I’m delighted to share the news that my female-centred Arthurian retelling, The Cleaving, is now available as an audiobook, courtesy of Watkins Media, narrated by Joanna Carpenter.
I’ve felt for years that the legendary epics of King Arthur and Camelot don’t tell the whole story. In particular the women are badly underserved, as they are denied the right to control their own destinies amid the wars and rivalries that determine ‘the matter of Britain’. As far as Arthur and Merlin are concerned, they serve Camelot by doing as they are told and nothing more.
So we’re supposed to accept Arthur’s mother Ygraine marrying the man who’s just killed her husband? Arthur’s half-sister Morgana turns to dark magic to defy him and Merlin just because she’s ‘bad’? The enchantress Nimue challenges Merlin and uses her magic to outwit him – but why does she do it? Come to that, exactly why does Arthur’s marriage to the dutiful, biddable, beautiful Guinevere end in adultery, rebellion and death.
When I focused on the women I saw a different picture. Men forget that women talk. Ygraine, Nimue, Morgana and Guinevere have opportunities to become friends and allies as the decisions that shape their lives are taken out of their hands. Now these women have a voice.
