The Song of Achilles
core novel 2011 The Song of Achilles and Circe
Record
| First published | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.30 (2,179,380 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 352 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780062060624 |
Synopsis
Narrated by Patroclus, the novel follows his growing bond with Achilles, the demigod son of King Peleus, from their first meeting as boys in exile at the court of Phthia through the years of training, friendship, and love that follow under the guidance of the centaur Chiron. When Agamemnon calls the kings of Greece to campaign against Troy after the Trojan prince Paris's abduction of the beautiful Helen, both young men are ultimately drawn into the conflict, even as Achilles quietly tries to evade a prophecy foretelling that glory at Troy will come at the cost of his life, with Patroclus determined to remain at his side whatever that fate ultimately demands of them both.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Song of Achilles and Circe
- Series: The Song of Achilles and Circe core; position 1 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Madeline Miller
Awards (verified)
- Women's Prize for Fiction, 2012: won; Confirmed directly via the award's own official site; announced under the prize's then-name, the Orange Prize for Fiction (renamed Women's Prize for Fiction in 2013 after a change of sponsor).
Notes
- From the series record (The Song of Achilles and Circe): Two independent standalone novels retelling Greek mythology, registered as ONE universe under this canon's 'one continuous world/continuity, not one continuous plot' bright line: Circe's own narrative directly overlaps and re-narrates scenes involving Achilles and Patroclus from The Song of Achilles, a genuine textual crossover, not merely a same-author/same-genre coincidence. internal chronology is deliberately left null for both books, matching the treatment of other overlapping chronologies -- Circe's own story begins well before Achilles' birth and continues long after the Trojan War, so the two books' timelines substantially overlap rather than sitting in a clean sequence; publication order is the sourced default. Registered 'sequence' rather than 'duology' since Miller has not stated the pair is permanently closed at 2 books.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Song of Achilles and Circe: position 1 of 2: next Circe (2018)
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Song of Achilles
- Wikipedia: Circe (novel)
- Women's Prize for Fiction: Madeline Miller Wins 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction
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