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Mabinogion Tetralogy #4
The Island of the Mighty
Tricked into giving birth to him, the sorceress Arianhod swore that the child should be nameless until she named him...that he should not bear arms until she herself bestowed them...and that he should never love a woman of the human race.
But her brother and lover Gwydion tricked her into bestowing a name, Liew...and Gwydion's wiles brought her to arm him...and then Gwydion called upon his craft to produce a woman who was supremely lovely and ardent in her passion for Liew..yet not human.
But her brother and lover Gwydion tricked her into bestowing a name, Liew...and Gwydion's wiles brought her to arm him...and then Gwydion called upon his craft to produce a woman who was supremely lovely and ardent in her passion for Liew..yet not human.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1936
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759 people want to read
About the author
Evangeline Walton
34 books120 followersEvangeline Walton was the pen name of Evangeline Wilna Ensley, an American author of fantasy fiction. She remains popular in North America and Europe because of her “ability to humanize historical and mythological subjects with eloquence, humor and compassion”.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 28, 2023
The last shall be first, and the first last
Matthew’s Gospel
The Island of the Mighty, though chronologically last in the Mabinogion Tetralogy, was the first written, published more than thirty years before the other three volumes. This, along with the fact that the Forth Branch is the weirdest and most complex of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, likely explains why The Island of the Mighty is the least successful of the four books. Evangeline Walton was a less experienced writer when this was written, and the Fourth Branch is so strange and odd that wrestling it into the form of a modern novel was simply a more difficult task.
There is plenty to like in this volume. Walton still wielded words like magic, often creating an otherworldly spell that well suits the material. But she also became excessively wordy throughout long sections, spinning out episodes of marginal interest far too long and far. Also, her author’s narrator’s voice intrudes too often, distracting from rather than enhancing the story.
The book’s most intriguing element also presented its greatest challenge. The characters that we follow are complex and morally ambiguous, to the point of often being difficult to identify with. Gwydion, the principle protagonist, is a clever magician who deceives, cheats, steals, and manufactures a war all to assist his brother in committing rape. Math is a godlike, magical king, whose mind and emotions are supernaturally remote. Walton writes of him:
”At last they had forgotten him, as men forget cliffs or the nearness of the infinite sea.”
Arianrhod, Gwydion’s sister, is a beautiful sorceress whose arrogance and vanity are her defining characteristics, and her behavior in service to them is reprehensible. Lleu Llaw Gyffes, her rejected son and Gwydion’s heir, displays a naivety and stupidity that would have made even Sampson scratch his head in wonder, and Blodeuwedd, the magical flower wife, commits a staggering treachery and betrayal. While it is fascinating to have a cast of characters that falls far outside our accustomed hero/villain tropes, it does at times make relating to these strange tales challenging.
Despite all of this, The Island of the Mighty is well worth reading, particularly for those who already have read the first three volumes. It completes the fate of the hero Pryderi of Dyfed, who was born in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and is the only character to figure into all four branches. It is also of interest because of the raid of the pigs of Dyfed that started a war, which is reminiscent of other early Celtic myths, such as the Irish Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley).
Matthew’s Gospel
The Island of the Mighty, though chronologically last in the Mabinogion Tetralogy, was the first written, published more than thirty years before the other three volumes. This, along with the fact that the Forth Branch is the weirdest and most complex of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, likely explains why The Island of the Mighty is the least successful of the four books. Evangeline Walton was a less experienced writer when this was written, and the Fourth Branch is so strange and odd that wrestling it into the form of a modern novel was simply a more difficult task.
There is plenty to like in this volume. Walton still wielded words like magic, often creating an otherworldly spell that well suits the material. But she also became excessively wordy throughout long sections, spinning out episodes of marginal interest far too long and far. Also, her author’s narrator’s voice intrudes too often, distracting from rather than enhancing the story.
The book’s most intriguing element also presented its greatest challenge. The characters that we follow are complex and morally ambiguous, to the point of often being difficult to identify with. Gwydion, the principle protagonist, is a clever magician who deceives, cheats, steals, and manufactures a war all to assist his brother in committing rape. Math is a godlike, magical king, whose mind and emotions are supernaturally remote. Walton writes of him:
”At last they had forgotten him, as men forget cliffs or the nearness of the infinite sea.”
Arianrhod, Gwydion’s sister, is a beautiful sorceress whose arrogance and vanity are her defining characteristics, and her behavior in service to them is reprehensible. Lleu Llaw Gyffes, her rejected son and Gwydion’s heir, displays a naivety and stupidity that would have made even Sampson scratch his head in wonder, and Blodeuwedd, the magical flower wife, commits a staggering treachery and betrayal. While it is fascinating to have a cast of characters that falls far outside our accustomed hero/villain tropes, it does at times make relating to these strange tales challenging.
Despite all of this, The Island of the Mighty is well worth reading, particularly for those who already have read the first three volumes. It completes the fate of the hero Pryderi of Dyfed, who was born in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and is the only character to figure into all four branches. It is also of interest because of the raid of the pigs of Dyfed that started a war, which is reminiscent of other early Celtic myths, such as the Irish Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley).
June 17, 2011
Island of the Mighty retells the last branch of the Mabinogion, the story of Gwydion, Arianrhod, Llew Llaw Gyffes, Blodeuwedd and Goronwy. It begins with a retelling of stealing the pigs belonging to Lord Pryderi. Gwydion uses this to provoke war, allowing his younger brother to rape the king's footholder. This also leads to the death of Pryderi, which doesn't endear Gwydion to the reader who has also read the retellings of the other three branches -- and also to the disgracing of Arianrhod and the birth of Llew Llaw Gyffes.
The themes Evangeline Walton explored in the other books come to fruition here, as power passes more and more from women to men, even power over birth and the rearing of children. Arianrhod is not very sympathetically dealt with, I have to say: often Walton's work suggests that the passing of women's power is a bad thing, but Arianrhod is capricious and unkind, considered by characters and text unnatural -- for the crime of not having wanted to bear a child! Blodeuwedd isn't treated with much sympathy here, and the other women are barely characters.
It's hard to sympathise with most of the characters here, particularly as they stir up war, steal, lie and trick each other. I still enjoyed it as a retelling and think Walton dealt well with the material, but I wish she'd been kinder to Arianrhod and Blodeuwedd, who were both unable to fit in the patriarchal society that wanted power over women's bodies, and expected them to abide by two conflicting sets of rules.
The themes Evangeline Walton explored in the other books come to fruition here, as power passes more and more from women to men, even power over birth and the rearing of children. Arianrhod is not very sympathetically dealt with, I have to say: often Walton's work suggests that the passing of women's power is a bad thing, but Arianrhod is capricious and unkind, considered by characters and text unnatural -- for the crime of not having wanted to bear a child! Blodeuwedd isn't treated with much sympathy here, and the other women are barely characters.
It's hard to sympathise with most of the characters here, particularly as they stir up war, steal, lie and trick each other. I still enjoyed it as a retelling and think Walton dealt well with the material, but I wish she'd been kinder to Arianrhod and Blodeuwedd, who were both unable to fit in the patriarchal society that wanted power over women's bodies, and expected them to abide by two conflicting sets of rules.
October 18, 2012
I'm not sure if this is a "retelling" of the Mabinogi, or an "adaptation" or a "novelization" or what. What I am sure of is that it was a lovely, lovely book, full of graceful prose, magic, love and loss. And unpronounceable Welsh names. And maybe just a wee dram of 1930's spiritualism/mysticism courtesy of the author. Highly recommended.
September 26, 2017
Chronologically, this is the last of Walton's Mabinogion Tetralogy, even though it was actually published first. It's probably best that it not be the first one in the collection; I found the story inherently less interesting than Prince of Annwn. It's a good story, but a little more typically fantasy-quest-legend style than the other.
Gwydion, strong, fair, and intelligent prince of north Wales repeatedly facilitates the dreams of those he cares about, only to have his plans thwarted by the people he cheats in the process. Just in case you might feel conflicted about this, it is explained how those others weren't good people anyway ;) Antics include tricking his uncle the king into going to war so that Gwydion's brother might make off with the king's footmaiden. She must be a virgin, and is required to hold his feet at all times while he's not at war. Doesn't that make it difficult for the king to exercise or train?
In the quest for a replacement, Gwydion's sister ends up bearing two children (and thus proving unsuitable), and Gwydion's quest shifts to raising one of them in spite of his sister's repeated attempts to curse the child.
Gwydion is used as a major character in Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series, and you can see elements of others too, such as Gwydion's witchy sister and base and treacherous lords. The intrigue is interesting and the tragedy is heartbreaking and beautiful.
Gwydion, strong, fair, and intelligent prince of north Wales repeatedly facilitates the dreams of those he cares about, only to have his plans thwarted by the people he cheats in the process. Just in case you might feel conflicted about this, it is explained how those others weren't good people anyway ;) Antics include tricking his uncle the king into going to war so that Gwydion's brother might make off with the king's footmaiden. She must be a virgin, and is required to hold his feet at all times while he's not at war. Doesn't that make it difficult for the king to exercise or train?
In the quest for a replacement, Gwydion's sister ends up bearing two children (and thus proving unsuitable), and Gwydion's quest shifts to raising one of them in spite of his sister's repeated attempts to curse the child.
Gwydion is used as a major character in Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series, and you can see elements of others too, such as Gwydion's witchy sister and base and treacherous lords. The intrigue is interesting and the tragedy is heartbreaking and beautiful.
October 30, 2021
Walton's series based on the Mabinogion is SO beautiful to me. Not every book hits the same level, but of course she's working directly from a source material.
Where it soars are in the moments of the most painful tragedy - when the people in these stories sink beneath the weight of their own character or rise because of it. And like all the oldest stories, no one gets out alive... it's the element of story that Tolkien tapped, the acknowledgement that while bound to this world, we are all bound to the wheel, and no one wins in the end; we all have to die. But the best of us live well, and even the worst of us can die well.
It's the kind of thing newer story telling 'fixes,' either by stopping the story before that point, or by allowing the characters special dispensation a la immortality or some other cheat. I like that kind of story telling, I don't always want to be punched in the face by what I'm reading, but it doesn't impact your heart the same way.
So THIS story has bad people doing bad things, good people doing bad things, indifferent people doing good, bad, and indifferent things, etc etc... it's pretty amazing.
Walton's greatest strength is in the fact that she's a modern writer, able to give her wisest characters a future knowledge that makes them seem prescient and wiser even than they were written originally. It makes them much more potent, and makes the philosophical and religious discussions extremely interesting and powerful.
My favorite of the four books.
Where it soars are in the moments of the most painful tragedy - when the people in these stories sink beneath the weight of their own character or rise because of it. And like all the oldest stories, no one gets out alive... it's the element of story that Tolkien tapped, the acknowledgement that while bound to this world, we are all bound to the wheel, and no one wins in the end; we all have to die. But the best of us live well, and even the worst of us can die well.
It's the kind of thing newer story telling 'fixes,' either by stopping the story before that point, or by allowing the characters special dispensation a la immortality or some other cheat. I like that kind of story telling, I don't always want to be punched in the face by what I'm reading, but it doesn't impact your heart the same way.
So THIS story has bad people doing bad things, good people doing bad things, indifferent people doing good, bad, and indifferent things, etc etc... it's pretty amazing.
Walton's greatest strength is in the fact that she's a modern writer, able to give her wisest characters a future knowledge that makes them seem prescient and wiser even than they were written originally. It makes them much more potent, and makes the philosophical and religious discussions extremely interesting and powerful.
My favorite of the four books.
August 30, 2025
Easily one of my top five favourite fantasy series! Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys mythological retellings and literary fantasy, or just wants to read some of the earliest feminist fantasy stories!
July 15, 2021
Rewriting Math fab Mathonwy, Evangeline Walton follows the plotting fairly tight, but elaborates significantly in the trappings. With some gorgeous moments of prose, she elucidates the purposes and plans of the Mabinogi characters. Drawing from contemporary anthropological theories and likely some of her own ponderings on marriage and sex, Walton challenges social normatives and spiritual assumptions in something that feels far more of the republishing date of 1970 than it did its origin of 1936. It is no wonder that despite its high praise, it failed to adhere and, along with three unpublished brethren, was banished until Lin Carter sought to introduce the newly-minted and Tolkien-enticed fantasy fans into the genres lost tradition.
September 7, 2025
This can be a tough read at times given the writing style and subject matter. The book references a number of Welsh heroes and heroines from mythology, as well as expects the reader to have some basic familiarity with the peoples of mythological Wales. I'm far from an expert but recall enough that in some retellings, one of the peoples are descendants of Atlantean refugees (or at least I think that is what it is). Then you have the fae, or perhaps descendants of gods, and another group of the closest that you can get to natives. It is also helpful to be familiar with the concept of maternal inheritance for the thrones - the monarch must be male, but his heir would be the son of his sister as that is the only guaranteed way to ensure that the monarch is of the same blood - and old Welsh marriage customs, or rather lack thereof.
Gwydion is the main character here and he engages in a number of questionable behaviors all tied to one big plan. It starts with him tricking another tribe and ultimately stealing their cherished pigs, then helping his lovestruck younger brother commit a violent crime against one of his uncle's attendants (to put it mildly). There are many characters with complex backstories who you have to remember because they will make a cameo later.
The history of this book is actually really cool and explains some of the choppiness. I tend to prefer to read series in publication order rather than chronological order and I'm glad I did so in this case.
Gwydion is the main character here and he engages in a number of questionable behaviors all tied to one big plan. It starts with him tricking another tribe and ultimately stealing their cherished pigs, then helping his lovestruck younger brother commit a violent crime against one of his uncle's attendants (to put it mildly). There are many characters with complex backstories who you have to remember because they will make a cameo later.
The history of this book is actually really cool and explains some of the choppiness. I tend to prefer to read series in publication order rather than chronological order and I'm glad I did so in this case.
March 23, 2022
This final branch of the Mabinogion was actually published first in 1936. It didn’t do well and thus the others weren’t published at all at that time. They were all finally published in the 70’s with this one being reprinted first. Why they were printed at this time out of order I don’t know, but reading it in the order I did made sense. This one was tough to get into because the heroes of The Song of Rhiannon are beaten by the main characters of this book. So it begins with you feeling like you’re being manipulated. By the end of this one, I did like one of the main characters and kind of liked another. But getting from beginning to end was difficult mainly for this reason.
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Come visit my blog for the full review…
https://itstartedwiththehugos.blogspo...
September 13, 2025
4th & final branch, but the first that Walton wrote and it shows a bit with on-page second-guessing of possibilities wrt original texts, rather than smooth novelisation/fictionalisation, but still a very good/entertaining job, with the tale of Math, Gwydion, Arianrhod, Llew Llaw Gyffes, Blodeuwedd etc and their various sorceries/curses. 3.5 Stars, but having to round down cos not as good as Children Of Llyr which I enjoyed best.
January 10, 2026
This is definitely my favorite in the tetralogy. The book was divided into three parts and I found myself reading each part in one or two sittings, taking some time in between to digest. I guess my only gripe with is that it suddenly ends. It would have been nice (for my edition) to have an extended afterword by the author to reflect on the whole ordeal. But I guess this was already long enough lol.
June 21, 2017
A satisfying reworking of Welsh legend. There are more than a few winks made at 20th century society in the narrative, but the spirit of ancient tales is strong with it. As with any adaptation of an oral narrative there are hook phrases which recur nearly constantly that kight make this a thoroughly enjoyable audio book if someone had the time and grasp of Welsh pronunciations.
November 1, 2022
Solid attempt at expanding the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi into a full-fledged novel, but Walton's personal additions to the story are a little infected with proto-New Ageisms which don't necessarily feel like they fit all that well. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
January 1, 2020
The novel is a retelling of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion, Math Fab Mathonwy (Math, son of Mathonwy).
January 29, 2022
I loved her writing style for this book. She really brought everyone to life and drove the story ever forward. It was very hard to put this book down.
February 3, 2024
This instalment is probably the best in the series, I prefer the first, but it is grander and more diversely cast. There is a poignance and beauty in this narrative that I found lacking in the Third Branch (The Song of Rhiannon). A great way to conclude The Mabiongion, I enjoyed my time reading Walton's forgotten fantasy classic.
October 27, 2016
The tetralogy is great and a thing of beauty. I believe, however, that this the fourth book is perhaps my least favorite. Perhaps it was the way Walton's 20th century voice broke through, a bit more insistently than in the previous three books. Maybe my tolerance for reading about stupid people who don't learn is making me into one of those insufferable prigs-- O God, please no.
I really can't say why I like Island of the Mighty less, but whatever the reason, it is nevertheless a great conclusion to a great series. Walton did an amazing job of telling the ancient stories in a way that is simultaneously faithful to the old while catering to our modern psycholgical concerns to make a richly satisfying mythic story for people today. It is difficult to imagine anybody else doing that job as well as she did.
I really can't say why I like Island of the Mighty less, but whatever the reason, it is nevertheless a great conclusion to a great series. Walton did an amazing job of telling the ancient stories in a way that is simultaneously faithful to the old while catering to our modern psycholgical concerns to make a richly satisfying mythic story for people today. It is difficult to imagine anybody else doing that job as well as she did.
October 14, 2016
Of all the 4 books in the Mabinogian this was undeniably my favorite. The characters are larger than life itself (they are gods afterall). But gods wrestling with mere human flaws and the consequences born of them. The prose still seemed dry and dusty to me at times, but had a logic to it that, once I fell in time with it, was easy to fall back into whenever I picked up the tale again. I especially enjoyed the dedication at the end by the author to Gwydion. It told me of a love beyond the simple pages of translated script, but a deeper and more encompassing love of story and idea and fulfillment, the kind which makes reading stories more than just a pastime, but a lifetime endeavor.
January 31, 2014
A superb adaptation of the fourth branch of the Mabinogion (a collection of Welsh myths). The magic is powerful (despite Walton's insistence it's just Lost Science), the characters are vivid, though the mysticism is cliched and her handling of gender issues a bit uncomfortable (this was written in the 1930s)--for example, Walton's assertion that before virginity became a concept, rape didn't exist (WTF?). I think it's terrific, even so.
May 22, 2025
I hate to say this but I got tired, a little bored with this series this time around. One of my favorite series back in highschool but some 40 years later not so much. I am still glad I revisited them, though.
April 17, 2015
An exciting adaptation of the fourth branch of the Mabinogi. Walton made it a blast to read, and contextualized it for a slightly less misogynistic audience without bowdlerizing or making it feel inauthentic. I'm ordering the other three parts to read soon!
March 24, 2011
I'm not sure why, but I couldn't get into this one at all. Main characters were all pretty hateful and selfish, and I didn't like them or care about them. I much prefer Lloyd Alexander's Gwydion!
April 22, 2011
Originally titled The Virgin and The Swine. Awesome celtic mythology. My father knew the author who was known as "The Blue Lady" because she suffered from a lack of oxygen when she was born.
April 11, 2012
first half was four stars, second half was five stars, so I'd give it 4.5 if I could:).
September 19, 2012
Wow! Trippy feminist retelling of parts of the Mabanogion. Unexpected and slightly shocking in places.
July 20, 2013
read it during the 1970s and remember loving it. Need to reread it.
October 5, 2014
A rich, interesting remake of old Welsh myth. I enjoyed marking the similarities between this and other more modern takes on Celtic lore.
November 16, 2014
Now that I've finished the Fourth Branch I wish that there was more, time to start reading any related material I can find. ^_^
April 7, 2017
The final branch of the Mabinogion is masterfully retold by the author. It encompasses the magic, love, and tragedy of the tale, and is told with empathy and love.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews