King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table: Newly Re-Told Out Of The… (1953)

This was one of the books that I read aloud to Jefferson. But then someone else read him the last chapter and put it away, so I needed to go grab it and read the last chapter before I counted it. That actually happened months ago, but I didn't get around to that last chapter until just now.

Jefferson likes stories and games with knights and wizards, so I thought I should read him one of the originals. But when I started this with Jefferson, I thought I'd picked another miss, because it seemed so dry, and I thought I was going to have to put it away until he was older. But then he would ask some question that would prove he was paying careful attention, or he would leap up for a dramatic reenactment to prove that he was definitely captivated by the story.

So these stories weren't exactly what I was expecting, but Jefferson loved them. And I enjoyed becoming more familiar with the Arthurian legends. ( )

Josh

Really liked it. Had never read in its entirety. Glad I did. Very gallant and full of imperfect heroes constantly sparring, saving ladies and seeking adventures. ( )

Really liked it. Had never read in its entirety. Glad I did. Very gallant and full of imperfect heroes constantly sparring, saving ladies and seeking adventures. ( )

I really loved this book - it was such a different writing style than what I normally read. Rather than telling it like an actual story, it was more like a telling of events.
My favorite character was definitely Arthur, though I did think that as King he should have been a little bit more active instead of watching all his knights do all the work.
The end was very sad, but interesting...
WARNING! SPOILERS!
I didn't understand why Lancelot and Guinevere didn't end up together. After fighting so much to be together, at the end they just give it all up, even when they've won, and go and become monk/nuns. Even if they are ashamed of such tragedy resulting in their love - they should have stayed together.
I was fascinated by the writing style at first but as the book wore on the reading got harder. It took me a while to finish it, because at the last few chapters I got very bored of the writing style and didn't pick up the book for another week or two.
Still, despite the writing style getting a little dry, this book is definitely recommended - the best account of King Arthur I've ever come across.