Which C.S. Lewis novel retells the Cupid and Psyche myth from a human queen's perspective?

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Till We Have Faces retells the Cupid and Psyche myth from a human queen’s perspective.

Published in 1956, the novel is narrated by Orual, a woman who becomes queen of the fictional kingdom of Glome. The story reworks the ancient myth recorded by Apuleius, but Lewis gives the central voice to Psyche’s sister rather than to an outside narrator.

The novel explores jealousy, love, accusation, religious experience, and the difficulty of seeing oneself honestly. Its title comes from the idea that a person must become fully known before genuine relationship or judgment is possible.

Till We Have Faces is often described as Lewis’s last completed novel. It differs sharply in tone from the Narnia books: it is aimed at adults, uses a classical setting, and leaves many moral and psychological questions deliberately complex.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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