Arthur the King
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Book Overview
At the top of his form, historical novelist Allan Massie revisits Britain in the dark years after the collapse of Rome, when the land is being ravaged by bitter struggles for power among warring kings. Or so it is until the arrival of Wart, a servant boy who has been tutored by a troupe of strolling players as well as by the politically astute magus Merlin. Reinventing old stories like that of the sword in the stone, Massie replaces the magic in Merlin's wondrous deeds with natural philosophy. In the often-incredible stuff of Arthurian legend and sixth-century history, Massie seeks out more mythic truths as romance confronts unheroic realities in Wart's transformation into the statesman-king Arthur. In Massie's tale, too, Arthur's marriage to Guinevere is a matter of political convenience. Lancelot is a sickly neurotic with little sense of honor. Mordred hides behind religious piety as he undermines Arthur's kingdom with a military dictatorship. An increasingly troubled and isolated monarch--as unsympathetic to his thuggish knights' lust for battle as he is to their quest for the Holy Grail--Arthur does have one long-loyal friend. His name is Cal--a common man blessed with common sense--and an invention of Massie's brilliant own mind.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0786713844
ISBN13:9780786713844
Release Date:October 2004
Publisher:Carroll & Graf Publishers
Length:292 Pages
Weight:0.05 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 6.4" x 9.3"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
a Well Told Tale
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
The Arthurian legends have taken on many guises and formats over the years and Allan Massie's attempt is as good as most. It does stray in many ways from the original tale but as the whole Arthurian saga is more myth than actual proven fact this does not really matter. I think that in this particular book Allan Massie writes to shock the reader and for those of a delicate or sheltered upbringing the book will certainly achieve that. I found the book an interesting read, not the best telling of the Arthurian legend, but certainly not the worst. What does bug me though with many of the books about Arthur is that the book cover illustrators find it necessary to depict the men in suits of armour, a form of protection that is medieval. If Arthur existed at all, he lived many centuries before then and would not know a suit of armour if one dropped on his foot.
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