From the silvered and shadowed mists of Britain's Iron Age past comes the legend of
King Arthur. Schooled by a mighty wizard, betrayed by his wife and his best friend,
this greatest of legendary kings and his knights fought fierce invaders, rescued ladies
in distress, and adventured to the far reaches of the realm to seek the Holy Grail.
Although undone at the last by Mordred, the bards sing that he did not die but rather
sailed to the faery realm where he waits for his country's darkest hour. It is then that
he will come forth and save the day one last time. Certainly his legend has inspired a host of modern fantasy writers.
Read on for marvels, perils, and romance set in the Kingdom of Camelot.
Guinevere continues her story begun in Child of the Northern Spring, picking it up in the early years of her marriage to King Arthur and stopping after Mordred's arrival at court and Lancelot's departure. Through her eyes, the reader sees the marriage and the kingdom take shape, experiences her kidnapping, and observes the romance of Tristan and Isolde. The stories are familiar, but the suspense is in learning how they are to be related.
The individuals are not drawn larger than life or made mystical. Arthur is often aloof, preoccupied with his own concerns. Guinevere's relationship with Lancelot develops slowly and believably. The prose is richly textured, evoking the sights and sounds of castle and countryside, the qualities of knight and of servant.
(From the publisher's description)
A feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend is seen through the eyes of its heroine, Queen Guenevere, who is courageous and beautiful even when she is forced to choose between her king and the noble knight Sir Lancelot.
This Guinevere is no starry-eyed princess, only good for looking beautiful and breaking kingdoms in two. Guinevere, Queen of the Dragon Throne, calls upon the spirits of the dead to aid her fledgling army in battling pirates, an action that changes her own soul irrevocably. Meanwhile, a shape shifter and childhood friend named Black Leg (soon to be Lancelot) goes on a hero's quest to prove himself worthy of his beloved Guinevere.
