Customer Reviews

An Arthurian Reader: Selections from Arthurian Legend, Scholarships and Story

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This is kind of a hoot. Essentially, long time "Matter of Britain" writer John Mathews has pulled together excerpts and sundry essays on various parts of the Arthurian legend in a risky attempt to provide a cogent whole. To a certain extent he succeeds in creating a narrative that holds together just enough to suggest that "this could really be". The downside is that different essays and different excerpts would likely paint an entirely different picture; not surprising given that the King Arthur story has been told so many times that nobody really knows what's fact and what's fiction. But then that's the charm and attraction.

The book itself is printed and bound in the U.K., has sturdy cloth bound boards, sewn bindings, and tasteful gilt script on the spine. Included contributors include Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sir Thomas Mallory, A.E. Waite, Clemence Houseman and Arthur Machen. Altogether it presents more of an academic approach that you might expect and is probably most useful as an intro before delving deeper into the canon. If nothing else it provides the reader with the depth and scope of the Arthurian legend and introduces a much broader field than just "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" and "Morte D'Arthur". Had it included more expansive editorial content I would have given it 5 stars. Still, highly recommend it for those who might have an interest.