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The Crystal Cave (The Arthurian Saga, Book…
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The Crystal Cave (The Arthurian Saga, Book 1) (original 1970; edition 2003)

by Mary Stewart

Series: The Arthurian Merlin Saga (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
5,8341101,713 (4.06)2 / 370
Fantasy. Fiction. HTML:

Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myrdden Emrysâ??or as he would later be known, Merlinâ??leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man's-son, taking him from prophesying before High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon ... and the conception of Arthur, king for once and always… (more)

▾Book information
Member:SusanJeanStevens
Title:The Crystal Cave (The Arthurian Saga, Book 1)
Authors:Mary Stewart
Info:Eos (Trade) (2003), Paperback, 512 pages
Collections:Fiction, Read but unowned
Rating:****
Tags:Arthurian

Work Information

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart (1970)

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  1. 40
    Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (LiddyGally)
    LiddyGally: Both "autobiograhical" accounts of the life of a man with powers of a magical kind, told from boyhood to manhood. Compelling writing makes for a great read and memorable story!
  2. 74
    The Once and Future King by T. H. White (myshelves)
    myshelves: Basis for the play/movie Camelot.
  3. 30
    Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson (myshelves)
    myshelves: Tennyson's classic rendering of the Arthurian legends in verse.
  4. 30
    Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott (Kasthu)
  5. 30
    Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff (Anonymous user)
  6. 10
    The Last Legion by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (Bookshop_Lady)
    Bookshop_Lady: Mary Stuart ties the Arthur legend to Rome through Ambrosius and his brother Uther. Valerio Massimo takes a slightly different turn to the story: The Last Legion is the story of the last Roman emperor, who fled to England searching for the last legion of Roman soldiers, hoping they would still be loyal to him. This last emperor, a youth of about 13 when he attains the throne, will grow up to become Uther Pendragon. Fan's of Mary Stuart's trilogy will appreciate Massimo's interpretation of the Arthur legend.… (more)
  7. 10
    Storyteller by G. R. Grove (Rowntree)
    Rowntree: Adventures in Britain a generation after King Arthur.
  8. 10
    A Traveller's Guide to the Kingdoms of Arthur by Neil Fairbairn (myshelves)
    myshelves: Non-fiction guide to traditional Authurian sites.
  9. 00
    The Soul Thief by Cecelia Holland (themulhern)
    themulhern: Fairly realistic historical fiction, with magic added in. Cecilia Holland's is grittier and more original and told from several points of view and not as the memories of a now old man.
  10. 00
    The King Must Die by Mary Renault (bjappleg8)
    bjappleg8: so many common threads: the "bastard" son of a royal daughter whose father turns out to be a king; who is god-touched and destined for glory but ultimately tragic. Also, strange to say, both these re-tellings of ancient myths by women feel fairly misogynistic.… (more)
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▾Member reviews
English (106)  Spanish (1)  Italian (1)  French (1)  All languages (109)
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 106 (next | show all)
F/SF
  beskamiltar | Apr 10, 2024 |
F/SF
  beskamiltar | Apr 10, 2024 |
One of my favorite novels. I return to it again and again.
It's the Legend of King Arthur told in the first person by main protagonist, Myrddin Emrys, better known as Merlin. Mary Stewart draws heavily from
Le Morte d'Arthur the seminal compilation of Welsh Arthurian legend by Sir Thomas Mallory. Stewart's Merlin is born royal, but a bastard. He's a brilliant, arcanely sensitive and isolated boy who grows to youth, and manhood amid the turmoil of 5th century England. This is a bellicose time of petty kingdoms with ever shifting alliances.

Merlin's famous magic, (portrayed believably as learned science, art, and innate mystic gift), drives him towards the creation of the one true unifying monarch, Arthur king of the Britons.

The Crystal Cave is very much Merlin's story, the second book,(The Hollow Hills)), and third (The Last Enchantment), books in the quintet, are still narrated by Merlin, cover the more familiar tales of Arthur's legend. I've read The Wicked Day, (The death of Arthur as told by Modred), and the last of the quintet, The Prince and the Pilgrim, (A side story regarding Morgan Le Fey's bad behaviors), but for me, the Merlin Trilogy are all.
Poet, and Master of English literature, Mary Stewart's research and engagingly lyric prose, long ago spoiled me for all other depictions of Merlin and King Arthur.


(Although Nigel Terry and Nicol Williamson are forgiven because Excalibur is just so darned pretty) ( )
  djambruso | Feb 23, 2024 |
One last spin through my hardback cop before passing this series onwards to a new generation.. ( )
  Kiri | Dec 24, 2023 |
I still love it. (And my preteen crush on Ambrosius is still strong!) ( )
  autumndragyn | Nov 23, 2023 |
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▾Published reviews
Eerste deel van een trilogie over het leven van de legendarische tovenaar en helderziende Merlijn. Hij leefde in het Brittannië van de vijfde eeuw en was in zijn latere leven de opvoeder en raadgever van de grote koning Arthur. Dit eerste deel omvat het verhaal over zijn geboorte en eerste levensjaren, doorgebracht aan het hof van zijn grootvader, de koning van Zuid-Wales. Verder: de ontdekking van de glazen grot en zijn opleiding bij de ziener Galapas. Het boek eindigt met de geboorte van koning Arthur. Een boeiend verhaal over deze magiër; door haar levende verbeelding en vlotte schrijftrant weet de schrijfster de lezer van begin tot eind te boeien. Wordt vervolgd door: "De holle heuvels". Normale druk, volle bladspiegel.
(Biblion recensie, J. v. Leeuwen-v.d. Tempel.)
added by karnoefel | editNBD/Biblion (via BOL.com)
 
▾Other authors

» Add other authors (31 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Stewart, Mary—primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Fishman, MarcIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hämäläinen, InkeriTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lundgren, ElseTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Panske, GünterÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Perkins, DerekNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ratzkin, LawrenceCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Thorne, StephenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
▾Series and work relationships
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▾Common Knowledge
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For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
The Crystal Cave
Original title
The Crystal Cave
Alternative titles
Original publication date
1970-08
People/Characters
Merlin Ambrosius [as Merlin, Merlinus, Myrddin Emrys]
Galapas
Ambrosius Aurelianus
Uther Pendragon
Ulfin
Important places
Wales, UK
England, UK
Brittany, France
Important events
Related movies
Merlin of the Crystal Cave (1991 | IMDb)
Epigraph
O Merlin in your crystal cave
Deep in the diamond of the day,
Will there ever be a singer
Whose music will smooth away
The Furrow drawn by Adam's finger
Across the meadow and the wave?
Or a runner who'll outrun
Man's long shadow driving on,
Burst through the gates of history,
And hang the apple on the tree?
Will your sorcery ever show
The sleeping bride shut in her bower,
The day wreathed in its mound of snow,
And Time locked in his tower?
----Edwin Muir
Dedication
To the Memory
of Mollie Craig
with my love
First words
PROLOGUE: The Prince of Darkness

I am an old man now, but then I was really past my prime when Arthur was crowned King.
BOOK I: The Dove

The day my uncle Camlach came home, I was just six years old.
BOOK II: The Falcon

The first I knew of our coming to shore was being roused, still heavy with that exhausted sleep, by voices talking over me.
BOOK III: The Wolf

I was five years with Ambrosius in Brittany.
BOOK IV: The Red Dragon

The way the chronicles tell it, you would think it took Ambrosius two months to get himself crowned King and pacify Britain.
Quotations
"Mithras, Apollo, Arthur, Christ -- call him what you will," I said. "What does it matter what men call the light? It is the same light, and men must live by it or die. I only know that God is the source of all the light which has lit the world, and that his purpose runs through the world and past each one of us like a great river, and we cannot check or turn it, but can only drink from it while living, and commit our bodies to it when we die." -- Merlin
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Engels
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

▾Book descriptions
Fantasy. Fiction. HTML:

Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myrdden Emrysâ??or as he would later be known, Merlinâ??leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man's-son, taking him from prophesying before High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon ... and the conception of Arthur, king for once and always

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Book description
WHO WAS MERLIN?

Was the famed magician of Camelot and King Arthur's court really a sinister, all-powerful being from another world? Was he truly a Prince of Darkness? Or was he a man with the passions of other mortals? A man with unique intelligence and unusual gifts? Why was he so feared? How did he come by his occult powers? Why was the crystal cave so important to him?

Fifth century Britain is a country of chaos and division after the Roman withdrawal. Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess who will not reveal to her son his father's true identity, Myridden Emrys -- or as he would later be known, Merlin -- leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man's-son, taking him from prophesying before the High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon ... and the conception of Arthur -- king for once and always.
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Genres

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

823.914Literature › English & Old English literatures › English fiction › Modern Period › 1901-1999 › 1945-1999

LC Classification

PR6069.T46Language and Literature › English › English Literature › 1961-2000

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