Which C.S. Lewis novel follows the adult life of Orual, queen of Glome?

Till We Have Faces follows the adult life of Orual, queen of Glome.

Published in 1956, Till We Have Faces was C.S. Lewis’s last work of fiction. It retells the ancient myth of Cupid and Psyche from the viewpoint of Psyche’s older sister, here called Orual. The setting is the fictional kingdom of Glome, and the narrative is presented as Orual’s accusation against the gods.

The novel explores jealousy, love, self-knowledge, religious belief, and the difficulty of seeing other people clearly. Orual becomes queen after the death of her father and reflects on how her fears and possessiveness shaped her relationships, especially with Psyche.

The title comes from the idea that human beings often hide behind roles, complaints, and self-protective identities. Lewis considered the book one of his strongest fictional achievements, although it was less immediately popular than the Narnia stories.

Readers sometimes mistake it for a direct retelling of the classical myth. It is better understood as a psychologically developed literary transformation of that myth.