Book Review: Gwen & Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher

‘Gwen And Art Are Not In Love’ by Lex Croucher was released in May 2023, and explores the idea of queer relationships in post-Arthurian Britain, where there are little-to-no historical records. Due to this, Croucher is able to take significant artistic license and offer a story that is delightfully funny, and devastating.

This story offers a take on many of the delicious romantic tropes like a marriage of convenience, or an arranged marriage in this instance, fake dating, secret relationships and due to the influence of many of the characters involved, the stakes are incredibly high. It was amazing!

Arthur DeLacey was betrothed to his fiancée, Princess Gwendoline since he was a toddler, however, the two have never been amicable. In a bid to improve their relationship in anticipation of their matrimony, Arthur, and his bodyguard Sidney FitzGilbert, are sent to England’s capital, Camelot, where Arthur was expected to court Gwen. Except, Arthur is gay, and cannot love Gwen the way he is expected to.

After a bad start to his time in Camelot, Arthur seeks leverage, and literally digs up Gwen’s diary from several summers’ past, where he finds explicit ramblings, observations and fantasies about a knight attending a royal tournament hosted at Camelot this summer: the only ever serving female knight in England as far as records show: Lady Bridget LeClaire.

What starts as an attempt to blackmail Gwen eventually grows into a friendship over shared emotions, and as the summer progresses, Gwen, who once thought she favoured a solitary life, realises she wouldn’t cope without the people she spent the summer with: her brother, Gabriel, her betrothed, Arthur, Sidney, her lady-in-waiting, Agnes, and of course, Bridget.

A summer of secret rendezvous between Gwen and Bridget, Arthur and Gabriel and Sidney and Agnes quickly slips away, and with it, comes the bitter reality that these lovers cannot live their lives in stolen moments.

What I loved about this book was that there were so many modern references which Croucher masterfully adapted to the setting and time period her story was set in. Although Gwen and Arthur’s names appear directly derivative of the legendary King Arthur. I loved the odes to other figures in the stories of the Knights of The Round Table, like Elaine, and Lancelot. I loved the observation that dozens of noble families in England had named their sons Lancelot, and there were many daughters called Morgan jotted across the country. It was incredibly funny, reminiscent of how when I was at school, girls called Emma were inescapable. Another reference that had me cackaling was how Arthur declares there are two taverns called The Round Table, and they are a stone’s throw apart. Like how there are hundreds of pubs called The Ship or The White Heart or The Lion. It was incredibly funny.

I certainly enjoyed the ending of the story, and how it demonstrated to each of the characters how much their found family and lovers actually meant to them and the lengths they were willing to sacrifice in order to be with them. How, despite his fears, Gabriel doesn’t want to be without Arthur, or hide under the guise of court business in order to enjoy his company, and Gwen doesn’t want to make Bridget sacrifice her career for her. It was an incredibly epic way to demonstrate the futility of human existence.

And of course, who doesn’t love the idea of the second coming of a legendary figure like King Arthur. Wow. This book truly was amazing – it had me in stitches throughout and has made me desperate to read more of Croucher’s work ASAP!