Cover

Praise for Cwen:

‘A clever, strange and wonderful book, which brims with mystery. A group of women recount their past and present stories, revealing their visions of the future. Cwen by Alice Albinia is a rare book, bold and powerful’ Xiaolu Guo

‘A wild, original, sure-footed feminist reimagining of the present and the past that brushes up against the mythical. It reminds us, eloquently and passionately, what is or can be possible, and in its depiction of a revolution becomes a revolutionary book itself. Beautiful work’ Neel Mukherjee

‘From the very first page, Alice Albinia’s Cwen draws you into a world that is glittering with beauty and aching with promise. A portrait of the British Isles, Cwen is also an absorbing saga of women’s lives drawn from different parts of the world, skilfully weaving in strands from Bosnia, Pakistan, France. This is a book that speaks of the persistent human need for freedom and community, and of the as-persistent clash of these impulses with power and authority. A story for our times, and a book that will endure’ Taran Khan, author of Shadow City: A Woman Walks Kabul

‘A phenomenal novel showing us that learning to love our female selves is essential for survival. Alice Albinia’s diverse cast, from ancient Britain to contemporary Pakistan, step up to support each other, take down patriarchy and create a new collective story’ Farhana Yamin, Environmental Lawyer, Woman’s Hour Power List: Our Planet

‘An unforgettable story with a dazzling cast of characters that will stay with me for a long, long time. As Albinia inverts and recreates our man-made world layer by layer, the novel reminds us of the epic range of human possibility, of who we might have been, and of who we still could be. A breathtaking, beautifully told, profound novel for our times and beyond. I loved it’ Mirza Waheed, author of The Collaborator

‘Swept on the current of so many centuries, this transporting tale lands powerfully at the point where vision and errancy combine in pursuit of what one wants most: a place to truly belong’ Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, author of Harlem is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America

‘Alice Albinia’s Cwen is a skilful counter-history, a disruptive and compelling reimagining in microcosm of a society designed and controlled by women. Albinia brilliantly weaves together historical material and a narrative of life in contemporary Britain to demonstrate how our history might play out if women took charge. The book leaves me disoriented in the best possible way – a superb achievement’ Daniyal Mueenuddin, author of In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

‘A superb book: original, fierce, elegant and full of surprises from beginning to end’ Sonia Faleiro, author of The Good Girls

Also by Alice Albinia

Also by Alice Albinia

Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River

Leela’s Book

Cwen

Alice Albinia

Copyright Page

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

Serpent’s Tail,