Cwen

by Alice Albinia

On an unnamed archipelago off the east coast of Britain, the impossible has come to pass. Women control the civic institutions. Decide how the islands' money is spent. Run the businesses. Tend to their families. Teach the children hope for a better world. They say that this gynotopia is Eva Levi's life's work, and that now she has disappeared, it will be destroyed. But they don't know about Cwen.

Cwen has been here longer than the civilisation she has returned to haunt. The clouds are her children, and the waves. Her name has ancient roots, reaching down into the earth and halfway around the world. The islands she inhabits have always belonged to women. And she will do anything she can to protect them.

This remarkable novel is a portrait of female power and female potential, both to shelter and to harm. What are we? Islanders or mainlanders, migrants or landowners, men or women, past or future? Or a mixture of them all? And how do we make sense of these islands we call home?

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Magical Realism

352 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2021

About the author

Alice Albinia read English Literature at Cambridge University. After graduating, she moved to Delhi, where she worked for the next two a half years as a journalist and editor for the Centre for Science & Environment, Biblio: A Review of Books, Outlook Traveller, and several other Indian newspapers and magazines.

It was during this time, as she travelled around the country writing articles and features, that she had the idea to write a history of the River Indus.
In 2002, she moved back to London to take an MA in South Asian history at the School of Oriental and African Studies, where she researched the religious and political history of the Indus region.

Reviews

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Update: the non fiction book I refer to in my review just made the inaugural Women’s Prize for non fiction longlist

The judge stated:

The remit of this inquiry is fourfold: to determine whether, as has been claimed, Eva Harcourt-Vane was exploited by the politically-motivated women around her; to establish whether the charity she set up was properly constituted and governed; to determine whether crimes were committed; and to ascertain whether there were conflicts of interest between Eva's, and her colleagues', charitable, social, political and business roles in this island community.

At the beginning, Inga counted up the witnesses they could rely on: Alice, Zoe, Jen, Camille, Mariam, Lucija, Stella, Nina?, Tara, Ruth?, Inga herself. Twelve women, including Eva, some angrier than others. Plus grateful supporters, such as Sister Geraldine, Edna Reynolds and Lucette Smith.

In the middle were women like Felicity, from the museum, and Ursula, from the paper, who refused to come to Cwen or acknowledge any links with Eva’s operation.

On the anti-side were Colin Grieves and the men from the council, Eva’s sons, and various men in entrenched positions of island power

I read this book due to its shortlisting for the 2022 Orwell Prize for political fiction.

Much of the background to the book is explained eloquently by the author in this Guardian article (https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...) where she talks about both her researches, the planned 2023 non-fiction book resulting form them and her decision to also write this novel

My forthcoming history of the islands of Britain, The Britannias, demonstrates how the patriarchal mainstream has marginalised the ancient tradition of female rule in Britain. But I also wanted to unleash these islands of women into the 21st century in a novel. My novel, Cwen, is set in a fictional archipelago off the east coast of Britain [GY: close to the English/Scottish Border], where I imagine a female coup.

The key but absent character of the book is Eva Hartcourt-Vane, the widow of a Conservative minister who, as part of his family holdings, has a large property on one of the main Islands of the archipelago, she uses her fortune and her powerful charisma to both fund and inspire something of a matriarchy on the island:

Eva works closely with a local politician who ends up as council leader (Inga); bringing in a feminist museum curator (Jen); giving sanctuary to a Muslim woman (Mariam); working with a group of local nuns (including Lucija); forming a close bond with her granddaughter (Zoe). Zoe is the illegitimate daughter of her Liberal Democrat MP son Sebastian (who to his surprise has ended up as Environmental minster in the Coalition government and who is now married to a Senegalese lady (Camille) who is the only of Eva’s sons (or their wives) who seems to have sympathy for her cause) and a pretty ordinary local girl (Nina) with a left wing mother (Ruth). Zoe attends the local school (where boys are given lessons on the patriarchy and girls given access to feminist counsellors) and also falls under the influence of two radical older girls (Stella and Tara) who plan a series of environmental protests and stunts aimed at plans of Eva’s other sons to make a development on the deserted but historically sacred island of Cwen.

The book is set after Eva’s mysterious disappearance at sea when rowing to Cwen – after her death it both becomes clear that she has left her children’s inheritance to a Women’s charity and also perhaps the extent of the changes that she has carried out and funded over time on the Island – and a coalition of her disinherited children (who contest her will) and some aggrieved men (unhappy at being part of a matriarchy and claiming discrimination) force a public enquiry.

The book (in chapters named after the key female protagonists) tells the story of the public enquiry via snippets of the testimony of the various witnesses, mixed with an approximately chronological account of the events on the island, and some hard to follow back stories for some of the protagonists which seemed to me to contain lots of extraneous detail.

One of the other characters in the book (and the first witness) is an intriguing autofictional one: Alice Albinia – a researcher into the ancient traditions of female rule in Britain (going back into ancient legends – with various real sources researched by both Alice Albinia’s bookending the chapters) and how it has been marginalised by the patriarchal mainsteam. She is at once inspired by Eva as well as by the history of Cwen (which seems to have been a centre of female power) and rather put off by the hippy/feminist antics and sometime cult like behaviour of Eva’s followers (which is itself intriguing for a character based on the author).

Interspersed between the chapters are a first party account of Cwen – once it seems a female mystic who lived on the Island but now some form of spirit who is herself inspired to intervene in and support Eva’s plans but seems to have played a role in her death.

Overall this is a very ambitious and thoughtful book – but to be honest one I did not really see as working for me. The Cwen sections I found a little odd and to introduce an unnecessary element of fantasy into what is otherwise a serious political piece of fiction. I also found that the striking decision to build the book partly around the witness statements and questioning at the inquest seemed to sit uneasily with the more conventional decision to tell what happened via a much more traditional omniscient narrator. And the book was too cluttered with characters with their back and side stories – it would have for example worked much better for me if say the Miriam or Nun characters had been dropped altogether – this was definitely a book where I felt less would have been more.

PS: A sample of the book is here: https://serpentstail.com/wp-content/u...

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cwen was not the novel I expected it to be and all the better for it. For some reason I thought it would be sci-fi – presumably because I discovered it via a list of sci-fi and fantasy in the Guardian? In any case, it is a rare example of a contemporary utopian novel, with a minor mythological element. The structure of the narrative is a public enquiry into the work of a woman named Eva, who slowly and carefully introduced feminist influence into the public life of a Scottish island. The reader’s perspective is largely that of the woman leading the public enquiry. Gradually a picture of who Eva was and what she did is built up via the voices of her friends, relatives, colleagues, and detractors. This is a fascinating and unusual way to approach a character, which Albinia executes really well. I was immediately drawn in and found the polyphonic nature of the narrative deeply compelling. It's striking both to see Eva through the eyes of the community and explore the community itself. The wide cast of characters and their interactions are evoked beautifully.

The writing style is cool, composed, psychologically insightful, and elegantly paced. The mystical interludes from the perspective of Cwen herself make an effective contrast to the public enquiry’s investigations, as well as helping to build a strong sense of place. I've rarely come across novels that ask how local communities can meaningfully move towards equality, justice, solidarity, and environmental conservation within existing systems. Cwen does this brilliantly. It gradually explains how Eva used her wealth and privilege to catalyse and fund change, which is inspiring and thought-provoking to discover via those speaking at the inquiry. In parallel, Albinia gives a voice to the spirit of Cwen, a small uninhabited island. These stark interludes link the transformation of the nearby community with the forgotten and suppressed women's history in the islands. It's hard to articulate how rich and original the whole novel is. After finishing it, I immediately wanted to reread and absorb more of its subtleties. I really appreciated Cwen and would have more to say about it had the heatwave not deprived me of sleep.

[Ruxandra Grrr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was... alright? I feel like the basis was very fascinating material and I was very into it. There were a lot of intriguing elements but the actual plot was a bit liberal feminist, I think. There were a lot of women's backstories and POVs, but I was hoping we'd get something on the mysterious Mx. Thompson, which we didn't. We did have a lovely grandma cop, which bothered me. I'm conflicted. But I'm in the middle of a 12-consecutive-days work streak so I have no more energies for reviews right now. Perhaps next month.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cwen is a powerful feminist alternative future novel in which a group of women explore their past and present whilst presenting their bold visions of the future featuring a storm, a mysterious death, a band of women and a remote island where anything is possible. An archipelago off the east coast of Britain comes under female rule. Using resources traditionally the preserve of men — inspired by ancient British stories of islands where women ran society and controlled the climate — the women quietly take charge of the islands’ education system, laws, money, businesses and civic institutions as well as the way children are to be raised. Eva Levi was the one who founded the community and is at the centre of the revolution, but she has recently disappeared. She was last seen venturing out on the sea with her small boat on a brisk northeasterly wind and has never been seen since. What follows is an investigation into her vanishing act in which witnesses and those who knew Eva are asked to provide evidence. People are rightly concerned. But a revolution by stealth is not enough for Cwen, the mythical spirit of the islands. She has been here longer than the civilisation she has come back to haunt.

Her name has ancient roots, reaching down into the earth and halfway around the world. The clouds are her children, and the waves; and the islands she inhabits have always belonged to women. Now she has returned to hold them to account. Following in Cwen’s wake, young climate activists stage a rebellion against the patriarchy. A grandmother bequeaths her sons’ inheritance to a feminist foundation. And a public inquiry is launched into the archipelago’s outrageous mutiny. This a compelling piece of literary fiction, but I must admit that the format left quite a lot to be desired. It was muddled and difficult to engage with at times, but I was enjoying the actual content of the novel, so I continued and luckily I got used to the way in which it was written. The bulk of the story is in the form of an investigation into the missing Eva and is a portrait of a world on the cusp of change. Exploring female power and female potential, both to hurt and to harm, as well as patriarchal structure, oppression, sexuality and gender, it reaches deep into Britain’s matriarchal past, to ask how radical we might be, if given the chance.

[James]

It just cwensn’t meant to be

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to like this book more than I do. The premise is compelling—islands historically governed by women, with this history largely forgotten, and a woman working to gradually turn the tide back toward this type of women-centered and -led society. Not only that but Albinia’s prose is beautiful and flows easily. But this flow did not extend to the book as a whole. The courtroom setting felt stilted and an odd choice of framing to tell the story. It lent an artificial tension, and combined with the urgency of Albinia’s tone, I often ended passages and chapters with a sense of suspense, only for that suspense to quickly dissipate into a muddled plot. I generally enjoy stories where the everyday is imbued with heightened importance, but in this case I found it tedious.

[Nelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this so, so much more than I did. But I sincerely grooved on the research with which it is imbued, and am inspired to do more deep reading of my own. And run away to an isle of my ancestors ;)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a challenging read, no doubt about it, but a worthwhile one. It’s the story of Cwen, an island off the north coast of England, and it contemplates how patriarchal society is, and how a matriarchal society might look. Eva leads a movement to give women fair representation on the island, and she challenges all kinds of accepted norms on the island. Of course, this doesn’t go down well with the male population, which leads to a public inquiry to examine whether the women have been unfairly advantaged.
The book is meticulously researched and when you consider, as a reader, all the ways in which historically, women’s roles have been marginalised over the centuries, going right back to Celtic society, and also across the breadth of Europe and beyond, from Tacitus to Robert Graves, you feel more and more how far the patriarchy reaches into every corner of society. This is the strength of the book.
For me, the book wasn’t perfect. The chapters from the island’s perspective were the best, for me; poetic and timeless, it was nature writing and feminist writing at its best. Where the book worked slightly less well, for me, was in the large cast of characters, some of whom came alive on the page, but others of whom appeared more like plot devices. The plot felt a bit messy to me, and there wasn’t a clear enough thread in the second half particularly to provide narrative drive, but I persevered and the outcome of the inquiry and the judge’s summing up at the end felt as though it was worth the journey.
This book feels like one that needs more than one reading to be fully appreciated, and I may well revisit it in future. I feel for me it works a lot better than some other recent feminist big hitting books like Girl, Woman, Other, because for me, it reaches further. There is a set of notes at the back that I wish I’d spotted earlier on in my reading. There is also a non fiction book by the same author that I should like to read, called The Britannias. I feel this would flesh out some of the stories that are touched upon in Cwen.
Thanks to Shrew Books in Fowey for the handsell.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so hard! Imagine a story where a woman begins quietly overturning the patriarchy at every turn in her small corner of the world...yesss!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird one for me. Loved the concept but not the execution. The feminist themes were great, some of the prose was lovely (other sections rambled), and I particularly liked the characters of Zoe and Camille since they seemed more developed than most of the other characters.

The narration style was bizarre. Chapters were seemingly arbitrarily designated to different characters but had omniscient perspectives of other characters included. I found the pages from the perspective island/goddess Cwen to be an irritating mish-mash of different historical and mythical figures that didn’t add to the story (or perhaps some of the intended symbolism went over my head).

Overall, it’s a book that’s left me thinking and it’s something I’ll probably pick up again in a few years to see if my feelings will change.

[Calder Szewczak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since The Power, a lot of books have laid claim to Naomi Alderman's mantle. This is the first to actually merit it. Cwen is truly radical, both in form and content. Providing a much-needed counterbalance to the typically masculine mythology of Anglo-nationhood—such as that contained in Paul Kingsnorth's The Wake—it grounds an imagined present-day revolution in an ancient matriarchal past, exploring what women might achieve if afforded real power. Evocative of Maria Dahvana Headley's The Mere Wife in its use of medieval legend and chorus of women's voices, Cwen is the eco-feminist tale for our times.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful, potent and inspiring. I liked the characters and LOVED the unique style of writing, part-vignette, part-trial dialogue. Gave the book great pace.
Only thing that stopped it being a 5* for me is that I felt this building argument, a rising crescendo of meaning which led to… the end. I feel there’s another step it should have taken for me that would have drawn everything together better and my expectation of that not being fulfilled left me a bit flat at the end.
Saying that, this is a fabulous book that I have not resisted recommending widely!

[Nicole Sweeney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cwen follows the story of an archipelago off the coast of Britain whereby women are in control – they run the businesses, make decisions for the community and decide how the money should be spent. All this is possible because of the work of Eva Levi but now she has disappeared, there is a chance it will be destroyed, will Cwen be able to stop it?

Cwen is one of those books that caught my eye because it has a really interesting cover. I thought the premise sounded really intriguing and I was really excited to pick it up. Unfortunately, this one just was not for me. I was very much on the verge of DNFing this one, but I ended up listening to it on audiobook so that I could find out how it would end. The problem for me was that I just didn’t connect with any of the characters. The story centres on quite a number of different women who live on the island or have been touched by the work of Eva Levi, but I just found myself completely uninterested. The court case parts in particular I really struggled to get through.

I think this story has a really intriguing premise but ultimately for me, the execution missed the mark. I definitely think this might be a me thing rather than a book thing because I’ve seen lots of positive reviews for this one, so if you’re in the mood for a unique and thought-provoking story about feminine power, this one could be just what you’re looking for.

[John Mannion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not many novels have an island as a main character. No man is an island, perhaps, but a woman can be. This is an amusing novel of contemporary manners set on an imaginary archipelago in the North Sea.

Alongside this are some fascinating ideas about islands run by women in history and myth.

[Siân Pycroft (plumreads__s) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've honestly got no idea what to say to review this so I'm just going to put some emojis.

🤨🤔😶🧐😵🤨🤔🤐😬🤷‍♀️

Thanks to the publisher for granting me an eArc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Amy Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fab ideas, great structure, just a bit hard work and way too many characters spread too thinly.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most boring books I've ever read in my life. Most of it is ridiculously overwrought court transcript; the rest is flowery prose with no real story.

[Georgie Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

God thank god this is done - an utter slog , the most feminism with the least amount of subtly . Ik im giving it 2 stars but I did actually enjoy reading it… I love a bit of weirdness

[Joe Parkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept and thought provoking in parts but struggled to get through it with any speed. Really enjoyed some of the dialogue but found the format a little disengaging.

[Charlotte Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was really good. unexpectedly funny, insightful and just the right amount of intelligent vs. readable

[Hannah Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cwen tells the story of a female revolution, conceived by Eva, nurtured by a few female allies and brought to life by women all over the world.

The story takes place on a remote archipelago in the North Sea, off the coast of the borders of Scotland and Northern England, its a landscape which immediately grabbed me. Having visited Lindisfarne (an island off the very same coast, with an interesting history of religious pilgrimages and viking invasions) many times, looking out into the harsh North Sea and thinking about how there is nothing else between this tiny island and Norway, I immediately had a picture in my minds eye of the location where this story unfolds.

When Eva disappears her life’s work is suddenly under threat, as an inquiry is called into whether there is (or should have been) cause for public concern surrounding the events leading up to her disappearance. The novel unfolds through the testimony of the women closest to Eva, each chapter named after one woman, voicing her personal connections to Eva and her cause, as the tapestry of this story is woven before the reader’s eyes.

Peppered throughout are excerpts from ancient, medieval and modern tales telling of islands ruled by women and there are moments where we hear from the female spirit who inhabits the islands, who has witnessed the strength of women for countless years and who will do anything she can to protect them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I would add the caveat that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s very information heavy and not very emotion heavy. It holds nothing back when commenting on the patriarchy, political corruption and environmental issues and the author is definitely out to prove a point. I happened to love the point being proven... punch me in the face with hardcore feminism any day of the week!

[Maebh Howell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this one just a bit ... cringeworthy for lack of a better word. I didn't connect with any of the characters and found the court case sections annoying more than adding to the narrative. The character of Eva also just didn't work for me - I really hated the semi-religious reverence she was accorded in this book by nearly every female character which seemed just totally undeserved. The sections from the perspective of 'Cwen' also just fell flat for me. The writing often felt overly descriptive and certain metaphors and linguistic choices just seemed out of place or odd.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't honestly know why I bothered to finish this.

I listened to this book on Audible, and I spent the whole second half wondering why I was so bored by it. The writing is fine, often good, and the characters (at least theoretically) have interesting storylines.

I have no idea what made it such a dull experience. But I'm glad it's over.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think maybe I missed something in this book. It sounded intriguing,and what I got just felt a bit muddled.
There were times I just wasn't sure what was happening.
I'm definitely not the right person,for this particular story

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this - all the different narrative voices (and the humour in Mariam's chapter) and the overarching theme. It's one of those that you might have to persevere with if you're not sure after the first 30 or so pages, but stick with it; it's worth it.

[Lizzie Appleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this 10 stars, I would

[Boosmummy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to plod through this and by the end I wondered why I bothered as it was so boring.

[Sarah Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read all year. Deserves to be a new feminist classic.

[Natalie Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting premise that I wanted to love but just found a bit clunky and couldn't really get invested in.

[Mica Amy Phelan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

This book was definitely interesting and if anyone is wondering weather to read it, it's 100% worth it purely because it is actually a little different, if for nothing else.

The plot takes place on a collection of islands off the Eastern coast of England, close to the Scottish border. One of these islands is called Cwen, an old English word for Queen. We follow a public inquiry into the actions of a woman called Eva, who married into a wealthy 'native' island family (I use the word native in this way as they are wealthy and that wealth comes from colonial endeavours and they bought this land many generations prior, so are native in the way a British blue blood from the 1800s would be native to America).

Eva has three sons, but it's not until one of her sons gets a woman pregnant very young that she has a granddaughter, Zoe, and it's at this point that Eva begins the actions that will start this inquiry.

Slowly, as the plot unravels and we get the stories of the different women that have found themselves on the island and in some way involved with Eva, we see how she is trying to slowly and quietly undo the patriarchy. This involves rewriting women into history, changing museum exhibitions and altering what is taught in schools, putting more women in positions of power and actively fighting climate change. At first, everyone (including the men) seem pretty happy about these changes. However, what sets the inquiry into action is Eva's disappearance. This leads to people presuming she is dead, and her sons finding out Eva has left them no inheritance and instead given it to a charitable foundation founded by women, for women, and the rest to her granddaughter. It is these actions that anger her sons, and lead to male outrage and protests, declaring that there has been an injustice and unfairness towards men.

The part of this book that struck me as really clever is the bit at the very end when it is finally revealed that the judge is a woman. Albinia purposefully never genders the judge, and occasionally we get snippets from the ongoing inquiry from the judge and witnesses that are being questioned, and as a reader I always assumed the judge was male. There is nothing about the questions asked, the attitudes shown or the way the judge speaks that makes you question their gender. You assume, as you would with any position of power, that the judge is male. When it is revealed she is a woman it feels like you've hoodwinked yourself with your own patriarchy, but also Albinia has fought to highlight that the obvious argument of her being biased is pointless, because without being gendered there was nothing to stop me assuming the judge was a man.

Now this book does focus a lot on some of the more biological processes of being a woman. There is a trans character and an AFAB enby character that appears briefly in the novel, but a lot of the ideology behind the book buys into, very heavily, a cult around the female sex. This cult like worship of vulvas, wombs and bleeding does come across as a little essentialist and at times can be a bit stifling, and so may not be a comfortable to read for anyone not cis.

One thing I did really like about the book was the ending. There is a sense of triumph to it as the women are victorious and the inquiry finds in their favour, and we have a moment when lots of women come together in a moment of community that is quite touching. But my favourite part is Zoe, because she realises that as her grandmother Eva has become a symbol for the community, the grandmother she knew intimately and loved fiercely is dead. Eva is not longer simply her grandmother, but now belongs to everyone, and through this Zoe has lost the personal bond with her and instead has a communal one. So while there is a victory, we also see it comes at a loss, and its this situation I found really interesting to thing about.

Overall, interesting, quite a pleasant read if a little self indulgent at times.