NetGalley: Widowland by C.J. Carey

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Published: 8/9/2022

Pages: 432

Genre: Historical Fiction

Review: NetGalley

Amazon

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

LONDON, 1953. Thirteen years have passed since England surrendered to the Nazis and formed a Grand Alliance with Germany. It was forced to adopt many of its oppressive ideologies, one of which was the strict classification of women into hierarchical groups based on the perceived value they brought to society.

Rose Ransom, a member of the privileged Geli class, remembers life from before the war but knows better than to let it show. She works for the Ministry of Culture, rewriting the classics of English literature to ensure there are no subversive thoughts that will give women any ideas.

Outbreaks of insurgency have been seen across the country with graffiti made up of seditious lines from forbidden works by women painted on public buildings. Suspicion has fallen on Widowland, the run-down slums where childless women over fifty have been banished. Rose is given the dangerous task of infiltrating Widowland to find the source of the rebellion before the Leader arrives in England for the Coronation ceremony of King Edward VIII and Queen Wallis. Will Rose follow her instructions and uncover the criminals? Or will she fight for what she knows in her heart is right?

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

 I started this book and put it down. I was getting a Handmadians vibe from it, and don't get me wrong, I loved the Handmadians Tale, but I wouldn't say I like for stories to be copied. I went through reading a few reviews and realized a lot of people were getting it. I then decided I would attempt to give this book a chance and pray it would not be just like it, as I was looking for something original. 

I will say I was impressed. But, as I started diving deeper into the story, I was intrigued as to what Rose would do. Was she going to help uncover those making waves, or will she join the ranks and make even bigger waves? 

Rose is our character who still remembers the before time. Before, women had rights; they could do things they wanted. Now this new time, she is not to tell stories of strong female characters; she is to rewrite them; she is to hopefully get married and start having children or find herself in the widowland with the other women who can no longer have children and are pretty much like outcasts. The women must undergo a series of tests to see where they will be for the rest of their lives. A factory worker or a teacher jobs such that. Yet, you can not just jump into those jobs. You have to be placed there, and hopefully, you are not demoted. I liked how this story was more of a what-if this happened in the UK. Such as, the UK joined the Alliance with Germany, and there was no WWII. Overall a good story, and I liked the whatif behind it.  

Thank you for visiting my author page! It's great to meet new readers and I'm grateful for your support and interest in my books. C.J. Carey is my pen name - I've also written several novels as Jane Thynne, including the Clara Vine series.


I was born in Venezuela, went to school in London and then to Oxford University where I read English. After that I worked as a BBC journalist, before moving to Fleet Street and working at the Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent, as well as numerous magazines. I live in London with whichever of my three children is around. Widowland is the first novel I've written as C.J.Carey.

 

I much appreciate feedback so please get in touch via twitter @janethynne or on my Facebook page Facebook.com/AuthorJaneThynne/ or my website Janethynne.com.