Which 1956 novel by C.S. Lewis retells the Cupid and Psyche myth through the princess Orual?

C.S. Lewis’s 1956 novel retelling the Cupid and Psyche myth is Till We Have Faces.

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold was Lewis’s final completed novel. It is narrated by Orual, a princess and later queen of the fictional kingdom of Glome. The story reworks the ancient myth of Cupid and Psyche, but presents events through Orual’s emotionally complex and often accusatory perspective.

The novel explores love, jealousy, religious doubt, identity, and the difficulty of seeing oneself honestly. Its title comes from the idea that people cannot truly confront one another—or the divine—until they possess faces, meaning an authentic and accountable self.

Lewis co-wrote the book’s early conception with his friend Charles Williams in the 1940s, although Williams died before the novel was completed. Unlike the Narnia books, the novel is aimed primarily at adult readers and uses a darker, psychologically demanding style.