Which C.S. Lewis novel retells the story of Cupid and Psyche?

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

Published in 1956, the novel is narrated mainly by Orual, a princess in the fictional ancient kingdom of Glome. The story reworks the classical myth found in Apuleius’s The Golden Ass, but Lewis gives the older sister a much larger role and explores jealousy, grief, religious doubt, and the difficulty of seeing oneself honestly.

The title refers to the demand for an honest, unveiled self: the narrator must eventually confront the face behind her accusations and self-justifications. Lewis considered the book one of his best works, though it has remained less widely read than The Chronicles of Narnia and his apologetic writing.

The novel is not a straightforward retelling. Its setting, voice, psychological emphasis, and treatment of the myth distinguish it from Apuleius’s original account of Cupid and Psyche.