She started writing her first novel, The Song of Achilles, during the final year of her bachelor's after codirecting a production of Troilus and Cressida.

She has said that the scene in the play that shows Patroclus' death sparked her interest in telling his story and pushed her to start writing.

Growing up on the Upper East Side, she spent a lot of her time at the Met fascinating over warriors, heroes and deities.

[4] She later studied for a year at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought working towards a PhD and from 2009 to 2010 at the Yale School of Drama for an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

[2][3] Set during the Greek Heroic Age, the novel tells the story from Patroclus' point of view and the bond that grew between him and Achilles.

[10] The book is a modern reimagining told from the perspective of Circe, an enchantress in Greek mythology who is featured in Homer's Odyssey.

[22] Miller's novels re-imagine stories from Greek mythology, while focusing on themes that she considers timeless, like dysfunctional families and homesickness.

"[24] In an interview, Miller said that she sees genre as "permeable and changeable"[25] but said that her books could be characterized as "either literary adaptation or mythological realism.

She noted in an interview with Women's Prize titled, "Archives: Q&A with Madeline Miller" that she took great inspiration to write The Song of Achilles after finishing directing her production of Troilus and Cressida.

In the interview with Women's Prize, Miller notes how her knowledge of Achilles being a talented singer is what let her to include songs being significant in the novels.

[28] In addition to this, she goes on to note how the word Illiad literally means "The Song of Troy," hence giving her the idea for the book's title.

[28] Miller told a reporter from The Guardian that her inspirations include David Mitchell, Lorrie Moore, Anne Carson, and Virgil.