The Island of the Mighty – Evangeline Walton (1970)

Long before Arthurian retellings became a trend, Walton wrote The Mabinogion Tetralogy — and this finale, The Island of the Mighty, is its jewel.

It reimagines Welsh myth with rare intelligence and emotional depth — no knights in shining armor, just flawed gods and fierce women shaping a mythic Britain.

The prose sings; the politics bite. Walton’s world feels more ancient real than magical.