Which C.S. Lewis novel follows Orual, queen of Glome, through her life story?

Till We Have Faces follows Orual, queen of Glome, through her life story.

Published in 1956, Till We Have Faces was Lewis’s final completed novel. It retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the perspective of Psyche’s older sister, here named Orual. Orual becomes queen of the fictional kingdom of Glome and presents her account as an accusation against the gods.

The novel is divided into two parts. The first is Orual’s extended confession and argument; the second revisits her understanding of earlier events. Lewis described the book as a retelling of a story he had long admired, but the result is more psychologically complex than a straightforward classical adaptation.

Readers sometimes confuse this novel with The Great Divorce or The Pilgrim’s Regress, which are also Lewis works but belong to different forms and settings. The title refers to the need for human beings to confront their true selves rather than hide behind masks or self-justifying stories.