The Child of the Holy Grail: The Third of the Guenevere Novels [Paperback]

Rosalind Miles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2002

Last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, guardian of the Great Goddess herself . . . a woman whose story has never been told—until now.

Brokenhearted at her parting from Lancelot and anguished over the loss of the sacred Hallows of the Goddess, Guenevere reconciles with Arthur. But their fragile peace is threatened by a new presence at Camelot. Mordred, Arthur’s son by Morgan Le Fay, has come to be proclaimed heir to Guenevere and Arthur’s kingdoms. At his knighting, the great Round Table, owned by the Queens of the Summer Country since time immemorial, cracks down the center and a terrible darkness falls over Camelot. In the midst of the chaos appears a new knight, Sir Galahad, who may hold the key to the mystery of the stolen Hallows. His arrival sets into motion the Quest for the Holy Grail and the fall of Camelot, which brings Guenevere to the brink of the most dreaded tragedy of all . . . and may ultimately fulfill her destiny as the greatest Queen of the Isles.

Available now, Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country and The Knight of the Sacred Lake, Books 1 and 2 of the Guenevere Trilogy. Coming in July 2002, Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle, the First Book of the Tristan and Isolde Trilogy

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, guardian of the Great Goddess herself . . . a woman whose story has never been told?until now.

Brokenhearted at her parting from Lancelot and anguished over the loss of the sacred Hallows of the Goddess, Guenevere reconciles with Arthur. But their fragile peace is threatened by a new presence at Camelot. Mordred, Arthur?s son by Morgan Le Fay, has come to be proclaimed heir to Guenevere and Arthur?s kingdoms. At his knighting, the great Round Table, owned by the Queens of the Summer Country since time immemorial, cracks down the center and a terrible darkness falls over Camelot. In the midst of the chaos appears a new knight, Sir Galahad, who may hold the key to the mystery of the stolen Hallows. His arrival sets into motion the Quest for the Holy Grail and the fall of Camelot, which brings Guenevere to the brink of the most dreaded tragedy of all . . . and may ultimately fulfill her destiny as the greatest Queen of the Isles.

Available now, Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country and The Knight of the Sacred Lake, Books 1 and 2 of the Guenevere Trilogy. Coming in July 2002, Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle, the First Book of the Tristan and Isolde Trilogy

About the Author

Rosalind Miles is a well-known and critically acclaimed English novelist, essayist, and broadcaster. Her novels, including Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country and The Knight of the Sacred Lake, the preceding volumes of the Guenevere Trilogy, have been international bestsellers.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609809563
• ISBN-13: 978-0609809563
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #872,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Repetitive, melodramatic fluff, March 30, 2005

By 

Callie - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Child of the Holy Grail: The Third of the Guenevere Novels (Paperback)

Okay, is it just me, or are Rosalind Miles' "Guenevere" and "Isolde" books ill-disguised bodice rippers? The first time I read her work, I was enchanted by it. Now, struggling through this, the third Guenevere book, and having read two of the Isolde books, I am disgusted and irritated beyond reason by the repetition, poorly written scenes, cliched phrases, and this obnoxious trend towards the hippie Christian-hating Wicca that seems to permeate too much historical fiction these days. The romance is nauseating, not touching, the sex boring to read. I find Guenevere to be even less likeable than how she is portrayed in 'The Mists of Avalon', and that's hard to do. She's a jealous, bitter, cold, infantile woman that I detest in these books, and Miles seems to be trying too hard to make her human in that she reveals NO good qualities about her at all. The ridiculous melodrama just makes me want to throw the book down and scream. It's unbelievable how often certain phrases and scenes are repeated throughout all three of the Guenevere books. Morgan cackling wickedly in the trees, blighting the crops as she does so, "Oh my love!" "Oh Goddess, Mother, no! Save us!", the same old Christians are evil, insane fanatics. It's just the same themes all the time. At least 'The Mists of Avalon' was well-written. But Miles' books have made my eyes practically roll out of my head from disgust and mirthless laughter at how poorly written they are. I don't recommend these unless you have a penchant for Harlequin romance novels because that's what they are.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You'll hate the characters!, October 27, 2004

By 

M. Tucker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Child of the Holy Grail: The Third of the Guenevere Novels (Paperback)

This book did not live up to its hype. It tries to do for Guenevere what Mists of Avalon did for Morgan le Fey, but it fails sorely because the title character is an embittered shrew. The plot repeats itself endlessly over the course of three novels. Guenevere loves Arthur, she hates Arthur, she forgives Arthur, she loves Arthur again, no wait, she hates him.... Arthur, by the way, is a weak, feeble-minded, doddering simpleton. This is not the great king of Arthurian legend at all. Lancelot is still a tasty dish, but there is no apparent reason why he would love a bitter, jealous, middle-aged woman who repeatedly casts him away. Morgan le Fey starts out as a promising character, but becomes a demonic harpy-type creature. And the tone is excessively anti-Christian. I'm not a religious person at all, but even I was offended by the way Christians are depicted in this novel. It's just not a pleasant read. If you want a great trilogy told from Guenevere's point of view, read Persia Woolley's Guenevere trilogy or Nancy McKenzie's Queen of Camelot. They're well worth the time and effort.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars *Yawn*, June 19, 2005

By 

Kelly Houser (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Child of the Holy Grail: The Third of the Guenevere Novels (Paperback)

"Child of the Holy Grail" is the last installment in Rosalind Miles' Guenever Trilogy. "Child of the Holy Grail" focuses on the tension and betrayal between Arthur and his bastard son Mordred, as well as the arrival of the mysterious knight called Galahad. The story then shifted to the grail quests, the fall of the round table, and the scattering of the nights.

I was very pleased with the first two installments in this series, however "Child of the Holy Grail" was definitely lacking. A huge portion of the novel dealt with Lancelot and Guenevere's love affair, which was rocky to say the least. It seemed like every 50 pages she was sending Lancelot away for something he had done and the Guenevere would call him back and then send him away again. On and on like this for about 500 pages, gets really old after a while. I was a tad bit disappointed in this novel, although I would definitely recommend the series.