I enjoyed this. A new narrative on a somewhat dystopian state; the UK is not as we now know it, history has changed, and society now lives under the Alliance with Germanic ideals pressed hard into life, and external realities silenced.
Rose's role is to edit classic literature, to mould it to the new ways. Women's independence must be suppressed and all ideas of insurgency quashed.
Then graffiti begins to appear portraying messages of powerful women, and the suspects are in Widowland - those women who no longer provide any service to society. Rose investigates...
This is a gripping and exciting story, all couched around history that is recognisable yet slightly different. Recommended.

In a reimagined timeline where the Nazis won WWII, women in Britain are subject to strict controls and xxx into a caste system. As an elite ‘Geli woman’ with a high-up boyfriend, Rose enjoys some privileges and has seemingly settled into the role prescribed for her. She’s tasked with rewriting classic books to make sue they’re aligned to this new world order. However, when Rose is sent to infiltrate Widowland – the slums where childless, husband-less women over 50 are banished to – in order to report back on a rebellious faction, she has to decide whose side she’s really on. A slow-burner, but ultimately gripping.

I came to this book with no preconceptions. I had seen mention of The Handmaid's Tale when I first came across it, and having enjoyed several similar dystopian novels, I thought I would try it. The novel begins in April 1953, as London is preparing for the Coronation. So far, so normal. Then a couple of pages in, we are told it is the Coronation of King Edward VIII and Queen Wallis, and suddenly the world is tipped upside down. We are in a world where Hitler won, and Britain has been annexed to the mainland. This is a world where women are classified, according to their usefulness and child-bearing ability, with the lowest of the low being the widows and spinsters over fifty. These women have no use, and are housed in the dilapidated Widowland of the title. This is also a world where literature is considered dangerous. Culture must be controlled, classics re-written and no thought should be given to the Time Before, ('Old is bad' being one of the lessons taught in school). This is such a chilling read, more so than The Handmaid's Tale, because this is not set in a fantasy realm. There is so much that is familiar in this Britain, and it makes you wonder, if things had gone differently, would this have happened? This is a tense, edgy read, which I whole-heartedly recommend.

Uniquely gripping, Widowland imagines a chilling alternate history with a strong dystopian twist.

The alternate world is well fleshed out and eerily realistic. It's hard to believe that an England like this could easily have existed, yet that only makes the story all the more powerful.

There is also a strong feminist element to the book. In a society where women vastly outnumber men, interesting social dynamics and an unsettling caste system determine almost every aspect of their lives. However, as the main character Rose soon discovers, there are always those who are willing to fight for their rights, equality, and ultimately, their freedom.

Once the world and characters have been established, it isn't long before the pace picks up and soon, the plot is moving towards its thrilling conclusion. It is fast-paced towards the end, so be warned - you won't be able to put it down!

The ending also leaves several key questions unanswered and some main plot points unfinished. This achieves a heightened sense of tension and also leaves the plot open-ended for the reader to draw their own conclusion from the events at the end of the book.

Widowland is one of the most original, thought-provoking books I've read in a long time.

This is an alternate history story- what would have happened if Britain had settled with Nazi Germany? A dystopian London society, this is equally chilling and terrifying. A fascinating what if story.

'Widowland' is a piece of speculative fiction that I can't quite decide whether it's brilliant or a bit...not brilliant. For lack of a better term. It imagines a world wherein the Allies didn't win in WWII and Britain built an alliance with Nazi Germany from 1945. The concept is sound, but I don't think it was brilliantly executed. There's a lot of exposition required and so everything slows down with the writing. It's like trying to run through treacle. It takes a really, really long time for the book to actually get going because it requires so much set-up, which brings about its downfall. The writing's not bad at all - the author (writing under a psuedonym) has published books before - but I didn't feel 'gripped' by the book at any point, despite what famous reviewers might say. There's so much development and complexity to the world that the central plot and character kind of take a back seat. I'm sure there will be fans of Dystopian fiction who fall in love with this book, but it just wasn't for me.

This is a powerful and gripping alternate history, one of the best I read in some time.
The author describes a world where woman are valued for their body and age, they are divided into castas and according to their classification they will be fed and clothed. The Gelis are at the top, the Friedas at the lowest level.
Set in 1953 it describes what could have happened to UK if a simil-nazi dictatorship was in charge.
Rose, the MC, is a strong characters. She belongs to the top class but she's also at risk as she's not married and has no child.
The author did an excellent job in world building and character development, the plot is tightly knitted and thought provoking.
A feminist dystopia that reminded me of "The Man in the High Castle" and "The Handmaid's Tale".
A great story, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this dystopian alternative history set in an England that is a protectorate of Nazi Germany and where women are classified by their Aryan-ness, age and breeding ability into a caste like system. Reading is discouraged (as are any solitary activities) and the main character Rose, an elite female, works in the culture ministry rewriting classic texts with problematic female characters so they fit into the regime ideals and suitable for classrooms. Everyone is busy in preparation for the coronation of Edward VIII and his wife, and the Leader will be visiting. Graffiti has begun to appear quoting Mary Wollstonecraft and other female writers and Rose is asked to visit widowland, basically ghettoes where the lowest class of women live, old single and therefore of no use to society. It reminded me obviously of many classic dystopias from The Handmaid's Tale to 1984 but it’s highly readable and I finished it quickly.

Huge thanks to Milly Reid for inviting me to join the publication day blog blast for 'Widowland' by C.J Carey, out in e-book and hardcover formats from Quercus Books! And thank you for my gifted e-book review copy from which I have untangled my honest, but possibly poorly written, opinion! It's so hard when a book hits you with such emotional resonance to find the words when you just want to say 'Do yourself a favour and get a copy'.

In an alternative to what we know as the 1950's, Edward VIII is marrying Wallis Simpson, the book opens with the coronation ceremony and the sense of tangible excitement as a television is wheeled in for all in the Ministry of Culture to witness this historic moment.

When you realise that it is not our queen, and to all intents and purposes her lineage has been ended, the impact on the reader and the society of the UK is immensely sobering. In a clever and thrilling yet deceptively simple swap, CJ Carey has not only removed the longest serving monarch in British history, she also forces us to re-examine her effect on the way women are viewed through a political, historical and societal lens.

For here we have a society where women outnumber men, thereby 'necessitating' a means of control, a divide and conquer rationale if you will, which includes the banishment of older, childless women to a barren (pun intended) wasteland.

It is here that our protagonist, Rose, whose purpose is to rewrite books with feisty heroines to make them more subservient, is sent undercover in order to spy on this rogue group of women who hold fast to the those literary heroines, the ones that stood their ground and became beacons of choice and hope.

The appropriately named heroine- 'rose' as a verb as well as implying the blooming or blossoming of consciousness-leaps from elite class to outcast and as she sees the way that these women have elected to step outside the norm, to be their own person, will she betray the women she has been sent to spy on? How far will she go to retain the status quo which keeps her trapped?

This is a brilliantly executed and moving novel with the added poignance of the author's widowhood, parallel with the Queen, so recently bereaved. It throughs into significance the way that the function of women becomes almost invisible once they enter the menopausal arena (and I call it that because it feels like a daily battle) and are no longer perceived as of value.

Their voices are shut down, the fight to retain youthfulness is on, to keep a semblance of desirability and to straddle that no (wo)man's land that so many seem to be stranded in (Is she 40?50? 60? Was she blessed with great genes or maybe it's Maybelline?)

Once reproductive function has gone, it seems that women are discarded or intended to be the ones looking after the next generation -the granny/nanny debate.

So much in this novel resonated hard and fast with me-as someone has grown up with a perception of girls as pointless, useless and there to be seen and not heard (from my mother!) and who is now the proud mum of 5 wonderful and very fearsome daughters, I can absolutely appreciate the way that heroines from books were very much figures that have been in my head and heart since childhood. The influence of books and the implication that they lead to insurrection and dangerous think is not a new one but the way that this written, and brilliantly imagined, hit home so much more than novels like 'The Handmaid's Tale', in this reader's humble opinion (I never could get on with Margaret Atwood, sorry it just never really gripped me).

Hugely moving, very much recommended and leaving the reader pondering over so many things after reading, 'Widowland' is one of those special books that you will find yourself recommending over the coming years.

I really enjoy a good speculative novel and I was incredibly excited about this one. Pitched as ‘an alternative history with a feminine twist’, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect from it but I think it’s one of the most immersive reads of the year.

Set in London in 1953, 13 years after Britain and Germany formed a Grand Alliance, the country is under the rule of the Protectorate Leader Rosenberg. In the Alliance, women are divided into castes according to their age, wealth, looks, reproductive abilities and other reductive criteria. Our protagonist Rose is part of the elite. She works for the Ministry of Culture, correcting classic works of literature to fit in with the Protector’s ideals. But then, she is sent on a special mission into the Widowlands, the desolate slums that are home to the women at the very bottom of society.

In the Alliance, the quality of women’s lives are dictated by what they can offer society and the treatment of older, infertile, poor women is abhorrent. Although reality isn’t quite this explicit, there are echoes of our world’s perception and treatment of women according to how well they meet similar criteria, so the author is clearly commentating on this.

The fact that citizens aren’t allowed to think of better times reminded me of the dangerous ways that cults and dictatorships work. Just as an abusive partner would cut you off from your friends, family and who you were before them, the Alliance does everything it can to distance its citizens from the past, which was of course, infinitely better for many people. I’m not sure how this could ever be properly policed because of course, even a tyrannous government can’t see every single thought that a human being has. I guess it’s more about spreading this sentiment amongst the people and punishing anyone who publicly talks about ‘the good old days’.

Rose is tasked with editing novels such as Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and Middlemarch, adapting them to be suitable for study in Alliance schools. She dumbs down, tames and dilutes the personalities of all of our favourite heroines from the 19th century but of course, in order to carry out her work, she has to read the original texts. Although Rose is everything that the Protectorate wants all women to be, she really admires the intelligence and courage of the literary heroines whose lives she is changing. I loved seeing these little glimpses of rebellion within her.

Perhaps the only area where Rose falls short of a perfect Alliance woman is the fact that she is in her late twenties without a husband or children. Her sister Celia has a husband and daughter and comes across as the perfect Stepford wife. Rose is in danger of losing her elite Geli privileges due to her single, motherless status, highlighting once again the importance of women using their bodies to provide for and serve society.

The country is getting ready to crown a new queen, an American queen named Wallis. Sound familiar? As well as Wallis Simpson, of course, the slight suspicion but fascination with a foreign addition to the monarchy reminded me of the nation’s initial reaction to Meghan Markle. When it was first announced that she was to be a part of the Royal family, she was seen to be a radical but beautiful and intriguing part of history. Of course now she is seen as a pariah by a lot of the older generation and I wonder if the same would have happened to Queen Wallis eventually.

Women are hugely discouraged from reading, dreaming and thinking but Rose wants to preserve the freedom of fantasy for her young niece Hannah for as long as possible. Rose writes stories set in a magical land and reads them to Hannah. It’s the discovery of these stories, amongst other things, by the authorities that eventually lands Rose in hot water but Ilyria is as much a place of escapism for her as it is for Hannah. It felt like Rose was silently trying to get away from and break the harsh rules that she was being forced to live under, despite appearing to be compliant on the surface.

For most of the narrative, Rose is having an affair with her married boss Martin Kreuz. At the beginning of the book, she doesn’t seem to have any qualms about this at all, especially as it’s perfectly normal and even customary for wealthy men to have at least one mistress. However, as she becomes more absorbed in classic literature and within her mission at the Widowlands, she starts to think very differently about her relationship. Therefore, the more she learns about the lives of other women and gets to know them in a more intimate way, the more she starts to empathise and connect with them.

The Friedas, the women who are too old or too undesirable to have children or to serve men, in the Widowlands are incredibly smart, thoughtful and resourceful. It seems that no one has really paid attention to them and how they live before until some suspicious graffiti starts appearing, bearing literary quotes from ‘degenerate’ writers. Of course, the Friedas are the prime suspects for writing these quotes and the leaders become afraid that they’re preparing for an uprising. As it turns out, older women who have been ignored and beaten down by society can be exceptionally dangerous under the right conditions.

There is also mention of how the Alliance treats the mentally ill. Madness is one of the biggest fears amongst citizens and when Rose’s father begins displaying signs of it, she is terrified about his fate. Of course, mental health is still something that a large portion of society is afraid to talk about and the stigma that still exists is exactly what has held so many sufferers from seeking help and sharing their stories.

Overall, Widowland is a compelling what-if story that says so much about our reality. It’s a stark lesson as to the dangers of a single-minded society. It’s a celebration of the coming together of different ideas and opinions, the freedom of creative expression and the power of reading. The pages kept turning and I found myself thoroughly enthralled. Fans of other feminist speculative fiction such as Vox and The Handmaid’s Tale will be glued to this fresh, unique novel.

Widowland by C J Carey is an interesting work of alternative history with a strong feminist message, and I was gripped by it from beginning to end. The book is set in 1953, in a version of Britain which became a member of a Grand Alliance with Germany and the Axis forces during World War 2. While the country is about to celebrate the coronation of Edward VIII and his wife and Queen - to - be Wallis, the real power in the country is held by its Protector, Alfred Rosenberg, a man with very definite ideas about women and their place in society.
Women are classified on criteria like appearance, bloodline and fertility and are divided into groups ranging from the socially elite Gelis to Lenis, professional women to the bottom of the pile Friedas, widows, spinsters and those too old to produce children. The narrator of our story , Rose, is a Geli who works in the Ministry of Culture rewriting great works of literature to conform with the ideals of the Alliance. When stirrings of rebellion are seen ahead of Hitler's visit for the Coronation, including graffiti consisting of literary quotations, Rose is sent undercover to investigate a group of Friedas living in poverty in the poorest and most run down part of the city colloquially known as Widowland. What she learns will cause her to question herself, her role in society and how far she is willing to go to pursue what she believes to be right.
This was a completely gripping book, I could barely put it down as I was so invested in the world the author had built, just different enough from the history we know to make the familiar feel new , and with a dystopian edge that I really enjoyed. I loved how the author wrote about books and literature and how important and necessary they are for society. As a character Rose goes on quite the journey over the course of the book, and as she changed so did my appreciation and enjoyment of her, I also appreciated the thought the author had put into capturing the detail of what day to day life would likely have been like, it gave a grounding of reality to the story.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

"Our Protector believes that books are every bit as dangerous as bombs. Words are weapons, aren't they? They're a conduit for spreading propaganda against the Alliance. Back in the beginning, as you know we tackled this problem with a fairly blunt instrument. We banned them. Obviously you know that novels portraying a subversive view of females are outlawed. Unruly women, those who challenge male authority, degenerate sexual preferences, all that. But we can't make all books illegal can we?

Can't we?" C.J. Carey.

Widowland is a feminist dystopian novel that explores what Britain could have looked life if Britain and Germany had made peace after WW2 and Germany ruled over England. What if England had a Protector? What if the royal family had been killed and they brought back Edward and Wallis since he was German friendly? The story explores what life could have been like if the Nazi ideology of the superiority of the Aryan race was implemented in England. Women are divided into a caste system based on their appearance and their fertility. Food and housing was allocated to you based on your caste- resources were not wasted on the old and childless.

Rose Ransom who is employed by the Ministry of Culture to edit classic texts to make them align with the ideology of the new regime. But then suddenly, graffiti starts appearing on public buildings, which is made up of lines from famous texts. Who is responsible for this rebellion? Rose must find out...

I love a good dystopian novel, and it's been a while since I picked one up. I love the way a dystopian novel makes you consider alternative societies and challenges what we consider normal- and this book did all of those things.

“Just imagine, if things had gone differently, it might be a different monarch being crowned next week. We could have a Queen Elizabeth instead of a Queen Wallis” - ‘Widowland’

My thanks to Quercus Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Widowland’ by C J Carey in exchange for an honest review.

I found this a brilliantly realised work of alternative history that was also a tense dystopian thriller. I bought its unabridged audiobook edition on the day of publication and did a combined read/listen for much of it. I zoomed through it as had to know what happened.

London, 1953. The country is excited about the upcoming Coronation. Yet as soon as we learn that it is Edward VIII and Queen Wallis being crowned, its clear that this is a very different 1953.

In 1940 a Grand Alliance between Great Britain and Germany was formalized. George VI and his family went the way of the Romanovs. While Edward VIII rules in name, all power is vested in Alfred Rosenberg, Britain's Protector. Rosenberg's particular interest is the roles and status of women. To this end he has instituted a caste system for all women.

The novel’s lead is Rose Ransom. She has been designated as a ‘Gelis’, a member of the elite caste of women. She works at the Ministry of Culture and is tasked with rewriting literature, such as the works of Jane Austen and the Brontës, to correct the views of the past. Then she is assigned a secret task for the Protector.

With the Leader (Hitler, though unnamed) coming to Britain to attend the Coronation ceremony, there are increasing outbreaks of insurgency across the country. Of great concern is graffiti that quotes lines from forbidden works by women. The Protector believes that the source of this dissent lies in the run-down slums known as Widowland, where childless women over fifty are banished. Rose must infiltrate Widowland to find the source of this rebellion and ensure that it is quashed.

Wow! ‘Widowland’ was phenomenal and ticked all my boxes for a dark alternative history with Orwellian overtones. While it has drawn comparisons with other dystopian novels, I fully expect that ‘Widowland’ is strong enough to soon be considered a new benchmark in the dystopian sub-genre.

I especially appreciated the focus on ‘correcting’ both literature and history in order to ensure that people do not get ideas. As one character comments to Rose: “if we can control what people know of history we control memory too.” In a world increasingly plagued by disinformation it’s an important point.

‘Widowland’ is a novel that celebrates literature. In writing of her work of correcting novels Rose muses: “Was he so convinced of her stupidity and her incurious nature that he thought she could spend every day with these texts and see them as mere words – as weeds – rather than ideas that would take root and blossom and flourish within her?” Like her literary predecessors these words change her forever. Yet at what cost?

I also appreciated the depiction of the ordinariness of life for many in this alternative fifties Britain. While Rose has to ensure that her every action and word does not betray her growing sense of dissent, daily life goes on around her. There is excitement about the upcoming Coronation, the planned street parties, and interest in fashion and celebrities. It was a nice touch demonstrating that even in repressive regimes not all experience it as a dystopia.

C J Carey is the pen name of established journalist and author, Jane Thynne. I found her writing style confident and I was completely drawn into the alternative history that she proposed.

I was left moved and inspired by ‘Widowland’. It is extremely readable and packed full of thought provoking ideas. It is definitely one of my top reads of 2021. I also expect that it will be a popular choice with reading groups given its subject matter, Carey’s excellent writing and the scope of topics for discussion.

On a side note, Quercus Books’ art department have excelled themselves in a simple, yet powerful cover design. I have ordered its hardback edition as I plan to reread..

Very highly recommended.

“Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people also”- Heinrich Heine
This is a very compelling, but terrifying book to read. Set in an alternate timeline where England formed an alliance with Nazi Germany, 'Widowland' explores what the Western world would have looked like. Unlike Len Deighton's SS-GB, that has this alternate history as its basic setting, this book engages with what daily life would have been like, through its protagonist, Rose, an employee whose job is to change classics of Western literature in keeping with the diktats of the fascist dictators. It's frighteningly real, because this is the way life would pan out in a fascist state- there will be people insulated from the horrors of the state by class and caste privilege ( playing out around me as I write this review). Nobody can ultimately escape it though, and no level of privilege will ultimately protect you from it, no matter how much you may choose to ignore it. The book is peppered throughout with quotes from women writers, that are wielded as slogans by an unlikely band of rebels.
While there are other works that deal with similar themes, 'V for Vendetta' as well, for instance, what set this work apart from.all those others ,for me, was the author's firm grip over keeping her narrative as close to reality as possible. The importance of altering history, the constant repetition of facile slogans, the capture of institutions, eroding an independent media- it's easier to achieve than one would think, and it's happening across the world. Something I've always felt, was that World War 2 was ultimately fought because of Hitler's expansionist ambitions. I really liked that the author brought that out- that if the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact had been adhered to, and Russia never attacked at all, it's entirely possible that without Pearl Harbour ,Russia and the USA wouldn't have been drawn into the war at all and the world might have been very different. We're lucky things worked out the way they did. In times of rising fascism across the world at present, this book is an important, timely read- it's important to keep democracy alive, and that's a responsibility that everyone shoulders- as a voter, as a consumer of news , as a citizen.

Happy Publication Day, @authorjanethynne 🍾🥂
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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I read this as though stopping would make it disappear. With the less than subtle misogyny surrounding women, I felt true concern that a counterfactual history novel might suddenly become true. None of us should be naive that people who share the view of the Alliance aren't all around us. Perhaps I'm being paranoid but perhaps not.
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"Widowland" tells the story of Rose, a Geli (a high class woman) who works for the ministry of culture sanitizing and searching out degenerate literature. The words 'degenerate literature' make me feel quite ill. The Alliance has clearly been working hard as Mary Wollstonecraft is unknown & the Bronte's work is being cleaned of women who have thoughts & ideas above their station. Artists, thinkers, scientists, none are safe. As for new literature, there is none. The Alliance is placing their faith in television & the mindlessness to follow.
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Finishing #Widowland today I feel powerful. Women continue, for the most part, to see through the haze of compelled thoughts and words. We see what is happening. We will prevail.
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@quercusbooks
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#publicationday #counterfactual #Germany #Britain #NewBook #BookReview #subversive #instareads #freedom #freedomtothink #read #reader #knowledgeispower

When I read the synopsis for Widowland, my eyes lit up with excitement. Dystopian is one of my love languages and I knew I had to pick this up immediately.

It’s 1953. Germany won the war and have formed a Grand Alliance with Great Britain. Did your heart sink? Are your palms sweaty? You know what this means, right?

It means that literature is censored and ‘corrected’ through edits.
It means that history is edited. Because what is history if nothing but a tool to control the past and therefore control the present?
It means that women are organised into a caste system according to their physical features. This decides where they live, the number of calories they consume and the resources and food they have access to.

What is this all going to add up to? An uprising, of course. Because as MLK said, ‘Freedom only comes through persistently rising up against the system of evil.’

There are so many things to discuss in this book and I think the themes throughout would make for great discussion; the censoring, the caste system, the fear that ran through the streets.

My issue was that this book was slow. It really provided a lot of background knowledge and built the characters up but in doing that, the plot didn’t move along quickly enough to keep me engaged. It was only really at the end when it packed a punch. That’s when I felt myself beginning to get invested.
Because of how much time Carey has spent developing this world, I can see this book being an origin story for a series and I really hope it is because with that ending, I think it could become really exciting.


Thank you @quercusbooks for having me on the book blast.

The first thing I saw about Widowland was the quote comparing it to Fatherland and The Handmaid's Tale. I am a huge fan of both of those novels so I knew that I had to give Widowland a try. After finishing the book, I thought that the comparison was pretty accurate, also mixed in with elements of Making History by Stephen Fry. If you are a fan of any of these books, then I would definitely add Widowland to your reading lists!

The first half of the book is a slow burn but for the book to work, it needed to be. There was a lot to take in and understand about how this alternate version of Great Britain was structured, the rules and regulations which governed all aspects of everyday life, and the classifications all girls and women were put into, which ultimately affected their entire lives from that point onwards.

The part of the story I found most interesting was the way the government tried to edit classic literature as a way to control the spreading of dangerous propaganda which could harm their overall vision for the country. Rather than erasing or burning all literature they didn't agree with, they simply came up with a way to edit the text, rewriting certain ideas, updating and rephrasing characters or themes to fit with their ideals.

The second half of the book really picks up the pace as the paranoia and distrust sets in. I really enjoyed reading about the group of women interviewed in Widowland. I thought they were the most interesting characters and could even be used in a prequel or additional novels. Altogether I thought this was a really interesting idea and an enjoyable read.

A well written and researched dystopian tale of 50s Britain with the premise that the Germans had won.

Tense, accurate, exciting with well drawn out characters and and a good concentration on the rights of women.

I found this thought provoking and fascinating in equal doses.

🖋Widowland by C.J. Carey🖋

‘To control the past, they edited history. To control the future, they edited literature’.

Widowland exists in a dystopian world where instead of WW2, Britain forms The Alliance with Germany. Britain therefore, knows nothing of the horrors that had occurred on the ‘mainland’. In this world, The Alliance have categorised women based upon their value to society. They are not encouraged to read and (shockingly to us..) cannot meet to discuss literature in groups of more than three. Women have defined roles within society and women with no value are sent to ‘Widowland’.

The story follows Rose, who is classified highly and is tasked with supporting The Alliance to shape history, via editing literature to reflect their ideal societal values. All those classics that are so well loved even today, are taken by The Alliance and given makeovers of a different kind and beloved characters from Jane Eyre, Little Women and many others have their stories re-written. Their lives become one of servitude and deference to men, living to serve and support them and abide by the values instilled by The Alliance.

As with all dystopian fiction I’ve read so far, I read and I am pulled into this alternative world of ‘what if’s’ and I’m always grateful for the freedoms we have.

I enjoyed this book, although I did find it a little slow in places and was waiting for the ‘action’. Whilst the build up and narrative required the time taken to come to fruition, I found the last 100 pages gave what I had been waiting for and were the most enjoyable section. I would liked to have seen a little more from Widowland and more from those that had lived through the formation of The Alliance, as I think that would have shaped the events that were built up to.

I won’t say anymore about the storyline, as reading myself and discovering how events unfolded is what I enjoyed most. If you love historical fiction and dystopian fiction, definitely give it a try.

Thank you very much to @netgalley @quercusbooks and @authorjanethynne for sending me this gorgeous hardback to review.

3 1/2 stars rounded up.

Widowland is a compelling dystopian alternative history and richly imagined and totally convincing portrait of what 1950s Britain might have been like as a German Protectorate, where the role and status of women is of special interest to those in power. Within a thrilling narrative of revenge and redemption, C J Carey has pictured every detail of how such a society might have been, and readers will cheer as the heroine Rose Ransom wins through in the end. A riveting read with richly descriptive worldbuilding and a thoroughly atmospheric sense of time and place, this is a stunning novel.