Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch

My name is Morgan… And there aren’t enough words for all that I am.

When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers.

Vengeful and brilliant, it’s not long before Morgan becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin, influential sorcerer to the king. But fighting for her freedom, she risks losing everything – her reputation, her loved ones and her life.

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My Name is Morgan is a novel that I had my eye on from its publication in 2023 and I couldn’t resist when it was on offer on Kindle.  I love feminist retellings, and while I often focus on Greek myths, I was intrigued by Keetch’s spin on Arthurian legend.  I’ll be honest, I’m not massively familiar with Arthurian legend beyond the headlines, but I’ve enjoyed novels set in this period of history such as Lucy Holland’s Sistersong.

We first meet Morgan (perhaps better known as Morgan le Fay) as a child.  I loved her immediately.  She’s bright and bold and completely uninterested in those pursuits considered suitable for women.  Luckily, her family is one that indulges her, and her father soon teaches her falconry, something that she comes to love.  She also begins to exhibit a power to heal, starting with an injured bird, but doesn’t explore this capability or what it means until she’s older.  I think that what I liked most about her is her curiosity – she wants to know how things work, and is happy to work to better her own understanding of anything and everything.  Had toasters been available at the time, I just know that she’s have taken one apart to see how it worked. 

While we meet Morgan at a happy time in her life with her family intact, it doesn’t last long.  Her father is murdered, and her mother tricked into marriage by King Uther Pendragon who has always desired her, with no small amount of help from Merlin.  Morgan again shows her courage by refusing to accept Uther as her father and King, despite the punishment that this results in.  She is feisty and determined, and soon resorts to avoiding the new King as much as possible.  From behind the scenes, her mother continues to do what she can for her daughters, although she’s limited by the marriage forced upon her.  She is able to secure teaching for Morgan, however, disguised as religious instruction to appease the King, to support her love of learning, and Morgan is eventually sent to a nunnery where, again unknown to Uther, she is given a more thorough education.

With her two older sisters married off, it’s inevitable that Morgan will follow suit, used by the King to secure loyalty and men as he has no other use for daughters.  Unfortunately for Morgan, it comes after she’s fallen in love with a young knight.  Called back from the nunnery, she is married off to Urien, who initially seems to be understanding and respectful of his wife’s knowledge and competence.  While she doesn’t, and won’t ever, love him, the two at least seem to find some mutual respect for each other.   It doesn’t take long for Urien’s true colours to show however, and his empty promises come to naught.  Morgan remains as resilient as ever throughout this period, never once compromising on who she is.

True power comes from freedom, and the ability to survive what befalls us.

Morgan is My Name takes us through Morgan’s early years and into marriage up to the point at which King Arthur appears and begins to unite Briton.  Her journey isn’t an easy one, and yet she persists in following her own path, no matter what those around her think or tell her to do – she’s prepared to suffer the consequences for what she thinks is right.  There is some naivety for her to grow out of, and this first novel in a planned trilogy does have a coming-of-age aspect to it.  I don’t quite agree with the blurb that she becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin – she will, I think, but isn’t there yet.  I can’t wait to read the second instalment, Le Fay, to continue my journey with this remarkable and powerful woman.  Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys feminist retellings, Arthurian legend, or fantasy novels set in the Anglo-Saxon period.

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Book 13 of 20 Books of Summer.