What was the title of C.S. Lewis’s 1956 myth-based novel about Orual and Psyche?

C.S. Lewis’s 1956 myth-based novel about Orual and Psyche was titled Till We Have Faces.

The novel retells the ancient myth of Cupid and Psyche from the viewpoint of Orual, Psyche’s older half-sister. Orual becomes queen of the fictional kingdom of Glome and narrates her life, her love for Psyche, and her grievances against the gods. This change of viewpoint allows Lewis to explore jealousy, possessive love, faith, and the difficulty of judging divine action.

Till We Have Faces was Lewis’s last completed novel. He dedicated it to Joy Davidman, whom he married in a civil ceremony in 1956. The book initially received less popular attention than the Narnia stories, but it has become one of Lewis’s most highly regarded works of fiction.

Its title comes from the novel’s treatment of self-knowledge and honest confession. The phrase suggests that people must confront their real selves before they can properly accuse the gods or understand their own motives.