Beard "Both page-turning and illuminating, The Atomic City Girls brings to life an eerie piece of world history."
The Half-Drowned King (2017) (Golden Wolf Trilogy, book 1) Linnea Hartsuyker "Lovers of epic rejoice! Hartsuyker illuminates these old stories with authority and visceral detail, bringing to life the adventure, bleak beauty, and human struggle that lie at their heart. A vivid and gripping read."
(b.1978)
