The Folio Society Launches The Song of Achilles

The Folio Society’s latest launch - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - features illustrations from award-winning artist Julie Dillon, plus an introduction from classicist Emily Wilson.

A retelling of The Iliad, Madeline Miller’s 2011 debut novel explores the story of the Trojan War as seen through the eyes of Patroclus, closest friend to the hero, Achilles. 

Julie Dillon’s illustrations appear on the binding and slipcase, and are woven throughout the novel, with five full-page images and a double-page spread. Dillon is an illustrator from the Pacific Northwest whose clients include major book publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Tor, Penguin and HarperCollins. Since graduating in fine arts from Sacramento State University in 2005 her work has won numerous awards, including a Hugo for best professional artist, as well as Locus and British Fantasy awards for best artist. 

This new edition also features an introduction by classicist Emily Wilson, now a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of books on Socrates, Seneca and ‘tragic overliving’, but is best known as a translator of Greek and Roman tragedy and the Homeric poems. Her version of the Odyssey was a New York Times notable book and shortlisted for the National Translation Award.