Alumna Madeline Miller was awarded the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction for her debut novel The Song of Achilles. At the awards ceremony May 30, 2012, Miller received £30,000 (about $46,000) and the “Bessie,” a limited-edition bronze figurine. The Song of Achilles retells the story of Patroclus and the legendary warrior Achilles from their first meeting as children to their deaths at the siege of Troy. Miller worked on the book for 10 years while teaching Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students. The Orange Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction written by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible. The Orange Prize is awarded to the best novel of the year written in English by a woman.