The Britannias: An Archipelago's Tale

Summary

From Neolithic Orkney, Viking Shetland, and Druidical Anglesey to the joys and strangeness of modern Thanet, The Britannias explores the farthest reaches of Britain's island topography, once known by the collective term "Britanniae" (the Britains). This expansive journey demonstrates how the smaller islands have wielded disproportionate influence on the mainland.

In an act of feminist inquiry, personal adventure, and literary quest, Alice Albinia embarks on a series of journeys that traverse Britain and reach beyond its contemporary borders. She talks to stubbornly independent islanders and searches for archaeological and linguistic traces of island identities, discovering distinct traditions and resistance to mainland control.

Trespassing into the past to understand the present, The Britannias uncovers an enduring and subversive mythology of islands ruled by women. These neglected epics offer fierce feminist countercurrents to mainstream narratives of British identity and shed new light on women's status in the body politic today.

Vivid, perceptive, and disruptive, The Britannias boldly upturns established truths about Britain while revealing its suppressed and forgotten beauty.