Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady [Hardcover]

Selina Hastings (Author), Juan Wijngaard (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1985 | Age Level: 9 and up

After a horrible hag saves King Arthur's life by answering a riddle, Sir Gawain agrees to marry her and thus releases her from an evil enchantment.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hastings, a British journalist, possesses an outstanding talent for storytelling. Her version of a tale from the Round Table seethes with suspense and will hold young readers in thrall. A hideous woman saves King Arthur's life when the Black Knight menaces him, but she demands a terrible payment, marriage to one of Arthur's knights. Noble Sir Gawain volunteers and his reward, in the grand way of fairy tales, is a beautiful wife when the loathly lady is freed from an evil spell. The illustrations can't be sufficiently praised. Wijngaard's paintings are magnificent, meticulously detailed, effulgent with the regal colors of medieval pageantry, framed by delicate flowers and symbols of royalty. Even more remarkable are the portrayals of people. Except for compassionate Guinevere, they show clearly how they shrink from the "hell-hag," then rejoice when the transformed bride steps forth in her radiant loveliness.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up This version of the old romance, balladand the tale Chaucer had the Wife of Bath tell to good effectis charmingly retold and gloriously illustrated. To save his life, King Arthur must answer in three days' time a riddle: "What is it that women most desire?" In despair, he accepts an offer of the answer ("Their own way") from a loathsome-looking lady who claims as reward a knight in marriage. To the horror of the court, Gawain marries the lady to save his king's honor; but when he yields to her judgment, he further releases her from a spell and is rewarded with a beautiful wife. Troughton's Sir Gawain and the Loathly Damsel (Dutton, 1972; o.p.) follows the ballad, and the colorfully stylized pictures recall leaded stained-glass windows. Wijngaard combines the illuminator's precision with a modern miniaturist's detailed perspective; each page of text is framed with manuscript-inspired designs of lacy leaves in scarlet, blue and gold, inset with wonderful, naturalistic paintings. These are full of details for readers to discover: horses' breath pluming out in frosty air; shadowy reflections on damp cobbles; and a cameo of Arthur, foot in stirrup, sleeve being pulled off-scene by the Loathly Lady. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard; 1St Edition edition (October 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068805823X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688058234
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,303,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just to Be Seen As You Really Are, March 8, 2009

By 

a gentle sound (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady (Classic Tales) (Paperback)

For quite a few years I taught 4th grade. Both before and after having children. ( as I gained a perspective on trying to be thin to be wanted and trying to be beautiful to be heard) This book came to me when I taught Steinbeck's King Arthur and other pieces in a theme I called "Fairy Tales." This included, by the way, a marvelous Reading Rainbow on Rumpelstiltskin and in it a visit to the Renaissance Faire in Agoura Hills. But no story, and we had great ones, was ever as well liked by my female students than this the one that poses the question Freud apparently never got around to answering, "What do women really want?"

I won't spoil it, but Sir Gawain in his nobility and loyalty marries a woman that is an outrageous hag,saving a situation for his King, he steps up in a moment when circumstances demand his "sacrifice." The illustrations here are like an ancient gilted manuscript, they are delightful, but he has an interesting surprise coming.......
something that speaks to the nature of women and what they really want.

On the question of true desire, what does she want? I have to say this has always been such genius,this story, as any woman daily grapples with the fact that her mind and her beauty are competitors, with her inner being suppressed it often can only truly blossom long after she ages into the form man no longer "wants." She holds this a lifetime. Ah...it's a good tale, to be given freedom from this, now that is a rare gift.

Great story teller, awesome illustration with at least 12 years of children finding it a book that told something that they wanted to hear.
I'd definitely gift it to our daughters and read it to our sons.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent text, Beautiful illustrations, January 28, 2011

By 

Donna Voetee - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady (Paperback)

As a homeschool mom, I read 100's of stories to/with my children. My daughter (will be 36 this year) just mentioned this book to me and how she appreciated its message. She took her children to the park yesterday to play, and there was a rather scraggly lady who came up and started to chat. My daughter said she remembered that story and how appearances can be deceiving. There are many good messages in this book, and children and adults will be very entertained. "What is it women want most?" I'll not spoil it, but it's very close to what Men want, too.

There is one bad mark about this book. At one point, the Black Night tells King Arthur, "God damn you, Arthur." I thought this was not necessary and especially since it is for children, it could have been toned down. Something like, "Curse ye, Arthur." I blacked it out with a Sharpie.

The book grew legs and walked out of my library, so now I'm here at Amazon looking for another copy to read to my grandchildren.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Arthurian Tale, April 29, 2009

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady (Classic Tales) (Paperback)

In the Arthurian legend cycle, Sir Gawain is the nephew of King Arthur and is one of Arthur's most eager and heroic knights. The greatest of the many Sir Gawain tales is "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". The second most famous tale is, "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and the Lady Ragnelle." This story is retold by Selina Hastings as "Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady."

Selina Hastings is a talented writer and a does a great job of retelling a medeival British romance so as to be accessable to young children. The richly detailed illustrations that accompany the story add greatly to the pleasure of the book. This volume is a must purchase for all parents who wish to introduce their children to the pleasures of Arthurian legend. Be sure not to miss Selina Hastings' retelling of the Green Knight tale.