This book, like the first, goes off at a galloping pace. It's a relatively simple version of the Green Knight story, with humour and understanding, anThis book, like the first, goes off at a galloping pace. It's a relatively simple version of the Green Knight story, with humour and understanding, and links to other traditions like the Welsh Gwalchmai (who I consider one and the same as Gawain, but Morris plainly doesn't) and the Irish Cuchulainn. It's fun, as someone who knows the tradition well, to pick out what Morris got from where, whether it be a Middle High German romance or T.H. White.
It isn't the best retelling of this story I've read, but it's full of life and doesn't take itself too seriously. Recommended especially for young teens, I'd say.
I do approve of Morris' interpretation of Gawain -- and come to that, his version of Guinevere and what motivates her is both sad and interesting....more
I didn't end up finishing this. Perhaps because it was a book I read for my dissertation, and I was just reading for certain details, perhaps because I didn't end up finishing this. Perhaps because it was a book I read for my dissertation, and I was just reading for certain details, perhaps because it just feels dated and too much like everything else I've read. The closest comparison is with The Mists of Avalon, which I also disliked, if that helps.
There's nothing wrong with it as such, it's just the whole Celtic nostalgia thing doesn't work for me, particularly when you un-Celticise the most Celtic character of the lot (Cai). ...more
Sword of the Rightful King is a quick, fun read. It's very much in the Malory/T.H. White tradition, rather than anything more innovative. It's not verSword of the Rightful King is a quick, fun read. It's very much in the Malory/T.H. White tradition, rather than anything more innovative. It's not very subtle -- the little mysteries of the story are fairly easy to work out. It has a very clever Guinevere, though Morgause is sluttish and stupid as usual. (Oh for a story that portrays everyone with psychological realism. Morgause could see Arthur as an usurper and still be a rational human being, y'know.) The whole "weak as women's magic" trope is played out, as well.
Still, Gawaine and his brothers were all believable and interesting characters, and Kay too. Agravaine and Kay were given a significant amount of space and thought by Yolen, which I liked. I enjoyed the little glimpses of all the other characters too -- Bedwyr and Lancelot, particularly, even though they hardly featured. The little references to parts of the legend not explored in this particular story were pretty good too: references to the Siege Perilous and to Lancelot and Guinevere, for example....more
I really loved reading Idylls of the Queen. It took me a while to get into, because the more flippant stories of Camelot are much less my thing, but aI really loved reading Idylls of the Queen. It took me a while to get into, because the more flippant stories of Camelot are much less my thing, but at its heart the story loved the older tellings of the story, which helped (you can tell by the fact that Phyllis Ann Karr chose an epigraph for each chapter from Malory). It was fun playing spot-the-source, too.
Kay's narrative voice is delightful, and the mystery is fun, too. It helps if you have a good knowledge of Malory, both to follow the plot and make your own guesses, and to see what Karr is doing so cleverly. I loved her version of Gawain, too, and her sympathy with the female characters of the stories was a joy to read. Morgan Le Fay getting to tell her own story -- obviously not totally novel, but fresh enough.
I'm not sure how much this is actually going to help me with my dissertation, but it's a very fun book anyway....more
It took me a long time to get through this unabridged, untranslated version of Le Morte Darthur, but it is -- for the most part, anyway -- worth it. TIt took me a long time to get through this unabridged, untranslated version of Le Morte Darthur, but it is -- for the most part, anyway -- worth it. The fact that Malory himself gave up on Tristan is a fair indication of that, and of course this is a hyper-masculine text and there are dozens of loving descriptions of battles and jousts, but the story of Arthur is, to my mind, one of the most powerful stories we tell (second only to that of Christ, in my mind). Nothing can bury that, not even a bad writer, and Malory wasn't that. A writer very much of his time, yes, but the work that inspired Tennyson, White and Steinbeck is obviously worth a look...
The Norton edition is a good one, as usual, with helpful glosses, notes, and supplementary material. For pleasure, I do recommend an abridged version of Malory, but for study I'd definitely suggest this....more
The Squire's Tale is quite a light treatment of the Arthurian legend, suitable for young readers and an enjoyable -- but very quick -- read for adultsThe Squire's Tale is quite a light treatment of the Arthurian legend, suitable for young readers and an enjoyable -- but very quick -- read for adults too. I've had it on my list for a long time, but I only actually eventually bought it because supposedly the series has a sympathetic Kai, and my dissertation is on the various permutations of Sir Kay.
This one, however, would've been more useful for my Gawain essay. It turns a lot of the stories, even Malory's, to Gawain's advantage, and plays up the idea of him being the Maidens' Knight, and so on. Terence is, as far as I know, a completely invented character, but he's likeable enough for me, particularly because of his devotion to Gawain, which I entirely approve of. I wish there'd been a longer treatment of the story of Ragnelle (though here she is conflated with Lady Florie and called Lady Lorie), but I appreciate Morris' feeling that Malory was rather too hard on Gawain, and his comments on Gawain's earlier character.
There's very little about Kai, but he is at least a character you can sympathise with in his concern for Arthur, with nods back to his literary ancestry in the way he clings to traditions like squires not sitting in their knights' presence.
Overall, it's a very simple story, but that didn't make it unenjoyable....more
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