In Winter's Shadow

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Report: The last days of Camelot as narrated by Guinevere. Arthur lost in battle, Gawain and Mordred at daggers drawn over the death of Gawain's beloved son, death comes for all in the epic Battle of Camelot...Guinevere dies to the world by becoming a nun, and later the abbess of her nunnery. In this book, Guinevere's rupture with Arthur comes because she dishonorably attempts to rid the kingdom of horrible Mordred, not because she dallies with Lancelot. Frankly, I like this version a whole lot better because it makes internal sense to me, being the way I would expect Guinevere to have behaved based on her established character. Guinevere then reflects on the crash-and-burn of her hopes and Arthur's to save show more some small corner of the world for Roman knowledge and enlightenment. She sees, at the very end of her life, the Irish monastic ark that preserves a tiny fragment of Classical culture for the ungrateful future, and rests herself easy at last.

My Review: This is a reissue of the 1981 YA title that formed part of Bradshaw's first major commercial success. I got the book as part of the Goodreads First Reads program.

Bradshaw uses the Britonized spellings of the well-known characters' names: Gwynhwyfar, Medraut, Gwalchmai, none of which I felt comfortable with until about halfway through the book. She has a real gift for the characterization of these people, unlike some Arthurian follow-ons. She makes each of the people who come forward in the narrative into a very real presence. It's a lot of work to make a character consistent internally, but she does it, and despite the fact that she didn't have to because the characters are already so well-known.

This is book three of a trilogy. Frankly, it shouldn't matter much if you read them in order because I assume you're at least passingly familiar with the legend on which the books are based. Still, in order, the books are Hawk of May as narrated by the eponymous Gwalchmai or Gawain, being the story of his rebellion against his terrible mom Morgan le Fay/Morgawse, and service to her detested bastard half-brother Arthur; Kingdom of Summer, the tale of Gawain's penance for seducing the daughter of a king he was on Arthur's embassy to, and the death of his rotten mother at the hands of his big bully brother; finally this book. show less

Wow. This is a powerful book.
Bradshow's prose is as good as ever, and this book manages to retell the familiar Arthurian story with a few surprising elements.
Despite the tragedies, it ends on a lovely and hopeful note.

This is the third and final volume in the Arthurian retelling by Gillian Bradshaw, which has a post Roman Britain setting. Unlike the earlier books, this switches focus away from Gwalchmai (Gawain) and is told in the first person point of view of Arthur's wife, Gwynhwyfar (Guinevere). Also, unlike the others especially the first, this story includes no overt magic: the only lingering traces are the acknowledgement near the end of the presence of Gwalchmai's 'magical' horse of the Sidhe and his unearthly sword, both introduced in book 1 but not playing a part in this volume.

As the story opens Gwynhwyfar is worried about the problems building up at Camlann (Camelot). The end of volume 2 saw the ominous situation when Medraut (Mordred), show more Gwalchmai's younger brother and a reputed sorceror, arrived at Camlann and began to undermine the unity that Arthur had established with such effort. Gradually, the fact that Medraut is the child of incest and that his father is Arthur (ignoring the fact that Arthur was tricked by the sorceress Morgawse, as he didn't know she was his half-sister), begins to come out through Medraut's whispering campaign, alienating the support of allied kings and some of Arthur's own followers.

Medraut's insinuations also target his older brother Gwalchmai, and armed conflict breaks out as Arthur's 'band of brothers' begin to split into factions and individuals from each side fight duels over Medraut's accusations. Gwynhwyfar only succeeds in driving a wedge between herself and Arthur when she resorts to drastic action by poisoning Medraut's wine at a banquet, unsuccessfully. Gwynhwyfar's role puts her under immense pressure: she is, in effect, head administrator of the camp with the responsiblity for making sure everyone is fed and clothed and that there are supplies of everything needed by several hundred people. This, together with the emotional angst from her estrangement with Arthur, drives her into the arms of his right-hand man, Bedwyr. (In this retelling, there is no Lancelot, presumably because his character was developed in Medieval French songs and literature, and therefore was not an original component of the Arthur legend.)

The rest of the story is more or less as per the Arthurian legends with all the tragic fallout. The story itself is so well known that the interest in reading an Arthurian novel is in the way the author develops the characters and makes the story understandable in human terms, despite its unlikely elements. For me, the hopeless affair of Gwynhwyfar and Bedwyr failed to convince. Their behaviour came across as a sort of lovelorn teenage angst. The fact that they both knew it would lead to the destruction of everything for which they had worked, as well as the terrible betrayal of someone they loved - Arthur - and had even been warned of such by Gwalchmai, made their behaviour unbelievable. As previously developed - Bedwyr features even in the first novel - both are noble, self sacrificing people. Yet to continue their affair when Bedwyr has already had to fight a duel to deny the rumours spread by Medraut only makes sense if both are selfish - which we're told they are not: they just can't help themselves. In younger people, this might have been believable but Gwynhwyfar is thirty-eight, well into middle age by the standards of the period, and Bedwyr, who must be about the same, has previously shown deeply held religious beliefs as well. They might have lapsed once, given Gwynhwyfar's low ebb at Arthur's rejection, but to keep on doing it when the situation is escalating into obvious danger - Medraut and his gang watching their every move - doesn't add up.

The other problem with the book is its deadly dull pacing for the first three quarters. It dragged and was an effort to read, more or less from the outset. It only picks up when the two lovers are caught and even then, really only at the point where Gwynhwyfar escapes to Arthur's camp after her conscience drives her to accept the punishment she feels she deserved for her betrayal. The final 100 pages or so are much better paced and have some good confrontation scenes with Medraut and his followers, plus the unfolding of one tragedy after another. The short Epilogue has a tacked on feel, as it attempts to show there is still one ray of hope against the darkening which followed the loss of the dream of Camlann. The book was heading for a 1-star review, but its final quarter means that overall it has earned 2-stars. show less

I liked this book quite a bit more than the first two volumes of Bradshaw's Arthurian trilogy. I said in the reviews of the other two books that I not only didn't feel those first two books were standouts among Arthurian-themed books I had read, but that I preferred Bradshaw's straight historical fiction. And I do, even though I am a lover of fantasy--even high fantasy. Nevertheless part of the reason I liked this so much more is that this novel does read much more like historical fiction than fantasy. There are no tales of spending time in Faerie. No sorcery. No glowing swords that heal or witch's curses. Just the tale of a woman, Gwynhwyfar, who as a little girl found coins and broken glass of the departed Roman Empire and dreamed show more with Arthur of forming a storm break that could prevent the flickering candle of law and learning from guttering out. Bradshaw's historical works often dealt with Roman civilization, and I think the way she deals with the theme here resonates more than it does with most Arthurian stories. I also think that this is told by Gwynfwyfar also helps. Gwalchmai (Gawain) of the first book Hawk of May and Rhys of Kingdom of Summer didn't quite grip me the way she did as a character. Doesn't get five stars because I still can't help comparing this to beloved favorites such as Mary Stuart's Merlin Trilogy or T.H. White's The Once and Future King. But definitely a strong finish and a good read those interested in Arthurian legends--or the historical Dark Ages--would enjoy. I think it could even stand alone, although I think reading the first two books--which are enjoyable in their own right--would help. show less

Another in the "Hawk of May" trilogy, a pretty good version of "Historical Arthur" with Gwalchmai/Gawaine as the POV character. The characterization is pretty sharp, and the action moves along pretty well.

This book is really well-written and engaging, but I could only manage the 1st half. When things really started to go bad I couldn't bear it and had to stop.

This is the final book in my favourite trilogy and my all time favourite version of the Arthurian legend.

In Winter's Shadow is told in the first person, from the point of view of the Lady Gwynhywyfar. If you like fantasy or you are fascinated by tales of Arthurian Britain, this trilogy is two good to miss!