Alice Albinia has spent the past seven years travelling around the edges of Britain, piecing together ancient, medieval and modern myths of islands ruled by women. 

The Britannias reveals how much of Britain’s culture, history and ways of thinking has been formed by the islands around it. From Neolithic Orkney to modern-day Thanet, Alice Albinia takes us on a journey around the furthest reaches of Britain’s island topography, once known (wrote Pliny) by the collective term, Britanniae. Sailing over borders, between languages and genres, trespassing through the past to understand the present, this book knocks the centre out to foreground neglected epics and subversive voices.
An ancient British mythology of islands ruled by women runs like a secret, hidden river through the literature of this land – from Roman colonial-era reports to early Welsh poetry, Renaissance drama to Restoration utopias – transcending and subverting the most male-fixated of ages. The Britannias looks far back into the past for direction and solace, while searching for new meaning about women’s status in the body politic. Boldly upturning established truths about Britain, it pays homage to the islands’ beauty, independence and their suppressed or forgotten histories. 

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

Alice Albinia is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction. Her books include Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River and Cwen, set on an archipelago which comes under female rule, which was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.  

Doors will open from 30 minutes before the event. Age Advisory: All Ages Welcome. Seating: Unreserved. Accessibility: Disabled parking limited outside of the building, wheelchair accessible inside venue. Nearest toilets are at The Castle Heritage Centre or The Parkhouse Community Centre.

Tickets will be available to purchase from 1st March until the morning of the event online and in person from Bude Library from the 1st March until the day before the event (during their open hours).

Book tickets HERE