Megan Barnard writes upmarket historical fiction. She has worked as a literary agent, editor, and copywriter, but writing fiction is where her heart truly lies. When she’s not writing she drinks coffee and travels widely. Her favorite places to read across the globe are Île Saint-Louis in Paris, Pacific Grove, CA, and Portmagee, Ireland.
Barnard's latest novel is Jezebel.
At Electric Lit the author tagged eleven brilliant books about "misunderstood women in our most famous histories and mythologies." One title on the list:
Circe by Madeline MillerRead about the other entries on the list.
Madeline Miller gives Circe a ringing and powerful voice, in her retelling of this ancient goddess. Instead of a maniacal villain who turns men into pigs for nothingmore than pleasure, in Miller’s story, Circe is a goddess with little power, banished to the island of Aeaea for daring to speak against her father, the sun god Helios. Circe learns pharmaka, a magic that gives her power equal to the other gods. This power, of course, draws the ire of gods and mortals alike, and Circe stands against them all to fight for what she loves. A stunning story about the emptiness of godhood, about the joy and horror of being a mortal, Circe turns an ancient story on its head in a resounding way.
Circe is among Rita Chang-Eppig's ten top books with irresistible anti-heroines, Emilia Hart's five novels featuring witchcraft, Brittany Bunzey's top ten books centering women in mythology, Mark Skinner's twenty top books in witch lit, Hannah Kaner's five best novels featuring gods, the B&N Reads editors' twenty-four best mythological retellings, Ashleigh Bell Pedersen's eight novels of wonder and darkness by women writers, Kelly Barnhill's eight books about women's rage, Sascha Rothchild's most captivating literary antiheroes, Rachel Kapelke-Dale's eleven top unexpected thrillers about female rage, Kat Sarfas's thirteen enchanted reads for spooky season, Fire Lyte's nine current classics in magic and covens and spells, Elodie Harper's six top novels set in the ancient world, Kiran Millwood Hargrave's seven best books about islands, Zen Cho's six SFF titles about gods and pantheons, Jennifer Saint's ten top books inspired by Greek myth, Adrienne Westenfeld's fifteen feminist books that will inspire, enrage, & educate you, Ali Benjamin's top ten classic stories retold, Lucile Scott's eight books about hexing the patriarchy, E. Foley and B. Coates's top ten goddesses in fiction, Jordan Ifueko's five fantasy titles driven by traumatic family bonds, Eleanor Porter's top ten books about witch-hunts, Emily B. Martin's six stunning fantasies for nature lovers, Allison Pataki's top six books that feature strong female voices, Pam Grossman's thirteen stories about strong women with magical powers, Kris Waldherr's nine top books inspired by mythology, Katharine Duckett's eight novels that reexamine literature from the margins, and Steph Posts's thirteen top novels set in the world of myth.
--Marshal Zeringue
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