Customer Reviews

Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn

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This is a good book--even though it perpetuates the flaws seen in Woolley's previous Guinevere books, _Child of the Northern Spring_ and _Queen of the Summer Stars_. Woolley's Guinevere still has a habit of distancing herself from the story, briskly rattling off the legendary happenings like an anchorwoman for the Camelot Nightly News. Woolley's desire to tell the Arthurian legend without the use of "magic" or "fantasy" still results in cumbersome and byzantine plot devices as the author attempts to explain magical events without the magic. Her characters still borrow heavily from other authors--Cai is straight out of Phyllis Ann Karr, and Morgan is a twisted reflection of Bradley's Morgaine. But all of this aside, this is still a good book.

In _The Legend in Autumn_, the dream of Camelot begins to fall apart. There are quarrels--Guinevere and Lancelot fight bitterly over Elaine of Carbonek, whom Lancelot accidentally slept with. And Mordred, whose best friend is a Saxon captive, comes to believe the Saxons are basically OK, and wants to include them in the Round Table--but Arthur, veteran of countless Saxon wars, holds his old prejudices dear, and refuses his son's request. And into this tumultuous court comes the young bard Taliesin, singing of the Grail, and the Round Table warriors begin to scatter to the four winds in search of the mysterious object.

Woolley deftly describes the tale told by each returning knight; she does a great job of showing how the Grail means different things to different people, and what sort of meaning each man finds. (And woman, too, for Guinevere will find her own personal Grail by the end of the story.)

Also wonderfully done was the treatment of Guinevere's punishment for adultery. The usual retelling shows Arthur standing by heartlessly as his Queen is sentenced to the stake, and Lancelot ruthlessly killing his friends to save her. Woolley has a more complicated but more believable theory about what reall happened behind the scenes, one that rings true to the characters of the brave Queen, the idealistic King, and the deadly but good-hearted knight. I won't give it away, but it's good.

After Lancelot makes away with Guinevere, they flee to Joyous Gard, where they live simply and happily--until the threat of war looms. Guinevere is supported by the counsel of Isolde of Cornwall, who has grown wiser since her star-crossed love affair with Tristan, and together they see what must be done. Far from being the downfall of Camelot, Guinevere will now give her all to save it.

This book ought to be remembered, above all, for its sensitive portrayal of the Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot love triangle. Gwen and Lance truly have a love for the ages, but Gwen also shares a special bond with Arthur, which holds Camelot together more than they realize. Guinevere is the human touch that balances Arthur's ideals.

It baffles me that my favourite series is out of print! This trilogy is refreshingly told from the perspective of Guinevere, starting with "Child of the Northern Spring," continuing in "Queen of the Summer Stars," and finally culminating in "Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn." This book is fabulous, but to fully appreciate it, you must begin at the beginning. Persia Woolley's portrayal of Arthur's queen will have you laughing and crying through most of her life, so get this book! Don't be discouraged that it's out of print--it's wonderful!!!

Ms. Woolley's conclusion of her trilogy is spellbinding and heartbreaking, following Gwen's life's journey in a clear and beautiful first-person narrative.

This book was masterfully written,it matches up to the other two in her trilogy. This is my favorite aurthor. It has all of the romance and adventure, everyone should read all three of these books. She should recieve an award, Guinevere, Aurthor, and Lancealot are beautifully painted.

In this third book of her trilogy about Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table, Persia Woolley ends the telling of her story. It is above all the story of the triangle that King Arthur, his Champion Lancelot and his Queen, Guinevere, are tangled in. Both men love Guinevere, but they also love each other as brothers and would do nothing to hurt each other. Guinevere, in her turn, loves them both. Arthur is her wedded husband, who honors her, takes her counsel and has her rule at his side. He cannot, however, express his love easily in words, as his emotions have been trained to be hidden from others. Lancelot is her true love, but one she is forbidden to have, for fear of hurting Arthur and tearing apart the kingdom.

But even more than the love story, this is a story steeped in historical fact that gives the reader insight into the times. The reader learns of daily life with its proscribed tasks for each member of the royal household, the petty intrigues of court, the quest for adventures that periodically takes the Knights away. The rise of Christianity and its gradual erosion of the pagan religions is explored. The strength of family is evident, but betrayal for position is also common.

The central theme is the trial of Guinevere for treason and adultery, her condemnation to death, and her rescue by Lancelot, aided by Arthur. Above all, each individual in this triangle is called by a love of country and the people, and will sacrifice whatever is needed to insure that the country survives as a strong entity. This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction. While it is the last in the trilogy, readers probably know enough of the story to enjoy this one as a stand-alone, but many will choose to then go back and read the first two to see how Woolley interprets the beginning of this magnificent saga.

This is the final book in a trilogy and it picked up nicely where the earlier books left off. This book was the third in a trilogy about the legand of King Arthur and followed Guninevere's story to a nice conclusion (if you can call it that). The author told Guinevere's story using a modern perspective and did a nice job reconciling the Author v. Lancelot story. She presented Mordred's rebellion in a understandable way and knit the legand together in several ways. For any one interested King Arthur this is a must read.

This trilogy is perhaps the most underrated and one of the best Arthurian trilogies out there. I found myself in tears at some of the parts in this beautiful last book of the series. Persia Woolley's writing has poetry and presence that you don't find very often. Highly recommended!

I have read many stories concerning the Arthurian Legends. One of those was The Mists of Avalon, which told the story of Arthur from the Goddess' point of view. Another was Mary Stewart's cycle of books on Merlin. But, Persia Woolley brings a fresh perspective to the Arthurian books, from the point of view of his Queen. I highly recommend this series of novels of Guinevere, for their sensitive treatment of this most wondrous of Queens. Before she was a queen, she was a woman. Many of us too easily forget that fact.

I really enjoyed this book, as the final installment to the series.

IN this valume, we see Camelot falling apart as the Grail Quest consumes the companions. Lancelot and Guinevere finally consummate their relationship.

The relationship between Arthur ans Mordred, his son by Morgause, comes to a head, and the story ends as it usually does. But, this story makes it all fresh. Its morew realistic them MZBs story, without all the magic interfering. Don't get me wrong, MZBs book was, and still is,one of my favorites. But its nice to see a book(or trilogy) where for once, religion isnt such a large part. Its the people more at center stage. This book is more historical fiction then fantasy.

I love reading the Arthurian Legends from a "woman's point of view." I loved Mists of Avalon because of that feature, and I adored these books about Guinevere. I knew there had to be more to her than traditional Camelot portrayals! I am surprised the 3 books in this series are out of print. I was lucky enough to find the first 2 (Child of the Northern Spring one year and Queen of the Summer Stars the next year) in hardcover on a clearance book cart at 2 different locations! What a treat! I had to order this final one in paperback. Each time I got the next book I went back and re-read the previous one, until finally, when I bought Legend in Autumn I re-read all 3 one after the other. I was sorry to see it end. I am not sure if Persia Woolley will write anymore, but if she does I am certainly a fan. Thanks for a great series!