The King Arthur Trilogy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
King Arthur Trilogy (Collections and Selections — Omnibus)
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'Traitor! Now is your death-time upon you!' You may think you know all about King Arthur, the young boy who plucked the sword from the stone. You've probably heard stories about Merlin's magic powers and the Knights of the round table...these are the stories we learn at school. But they are just the beginning. Here are tales of human sacrifice, dragons, sword fights to the death, noble quests, tragedy and great courage: this the real world of King Arthur. Are you brave enough to enter? show more Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can test your knowledge of the legends and find out which Knight of the Round Table you most resemble. Vintage Children's Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from The Jungle Book and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
When the darkness crowds beyond the door, and the logs on the hearth burn clear and red and fall in upon themselves, making caverns and ships and swords and dragons and strange faces in the heart of the fire, that is the time for storytelling.
Come closer then, and listen.
So begins The Road to Camlann, the third volume in Rosemary Sutcliff's King Arthur Trilogy. Doesn't it just give you a delightful shiver? The first and second books, The Sword and the Circle and The Light Beyond the Forest, are told with same deft touch that characterizes all of Sutcliff's work.
It's been years since I last read these classic Arthurian stories. She remains very faithful to the originals (at least, as faithful as one can be to a tradition that has so show more many variants), without the major reinventing that has become so fashionable these days. Arthurian stories are always interesting to adapt for younger audiences because of all the lusty scandals, but she handles these well, not shying away from the events but not making them explicit, either.
Sutcliff's stories are peopled with individuals who live and breathe. Nimue is mysterious rather than sinister, Guinevere, Arthur, and especially Lancelot are rendered believable and even understandable in their everlasting love triangle, and many of the other knights are given little touches of personality that add an extra dimension to their characters. This volume will probably be my children's first serious foray into these stories, and I couldn't think of a better place for them to start. Recommended. show less
Come closer then, and listen.
So begins The Road to Camlann, the third volume in Rosemary Sutcliff's King Arthur Trilogy. Doesn't it just give you a delightful shiver? The first and second books, The Sword and the Circle and The Light Beyond the Forest, are told with same deft touch that characterizes all of Sutcliff's work.
It's been years since I last read these classic Arthurian stories. She remains very faithful to the originals (at least, as faithful as one can be to a tradition that has so show more many variants), without the major reinventing that has become so fashionable these days. Arthurian stories are always interesting to adapt for younger audiences because of all the lusty scandals, but she handles these well, not shying away from the events but not making them explicit, either.
Sutcliff's stories are peopled with individuals who live and breathe. Nimue is mysterious rather than sinister, Guinevere, Arthur, and especially Lancelot are rendered believable and even understandable in their everlasting love triangle, and many of the other knights are given little touches of personality that add an extra dimension to their characters. This volume will probably be my children's first serious foray into these stories, and I couldn't think of a better place for them to start. Recommended. show less
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Author Information
84+ Works 22,317 Members
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
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Arthur-kuninkaan tarinoita
- Original title
- The King Arthur Trilogy
- Alternate titles
- King Arthur Stories
- Original publication date
- 1999
- People/Characters
- King Arthur, Sir Launcelot, Queen Guinevere, Sir Mellegrans, Sir Gareth of Orkney, Sir Kay, Lynette, Beaumains, Lady Layonnesse, Lady Elaine, King Pelles, Sir Lavaine, Sir Gawaine, Le Chevaliar Malfait, Sir Blyant, Sir Ewaine, Sir Percival, Sir Sagramore, Elose, Lady Lesolie, Sir Ector de Maris, Sir Bors de Ganis, Denneys, Sir Percevant of Hind
- First words
- In the dark years after Rome had gone from Britain, Vortigern of the narrow eyes and thin red beard came down from the mountains of Wales, and by treachery, slew Constantine of the old royal house and seized the High Crown of... (show all) Britain in his place.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And indeed he had spoken truth, for the stories of Arthur and his knights are told and re-told to this day.
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 319
- Popularity
- 100,200
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.76)
- Languages
- 5 — English, English (Middle), Estonian, Finnish, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
- 4
