The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (81 page)

Hanratty, Peter
,
The Last Knight of Albion
(US, 1986),
The Book of Mordred
(US, 1988) (f)

Best read in reverse order of publication.
The Book of Mordred
is the story of Arthur’s son in his own words, depicting a well meaning but misunderstood individual
who is forced onto the Grail Quest to become a man. Here the Grail is Dagda’s Cauldron. The second book is set twenty years after Camlann and follows the quest by Percevale, the last
surviving Round Table knight, to find Mordred, who had created the Waste Land when he destroyed Arthur’s realm. Anachronistically we learn at the end that these events all take place before
the Roman conquest.

Hawks, Kate
(pseudonym of Parke Godwin),
The Lovers
(US, 1999) (m)

A retelling of the story of Trystan and Yseult against the back-cloth of Arthur’s Britain. Told from the viewpoint of Sir Gareth who here was originally an Irish peasant,
Deigh mac Diarmuid, but who becomes Lord Trystan’s stablemaster before achieving knighthood.

Headlee, Kim
,
Dawnflight
(US, 1999) (h)

The author wanted to revise the reputation of Guenevere by portraying her as a strong-willed warrior queen. Here she is the Pictish princess Gyanhumara, betrothed to the British
warlord Urien, but soon to become the lover of Arthur. The story follows their relationship through Arthur’s battle campaign, starting at Aberglein in Caledonia. Although marketed as a
romance this is one of the more original of recent historical re-creations.

Herbert, Kathleen
,
The Lady of the Fountain
(UK, 1982) (h)

Relocates the story into Cumbria, the true territory of the traditional story’s hero, Owain of Rheged. Herbert also wrote a trilogy,
Queen of the Lightning
(UK,
1983),
Ghost in the Sunlight
(UK, 1986) and
Bride of the Spear
(UK, 1988). These are set in Northumbria in the early seventh century, thus a hundred years after Arthur of Badon, but
feature memories of Arthur plus many historical characters associated with Geoffrey’s Arthur. The trilogy tells the stories of various warrior queens of the north.

Hollick, Helen
(b.1953),
The Kingmaking
(UK, 1994),
Pendragon’s Banner
(UK, 1995),
Shadow of the King
(UK, 1997) known collectively as the
Pendragon’s Banner trilogy (h)

Another creative attempt at an historical Arthur. Set in the mid fifth century, and following Geoffrey Ashe’s theory that Arthur was Riothamus, this series explores some
interesting new avenues. Hollick makes Gwenhwyfar the daughter of Cunedda, and Arthur’s second wife. His first was Winifred, daughter of Vortigern, by whom Arthur was the father of Cerdic.
Bedwyr, Cei, Morgause and Morgaine all feature as does, unusually, Amlawdd, here portrayed as the brother of Melwas. Although not as convincing as some other historical re-creations, this trilogy
is to be admired for its efforts to be original and authentic.

Housman, Clemence
(1861–1955),
The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis
(UK, 1905; slightly revised, UK, 1954; US, 2000) (m)

The story of the oft-neglected Sir Aglovale, brother of Lamorak and Percivale. Housman was a feminist and suffragette and came from a noted literary family; her brothers were
the poets A.E. and Laurence. She uses Sir Aglovale as the vehicle for her own views
on a suppressive class-riddled society which was at its worst in Edwardian England. Edith
Pargeter singled out the novel as “by far the finest work on an Arthurian theme since Malory”.

Hunter, Jim
(b. 1939),
Percival and the Presence of God
(UK, 1978, US, 1997) (m)

A clever reworking of the traditional story of Percival in which he undertakes a quest not only to rediscover the Grail Castle and correct his error over the unasked question,
but also to find Arthur’s court, which he believes may be a myth. By this simple twist Hunter creates a strikingly original work which is both a mystical allegory and a quest for
self-fulfilment. Arthurian expert Raymond H. Thompson called it “unique” in Arthurian fiction for being a Christian existential novel.

James, Cary
,
King & Raven
(US, 1995) (m)

A vivid and violent portrayal of murder and revenge at Camelot. Micah is a local peasant boy who witnesses the rape and murder of his sister by four of Arthur’s knights.
He seeks justice from Arthur but gets none and has to flee England or be killed himself by the knights. He returns years later from France as Sir Michel de Verdeur, but revenge is no easier and he
becomes part of the downfall of Camelot.

James, John
,
Men Went to Catraeth
(UK, 1969) (h)

A recreation of the battle of Catraeth as per
The Gododdin
with Aneirin as the leader of the Romano-British troops.

Johnson, Barbara Ferry
,
Lionors
(US, 1975) (m)

The story of the young woman who fell in love with Arthur before he married Guinevere and bore him a child, in this case a blind daughter (in Malory it was the future knight Sir
Borre).

Jones, Courtway
(b.1923),
In the Shadow of the Oak King
(US, 1991),
The Witch of the North
(US, 1992),
A Prince in Camelot
(US, 1995), known
collectively as the Dragon’s Heirs trilogy (m).

An attempt to transpose a fairly faithful interpretation of Malory’s story to fifth century Britain. The result is a strange
anachronistic mixture of
Celtic and Norman-French names and some unusual identities for individuals. Pelleas, for instance, who recounts events in the first volume, is the illegitimate son of Uther and Brusen, sister of
the King of the Picts. Guenevere is the daughter of Rowena and Vortigern. The second volume is told by Morgan le Fay and the third by Mordred. Despite certain anomalies and inconsistencies there
are some vivid portrayals of the different cultures across Britain and how they contributed to both the rise and fall of Arthur.

Jones, Mary J.
,
Avalon
(US, 1991) (m)

Labelled as a lesbian Arthurian romance, this is the story of Argante, the child of Gwenhafyr and either Arthur or Lancelot, who has to be rescued from Arthur’s wrath and
grows up in Avalon, along with other women who seek refuge there, presided over by the Lady of the Lake. Projected as the first of three volumes.

Kane, Gil and Jakes, John
,
Excalibur!
(US, 1980) (m)

Although this book runs to 500 pages, that still seems insufficient to cover all of Arthur’s life and to allow for character and setting. As a result it feels fast-paced,
yet it is controlled and succeeds where others fail at three times the length. There are a few changes, with the emphasis on Guinevere’s relationship with Lancelot, which develops before her
marriage to Arthur and this simmers its way through much of the book. One of the few novels to feature Amlawdd.

Karr, Phyllis Ann
(b.1944)
The Idylls of the Queen
(US, 1982) (m)

Karr is known for her dedication to the Arthurian tale and has compiled the indispensable
The Arthurian Companion
(1983; revised, 2001). In
Idylls
she treats the
poisoning of Sir Patrise as a murder mystery investigated by Sir Kay in order to clear Guinevere. In more humorous vein is
The Follies of Sir Harald
(US, 2001), in which the accident-prone
and villainous Sir Harald encounters one problem after another when trying to get himself out of trouble.

Keith, Chester
,
Queen’s Knight
(UK, 1920) (m)

Develops the standard love story between Lancelot and Guenever, who have been lovers for many years. Morgan convinces Mordred that he is the true “Pendragon” and
that he should take the throne for the good of the knights, who have become lethargic and indifferent to sin. After Mordred’s coup, she plans to replace him with her only son Uwaine. When her
plot fails, she kills herself. Keith was the pseudonym of Imogen Woodruffe Kemp (
information courtesy of Larry Mendelsberg and James Lowder
).

Kemp, Debra A.
,
The Firebrand
(US, 2003) (m)

The first volume in a projected series,
The House of Pendragon
. Set after the battle of Camlann it features Arthur’s daughter Lin who goes into exile with Gaheris,
one of the few surviving Knights of the Round Table. She and Gaheris marry and have a child called Arthur, to whom she begins to tell her story of how she was a slave in Mordred’s
household.

King, J. Robert
,
Mad Merlin
(US, 2000),
Lancelot du Lethe
(US, 2001),
Le Morte d’Avalon
(US, 2003) (m)

Another trilogy that attempts to bring new twists to the standard story. Merlin is the main motivator in the first volume, but he has lost his identity and discovers that his
fate is linked to that of the as-yet-unborn Arthur. The second volume explores Lancelot’s traditional role whilst the final and strongest volume depicts Morgan le Fay’s revenge upon
Arthur for the death of her father.

Kleidon, Mitzi
,
Rexcalibur
and
Eternity’s Hope
(both US 2001) (f).

Of minor Arthurian interest but an original idea. Camelot’s life essence was fed by a magic orchid maintained by Morgan but after Arthur’s death she consigned the
orchid to a distant place. Camelot is now a waste land and the new king waits for the descendants of the Round Table to find Camelot so that they can set out on the quest for the magic orchid.

Lawhead, Stephen
(b. 1950),
Taliesin
(US, 1987),
Merlin
(US, 1988),
Arthur
(US, 1989),
Pendragon
(US, 1994),
Grail
(US, 1997)

The first three books were the original Pendragon Cycle. Reworking the origins of the Grail story and earlier Celtic legends,
Lawhead creates a new
Christian myth. Avallach is the last king of lost Atlantis who has escaped the destruction of his land and settled in Britain, at Glastonbury. Avallach becomes the Fisher King and his daughter
Charis the Lady of the Lake. She weds Taliesin and their son is Merlin.
Merlin
begins in the reign of Magnus Maximus and follows roughly the traditional story through to the birth of Arthur.
The third volume is divided into three sections. The first, from the Sword in the Stone to the acquisition of Caledvwlch, is recounted by Pelleas, Prince of Llyonesse. The second, which follows
Arthur’s battle campaign, is told by Bedwyr. The final part, entitled “Aneirin”, about Arthur’s final days after Badon (here Baedun in Scotland), is told by Gildas. Though
the Atlantis angle is alien to the original legend, Lawhead skilfully blends it with Celtic tradition to create one of the more convincing modern Arthurian novels. He has since added two more
novels.
Pendragon
fits between sections 2 and 3 of
Arthur
and tells of further battle campaigns, especially the “forgotten war” against the Vandals.
Grail
weaves
together the Grail Quest and the relationship between Gwenhwyvar and Llenlleawg. A sixth volume,
Avalon
(US, 2001), is set in the future with a possible return of Arthur to a corrupt
Britain.

Lees, Frederick,
The Arthuriad of Catumandus
(UK, 1996) (h)

Catumandus is a Briton (we later learn he is one of Arthur’s illegitimate sons) who is sent by the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius as an envoy to Britain, so we read
something of a travelogue across Europe before he reaches Arthur’s court. En route he meets Myrddin in Rome. Catumandus remains long enough in Britain to witness Arthur’s downfall. All
the usual characters appear and the story benefits from providing an outsider’s view.

Lehmann, Ruth Preston
(1912–2000),
Blessed Bastard
(US, 1997) (m)

An academic renowned for her knowledge of medieval Irish and Anglo-Saxon cultures, Lehmann has explored the character of Galahad, and how he might have been had he lived at the
time of the historical Arthur. The book is as much psychological and spiritual as it is historical and provides some interesting twentieth-century insights on poor parenting.