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In Guinevere, Sharan Newman told us the story of that lovely and legendary woman's childhood up until her wedding night. Guinevere is now the beautiful young wife and queen of King Arthur, a position much-coveted by all women of Camelot. But nothing in life is ever certain, and soon Guinevere discovers - most alarmingly - her deep and passionate love for another man: Lancelot, the most beloved Knight of the Round Table in all of Camelot. Here Sharan Newman brings the legend of Lancelot and show more Guinevere to life with the same blend of magic and history that has made her Catherine LeVendeur medieval mystery series such a success. As ambitious and striking as The Mists of Avalon and The Hollow Hills, The Chessboard Queen is a beautiful rendering of the world's most timeless romance, a tale of earthly passion and spiritual love like no other before or since. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Definitely my favorite version of the King Arthur story (despite the fact I'm not so crazy about Guinevere herself). This series privileges the fantastic and romantic aspects of the Arthur stories over the historical (you sort of have to, if you are including Lancelot and Guinevere), and it doesn't seem to favor Christianity or Paganism like some of the versions I've read. It's a bit soapy, I"ll admit, but I love Gawain!
Part 2 of trilogy. Guinevere is a compliant wife, not acting on her attraction to Lancelot. Political maneuvering in Britain is highlighted.
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Author Information
Sharan Newman is a medieval historian and author. She took her Master's degree in Medieval Literature at Michigan State University and then did her doctoral work at the University of California at Santa Barbara in Medieval Studies, specializing in twelfth-century France. She is a member of the Medieval Academy and the Medieval Association of the show more Pacific. Newman has done research at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France Meridionale et Espagne at the University of Toulouse and the Institute for Jewish History at the University of Trier, as well as many departmental archives. show less
Some Editions
Series
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Chessboard Queen
- Alternate titles
- The Chessboard Queen: A Story of Guinevere
- Original publication date
- 1983
- People/Characters
- Guinevere; Lancelot du Lac; King Arthur; Gawain; Merlin; Lady of the Lake (show all 8); Gareth; Morgan le Fay
- Important places
- Camelot; Caerleon, Newport, Wales, United Kingdom; Tintagel Castle; Tintagel Island, Tintagel, North Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Important events
- Sub-Roman Britain; Rise of King Arthur
- Dedication
- To Cathy, Kimiko, and Bev
who know what friends are for - First words
- The misty, mysterious coast of Britain had been visible for hours, but to the man who peered at it through a blur of nausea, it did not appear to be getting any nearer.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She left her hair undone and went to him.
- Blurbers
- McCaffrey, Anne
- Original language
- English US
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PS3564 .E926 .C4 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 142
- Popularity
- 229,697
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.58)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 1
