The Library: Books



There are SO many books written on this subject, but I'll only touch on a few of them. The few that I touch on are ones that I particularly like for one reason or another. If you want me to add another, email me here
A bibliography of Arthurian Novels


--La Morte D'Arthur--
--Persia Woolley's Trilogy--
--Marion Zimmer Bradley's Trilogy--
--Helen Hollick's Trilogy--
--Fay Sampson's Cycle--
--Stephen Lawhead's Cycle--


La Morte D'Arthur by Thomas Malory


This is the classic book that I read as part of my freshman high school reading list. It is a very good book filled with all sorts of characters, but the story seems to have a few anachronisms. First of all, King Arthur supposedly existed before Rome fell, therefore, Christianity would not have been so rampant in England at that time. It is understandable if he converted, but the story seems to assert that he was Christian from his childhood onward, something that would have been possible, but unlikely. I also don't particularly like the character of Guinevere in this story. She was not a very strong character and her infidelity with Lancelot wasn't really explained as to why she did it. Lancelot, himself, wasn't really much of a character, just an ideal. Arthur himself isn't a very clear character. The book seems to be more about action than character development, which is fine with me, but if character development is important, other books are better. The large amounts of characters in this book prevent that.
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PERSIA WOOLLEY'S ARTHURIAN TRILOGY



Book I: Child of the Northern Spring

This was also a book I read as part of my Freshman reading list. I found that, although it was a little slow at first, it became interesting as the story moved on. Told entirely from the point of view of Guinevere, the story starts when she was a child of about seven, living in Rheged in Northern England. The characters, especially Guinevere herself, are vividly drawn and I found that I liked her quite a bit more.

Book II: Queen of the Summer Stars

It is toward the beginning of this volume that Guinevere meets Lancelot, who she hates from the start. That doesn't sit well with Arthur, who is best friends with Lancelot. Another thing that doesn't sit well between them is the fact that Arthur's sister Morgan le Fey dislikes Guinevere intensely. She, of course, does not tell Arthur that. The story progresses faster than the first one and the ending leaves you hanging, yet also is satisfying.

Book III: Guinevere, the Legend in Autumn

This story brings the legend and the trilogy to a close. It goes into the life of Mordred, who Guinevere raises as her own son. His character is much more sympathetic in this story than in the original, but still not enough to get me to like him. It is also in this story that the Quest for the Holy Grail takes place and Lancelot has his affair with Elaine of Carboneck. At the end of the story, Lancelot is found in Guinevere's room and the fighting ensues over whether she was or was not having an affair with him. The end of the story is very sad like all the others, but Guinevere's courage triumphs over such foes as Morgan le Fey and Mordred.
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MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY'S AVALON TRILOGY



Part I: The Forest House

This story begins years before Arthur, yet it has a great significance on the way the story is told. It centers around Elian, a priestess on the mysterious Island of Avalon during the Roman times. She is a Celt and was taught to hate the Romans for what they were doing to Britain, yet she fell in love with Gaius, a young Roman soldier. She was forced to make a choice between her faith and her heart, an ultimately tragic choice. The story is beautifully written and I found that I couldn't put it down.

Part II: Lady of Avalon

This story concerns itself with Elian's descendants and the way they carried on the work of Avalon. It ends with Vivien, who was the Lady of the Lake at the beginning of The Mists of Avalon. It was a good book though I felt the other two were superior.

Part III: The Mists of Avalon

This is the familiar territory. The book begins with Ygrainne, the wife of the old Duke of Cornwall, meeting Uther Pendragon for the first time. After the conception of Arthur, the story jumps to the point of view of her daughter Morgaine, who finds herself jealous of her stepfather. Morgaine grows up on the island of Avalon under the supervision of Ygrainne's sister, Vivien, the Lady of the Lake. It is there that she accidentally sleeps with her half-brother Arthur, not knowing who he was.The story moves on from there, introducing characters like Gwenhwyfar and themes like her love for Lancelot. This book may seem daunting at first, but it is a stunningly beautiful book that should be read by anyone even remotely interested in the legends.
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HELEN HOLLICK'S TRILOGY: PENDRAGON'S BANNER



Part I: The Kingmaking

This trilogy is probably my favourite out of all the ones I have read so far. It gives a completely different and fresh view of the legend that I enjoyed very much. The book is a little hard to find since it is fairly new and not available in all stores. It begins in the year 450 when Uthr Pendragon returned from Less Britan (Northern France) and joined forces with Cunedda of Wales against the Roman tyrant, Vortigern. He brought with him his mistress Morgause and a boy who later turned out to be his son, Arthur. The story spans about ten years, unlike Marion Zimmer Bradley's novels which spanned far longer periods of time. However, this story is filled with plot twists and great characters. Arthur, himself, is completely different from all other versions of the character (see my Characters page for details)as is Gwenhwyfar and all the other personages in the story. As far as I'm concerned, this is my favorite out of all the versions I have read so far.

Part II: Pendragon's Banner

Arthur is War Lord of all Britain by the beginning of this book, but there is far more to it than just lounging around. The Saxons are still involved, as are sea-raiders and all sorts of other invaders. Among enemies at home are Uthr's old mistress, Morgause, Arthur's ex-wife, Winifred and several other false friends. The story is just as good as the first one, though a lot sadder at parts. I found myself sobbing quite hard at a few intervals.

Part III: Shadow of the King

This book is a fitting conclusion to a marvellous trilogy. At the beginning, Arthur leaves for Gaul (France) to help an old friend defend against the barbarian invaders that attacked Rome. The rest of the story intertwines his own adventures overseas and Gwenhwyfar's struggle to keep the kingdom in one piece while her own life is in complete disarray. The character of the usually evil Mordred is not the same (his name is Medraut in this book) and it is another son of Arthur's, Cerdric, who fills that role perfectly. The ending of this story is also incredibly sad, though one knows that Arthur has to die sometime...
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FAY SAMPSON'S CYCLE: (NOT SURE OF TITLE)



Daughter of Tintagel

I own this book though I have not yet read it (another thing to put on my list of "what to do when I have a long time to spare"). However, someone e-mailed me about this book and recommended it along with the rest of the cycle. I am not sure which book this is as far as order is concerned but once I find out about the rest, I will put it on here.
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STEPHEN LAWHEAD'S CYCLE: (DOES IT HAVE A TITLE?)



Taliesin

This cycle of five books was certainly intriguing, to say the least. I found out far more about Merlin than I had at any other time and enjoyed that. Merlin is a fascinating character and the way the author tied his existence in with the fall of Atlantis was nothing short of extraordinary. The romance between Charis and Taliesin was extremely moving and I would recommend this book to anybody interested in either Atlantis or King Arthur. It gives a very interesting view, especially of Morgian, Charis' younger half-sister who starts wreaking havoc on everything and makes her various appearances later on. Watch out for her!

Merlin

Most people think of Merlin as an old man but I always wondered what his life was like as a youngster. Mary Stewart's trilogy did a good job of describing that though this one, in my opinion, holds attention far better. Merlin has a fine childhood in the mystical kingdom of Avallach until he is kidnapped by a northern tribe, the first of his many adventures as a young man. Merlin has a great character, strong and honest with a dry sense of humor that I enjoyed. However, there were parts of this book that were incredibly sad, though I won't name specifics. I could completely understand why Merlin became such a bitter man in later days.

Arthur

I'll admit, I'm biased toward Helen Hollick's Arthur, but Stephen Lawhead does do a fine job of creating a character that is almost as memorable. I admire anyone who tries to create an Arthur; it takes a lot of courage. His Gwenhwyfar is certainly spirited enough for me but she hardly appears at all! Why create such a wonderful character only to have her disappear for long intervals of time? Oh well, that's life I suppose.

Pendragon

This book concentrates on a few "lost" battles between Arthur and a band of warriors from the East, an intriguing concept I rather liked. The battle scenes are extremely well-done, the conflicts between Arthur and Gwenhwyfar's cousin (or some relative) are also heated. It also gave far more of an insight into Arthur himself, which I liked.

Grail

To put it bluntly, I did not particularly care for this book. I haven't been much of an advocate of "Arthur being a virulent Christian." Still, I have to say the book did a fine job of incorporating the Grail search and Morgian into the same plot. Well, she's back and worse than ever!
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