The Sword and the Circle: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
by Rosemary Sutcliff
King Arthur Trilogy (1)
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Retells the adventures of King Arthur, Queen Guenevere, Sir Lancelot, and the other knights of the Round Table.Tags
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Member Reviews
I first found Rosemary Sutcliff when I picked up a copy of Eagle of the Ninth. Her style is very readable and I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of Mallory's epic Arthurian tales.
I have always loved the legends of King Arthur. I read them as a child and I read them in college when I took a class called Medieval Epic and Romance. There is something so appealing about these stories, the combination of chivalry and strength and the fact that a knight without courtesy and mercy is no knight at all. There are so many stories to choose from and such a scope of characters and plots in this book. I would recommend it to middle school aged readers - some of the language can be difficult and some of the content is slightly mature for younger readers.
Began reading to kids in 2008. Themes of adultery and magic-never finished reading...possibly could read in high school, but use with caution.
Gave up on this after 1 chapter. A really dull re-telling of the arthurian stories.
Young Arthur Pendragon became High King of England the instant he pulled the mysterious sword from within the stone. He unlocked the magic within the sword Excalibur, and won the heart of the Lady Guenever. At his side through quests and adventures were the Knights of the Round Table--among them Gawain, who faced certain death at the hands of the Green Knight; Percival, who learned that it took more than a victory on horseback to win a place at the Round Table; and Lancelot, who daily felt a passion he was forced to hide. And over them all ruled Arthur, true King. . . .
Young Arthur Pendragon became High King of England the instant he pulled the mysterious sword from within the stone. He unlocked the magic within the sword Excalibur, and won the heart of the Lady Guenever. At his side through quests and adventures were the Knights of the Round Table--among them Gawain, who faced certain death at the hands of the Green Knight; Percival, who learned that it took more than a victory on horseback to win a place at the Round Table; and Lancelot, who daily felt a passion he was forced to hide. And over them all ruled Arthur, true King. . . .
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Author Information
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Rosemary Sutcliff was on born December 14, 1920 in East Clandon in Surrey, England. As a child she had Still's Disease, a form of juvenile arthritis. The effect of this led to many stays in hospital for painful remedial operations. She ended her formal education at fourteen, and went to Bideford Art School. She passed the City and Guilds show more examination and worked as a painter of miniatures. She felt cramped by the small canvas of miniature painting and turned to writing. Her first two books, The Chronicles of Robin Hood and The Queen Elizabeth Story, were published in 1950. Her other works included The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch, Sword Song, and the autobiography Blue Remembered Hills. She won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association for The Lantern Bearers in 1959 and the annual Horn Book Award for Tristan and Iseult in 1971. She won inaugural Phoenix Award in 1985 for The Mark of the Horse Lord and again in 2010 for The Shining Company. In 1975, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to children's literature, and was promoted to be a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1992. She died on July 23, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Zwaard en kroon
- Original title
- The Sword and the Circle
- Original publication date
- 1979
- People/Characters
- King Arthur; Merlin; Guinevere (as Guenever); Lancelot du Lac (as Lancelot of the Lake); Morgan le Fay (as Morgan La Fay); Nimue (show all 18); Gawain; Green Knight; Gareth; Elaine; Tristan; Iseult the Fair; King Mark; Geraint; Enid; Dame Ragnall (as Ragnell, aka the Loathely Lady); Percival; Sir Kay
- Important places
- Great Britain; Wales, UK; Camelot; Cornwall, England, UK; Tintagel, Cornwall, England, UK; Carlisle, Cumbria, England, UK (show all 7); Caerleon, Wales, UK
- First words
- In the dark years after Rome was gone from Britain, Vortigern of the narrow eyes and the thin red beard came down from the mountains of Wales, and by treachery slew Constantine of the old royal house and seized the High Kings... (show all)hip of Britain in his place.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)‘It grows late,’ he said, ‘let us be going in to the feasting, to make welcome our newest-come knight of the Round Table.’
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Kids, Fiction and Literature, Tween, Children's Books
- DDC/MDS
- 398.2 — Society, Government, and Culture Customs, etiquette & folklore Folklore & Folktales Folk literature
- LCC
- PZ8.1 .S95 .S — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 748
- Popularity
- 37,443
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.65)
- Languages
- 7 — Dutch, English, German, Japanese, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 21
- ASINs
- 5
