Morgan Is My Name

ADVANCE PRAISE FORMorgan Is My Name“A very real, passionate retelling of Morgan le Fay’s story, with detail about political and magical lives, and the women who are such a vital part of the tale.”—Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author“This is the powerfully feminist, intricately woven, and realistically enchanting Arthurian tale you’ve been waiting for. Morgan is her name, and I love her.”—Kiersten White, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Camelot Rising Trilogy“Compelling and poignant, Sophie Keetch’s prose is as mesmerizing as the ocean’s tides, illuminating Morgan’s life with a deft and attentive hand. Built on the bones of exquisite longing and unsung power, Morgan Is My Name portrays a woman forging her own path and reclaiming her story. A stunning delight.”—Rebecca Ross, internationally bestselling author of A River Enchanted“Morgan Is My Name is a powerful reimagining of the origins of Morgan le Fay, infusing the familiar tales of Arthurian legend with a fresh voice, profoundly human characters, and an atmosphere both wistful and deliciously ominous. This book felt like a warm hearth in a lonely castle by the sea, and I loved every sentence.”—H.M. Long, author of Hall of Smoke“As fierce and wild as the Cornish sea she is named for, Morgan defies her cruel stepfather King Uther and follows her passions for healing, scholarship, and a handsome young knight. Keetch’s deft handling of this ancient tale highlights Morgan’s intelligence and strong will, treating readers to a truly delicious tale of self-actualization and vengeance.”—Luna McNamara, author of Psyche and Eros“Sophie Keetch takes us to a familiar destination—Camelot—on a brand-new road. Morgan Is My Name has magic, mythology, Merlin, and a Morgan le Fay we’ve never met before. Here, we meet a heroine who staunchly refuses to diminish herself while negotiating the world of powerful and cruel men. With twists and turns around every bend, you will love the journey of this book as much as its destination.”—Sharon Emmerichs, Sunday Times bestselling author of Shield Maiden“Top marks all round for an enthralling new take on the Arthurian legend, beautifully written.”—The Times (UK)“This is the Arthurian legend as you rarely see it: told not by Uther, Arthur or Merlin, or indeed their male champions, but by the complicated woman they condemned. Keetch’s Morgan is vulnerable, courageous and defiant. She makes the legend hers, and I can’t wait to accompany her on the next part of the journey. For lovers of the untold story, Morgan Is My Name is a convincing and compelling read.”—Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong“Evocative, haunting and utterly addictive, this is a book to lose yourself in.”—Tracy Borman, author of The King’s Witch“Keetch’s Morgan does not disappoint … literally fire and a perfect harbinger of the woman Morgan is destined to become!”—Stacey Thomas, author of The Revels PUBLISHED BY RANDOM HOUSE CANADACopyright © 2023 Sophie Keetch LimitedAll rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published in 2023 by Random House Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto, and simultaneously in the United Kingdom by Oneworld Publications, London. First published as an original audio book by Audible. Distributed in Canada and the United States of America by Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto.www.penguinrandomhouse.caRandom House Canada and colophon are registered trademarks.Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in PublicationTitle: Morgan is my name / Sophie Keetch.Names: Keetch, Sophie, author.Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20220252505 | Canadiana (ebook) 20220252548 | ISBN 9781039006492 (softcover) | ISBN 9781039006508 (EPUB)Classification: LCC PR6111.E33 M67 2023 | DDC 823/.92—dc23Text design: Emma Dolan, adapted for ebookCover design: Emma DolanImage credits: (swords) larryrains; (hands) Luccy_lapka / both Getty Imagesa_prh_6.0_143802033_c0_r0 For Jason Enter chorus.I am my own chorus.—Anne Carson, Norma Jeane Baker of Troy ContentsCoverAdvance Praise for Morgan Is My NameTitle PageCopyrightDedicationEpigraphPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41Chapter 42Chapter 43Chapter 44Chapter 45Chapter 46Chapter 47Chapter 48Chapter 49Chapter 50Chapter 51Chapter 52Chapter 53Chapter 54Chapter 55Chapter 56Chapter 57Chapter 58EpilogueAcknowledgementsAbout the Author I WAS BORN in the midst of a storm, when the waves rose so high up the cliffs of Tintagel it was feared the entire castle would be dragged into the sea. Though my mother never spoke of it, my nurse, Gwennol, often told the tale—how Lady Igraine’s cries fought with the thunder, her pain carried off on the screaming wind, lightning illuminating her struggle and the dangerous labour she never had with my two sisters.“For a while we were sure she would die,” Gwennol would say, holding me rapt, over the music of Cornwall’s swirling clifftop breeze. “Hours she lay there, howling like a banshee, bone-tired. We were about to lose the light when your lady mother sat up, staring at the window as if seeing the Angel Gabriel himself. ‘The sea has come!’ she cried. ‘Risen up to bear us away!’ And God strike me if it weren’t true. There it was, waves crashing at the window, coming to claim us all. I ran to see, but by the time I got there, the water was exactly where it should be, and when I looked back, so were you: born, alive and open-eyed. Your mother insisted it was the sea that delivered you, and so you were named.”Morgan is my name, and its origin true at least—“sea-born” by way of the Welsh tongue. My mother bestowed it personally after the stormy circumstances of my birth, steadfast in her belief the ferocious Cornish waters had saved us both.“You cried for an hour after she bore you,” Gwennol told me. “Raging at the world until that storm blew itself out and the sea settled beneath us. Truly the name is yours by