the once and future king the sword in the stone

Thus we get all the romance and tragedy of Malory's tale, but retold for a modern sensibility, with a large dose of the author's worldview for good measure. The central conceit that allows him to set the tale in the Age of Chivalry is that it wasn't William that conquered Britain, it was Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon. White's retelling of the Arthurian legend is a joy from start to finish. I'm glad to say that TH White's The Once And Future King is, if anything, even better than I recalled. There is always the chance that, in later life, the book will let you down, not be that thing you once thought it was. A classic.Ĥ positive reader review(s) for The Once And Future Kingĭavid from United Kingdom It is always dangerous to return to a book that had an impact at a young age, the memory of it preserved in amber, something untouchable. ‘This ambitious work will long remain a memorial to an author who is at once civilized, learned, witty and humane’ Times Literary Supplementġ0/10 Delightful and witty, yet very sombre overall. ‘Magnificent and tragic, and irresistible mixture of gaiety and pathos’ The Sunday Times White uses the inherent flexibility of prose to deliver a lot of information, not only background information that makes it easy for the modern reader to picture 12th- and 13th- century England, but also good analogues to modern society that work not only to clarify what might be confusing, but also to show the continuity of English life from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The fourth, The Candle in the Wind, concerns the end of the Round Table and Arthur's death. The third, The Ill-Made Knight, takes up the story of Sir Lancelot and his uneasy relation- ship with Queen Guenever and with Arthur. The second, The Queen of Air and Darkness, tells the story of adolescent sons of Orkney and their mother, Morgause.

The first, The Sword in the Stone, concerns the lost childhood of Arthur, future king of England, and his education by Merlyn. The volume published as The Once and Future King is actually four works separately composed over about 20 years.

Review The Once and Future King is a serious work, delightful and witty, yet very sombre overall. Exquisite comedy offsets the tragedy of Arthur's personal doom as White brings to life the major British epic of all time with brilliance, grandeur, warmth and charm. The Once and Future King, contains all four books about the early life of King Arthur (The Sword in the Stone, The Witch in the Wood, The Ill-Made Knight and The Candle in the Wind). White's masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend is an abiding classic. Lev Grossman, author of the wonderful The Magicians, believes that TH White's The Once and Future King is the best fantasy book every written.

The once and future king the sword in the stone