Arthur the King: A Romance: Book 1 ("The Dark Ages" trilogy) - Hardcover

Massie, Allan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0297816780 ISBN 13: 9780297816782

Publisher: W&N, 2003

Synopsis

In this epic novel, Allan Massie cleverly uses the key points of the Arthurian legend -- Arthur himself, his wife Guinevere, his lover Morgan le Fay, Merlin, the sword Excalibur, and the Knights of the Round Table -- but readers would need to be exceptionally well versed in Arthurian lore to tell where Massie has added his own inventive twists to the tale.

From the moment when callow young Arthur succeeds in drawing the sword Excalibur from the stone, thus becoming King, the story unfolds. We see how, with the aid of Merlin and the knights, Arthur welded England into a single nation, and became involved in the wars of a wider Europe, until at his death England fragmented once again.

We may think we know the story of Arthur and of Camelot, but in Massie's hands it comes across as newly minted.

About this title

Review:

"If you have only a dim recollection of the Arthur legends, this is an opportunity to rediscover their variety. And Massie entertainingly adds his own, deliberately anachronistic, original ingredients." (SALLEY VICKERS, THE TIMES)

"The Arthurian legends... always bear a fresh telling, especially from such a well-versed historical novelist as Massie... a cracking story." (THE OBSERVER)

"I hope Massie doesn't stop at a mere trilogy. With entertainment as high-wrought and glittering as this, even a dodecalogy would be too short." (DAILY TELEGRAPH)

"a lively and colourful yarn." (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

"A timely examination of the power and pitfalls of myth in political life." (SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY)

"This novel simply adds to my admiration for this absurdly underrated author." (GLASGOW HERALD)

Well-handled (TLS)

It is in the mists of sinister suggestion that Massie's skill truly glitters... you are held by the throat from beginning to end. (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)

Book Description:

The story of King Arthur enthrallingly imagined by one of our leading novelists.

About this edition

• Publisher: W&N
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0297816780
• ISBN 13: 9780297816782
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304