diff --git a/python/fastexcel/__init__.py b/python/fastexcel/__init__.py
index fa42fb6..9f7c0ee 100644
--- a/python/fastexcel/__init__.py
+++ b/python/fastexcel/__init__.py
@@ -3,9 +3,13 @@
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from pathlib import Path
+
     import pandas as pd
     import polars as pl
 
+from os.path import expanduser
+
 import pyarrow as pa
 
 from ._fastexcel import __version__, _ExcelReader, _ExcelSheet
@@ -173,12 +177,12 @@ def __repr__(self) -> str:
         return self._reader.__repr__()
 
 
-def read_excel(path: str) -> ExcelReader:
+def read_excel(path: Path | str) -> ExcelReader:
     """Opens and loads an excel file.
 
     :param path: The path to the file
     """
-    return ExcelReader(_read_excel(path))
+    return ExcelReader(_read_excel(expanduser(path)))
 
 
 __all__ = ("ExcelReader", "ExcelSheet", "read_excel", "__version__")