Which C.S. Lewis book is a fictional autobiography about a scholar named Orual?

Till We Have Faces is C.S. Lewis’s fictional autobiography about the scholar and queen Orual.

Published in 1956, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold reworks the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche. Lewis presents the story through Orual, ruler of the fictional kingdom of Glome, who reflects on love, jealousy, justice, and the nature of the gods.

The novel’s first part takes the form of Orual’s accusation against the gods. In the second part, her understanding changes as she confronts the limits of her own perspective. This structure makes the book more psychologically complex than a simple retelling of the classical myth.

The title refers to the idea that a person must come before the divine with a true, recognizable self rather than a hidden or distorted identity. Lewis considered it one of his best works. It is separate from The Chronicles of Narnia and from his explicitly apologetic books.