Customer Reviews

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's curious to me that this is the best-selling version of the King Arthur story in the kindle store, because it's a singularly flawed collection, well-eclipsed by other variants that are also available for free online; I suspect its popularity is an artifact of the search engine, not the book's own merits.

The author, Sir James Knowles, was an architect and friend of Tennyson, best known for founding the Metaphysical Society; this is, therefore, a very Victorian Arthur. In this case, "victorian" means "bowdlerized to the point of inanity." The story of Merlin's enchantment of Uther and Igraine to arrange Arthur's conception is almost completely elided ("When Uther, therefore, was at length happily wedded" -- yep, that's the whole story); Sir Tristram is apparently completely chaste with Iseult (King Mark just doesn't like him for some indiscernible reason) and even when Lancelot and Guinevere are caught together and the entire course of the story turns on adultery, such that bowdlerization was completely impossible, Gawain suggests that "it may well be that Lancelot was in her chamber for no evil." The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is simply not included at all.

I suppose that kind of bowdlerization might be acceptable in a children's version of the Arthur stories, but this edition isn't good for that either, for two reasons: 1) like many free kindle ebooks, all illustrations have been removed, and 2) it's a kindle edition, and who gives a $250 ebook reader to a child too young to read a story with adultery in it?

There are other problems also. The King of Gaul (Sir Bors) is an ally for the first third and last third of the book, but in the middle, Gaul has a different king, Flollo, and Arthur conquers Gaul six ways from Sunday (mostly as a stopover in his conquest of Rome); timelines don't add up; so on, so forth. I didn't feel the author did a good job of telling the Arthur legends, in any particular. In short, this is a bad version of the King Arthur story and the general reader would be better off not wasting time on it.

I'm sure people are going to say "hey, it's an early victorian version, don't hold it to such high standards," but there's no reason for a modern reader to read these, any more than there's reason to read Sir Thomas Bowdler's "Family Shakespeare". For more "historical" versions of the Arthur legend, either of this versions' main source materials -- Geoffrey of Monmouth's _History of the Kings of Britain_ or Sir Thomas Malory's _Morte D'Arthur_ -- are superior reads (though I'll admit you'd want to skim Monmouth heavily). My own personal favorite, Howard Pyle's three-book version of the Arthur story ("The Story of King Arthur and His Knights," "The Story of the Champions of the Round Table," and "The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur") is similarly available for free online in the public domain, can be found with excellent illustrations by Pyle himself, is written in a fashion suitable for children and adults, and does a far better job of capturing the romance of the Arthur legends.

But whatever version you pick, this one is a poor place to start. It does have some strengths -- chiefly an encylopedic compilation of at least some version of almost every PG Arthur-related tale -- but the author's victorian mores seem to have twisted far too many of the stories into unrecognizability. Not recommended.

I enjoyed this book, or what part of it I read, anyway. It is the rather un-nuanced account of the adventures had by a group of knights (of the Round Table, of course). There is no character development and very little overarching plot to tie the stories together, but there is something oddly compelling about it. There is a great deal of smiting, and rending helms asunder, and rescuing fair maidens in distress (can you imagine???? The evil giant makes ladies actually do manual labor, though they be of high birth!).

You get the general idea pretty quickly, I've read half and feel like I've gotten all I will get out of this book. It's free though, so I am glad I checked it out.

Classic King Arthur stories, with all the smiteth-ing and destresseth damsels one might wish.

A bit of a slow read due to the older writing style and inclusion of every name of every knight present at every battle, but the book contained everything from Merlin's predictions to the Quest for the Holy Grail to Arthur being bore off to Avalon, although it lacked the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

I have given up on the free Amazon classics. I have decided that paying a couple dollars is well worth the money for Kindle books. Not that the content is any different but the formatting is unbearable in the free books.

So far this book is quite enjoyable. I will update my review when I have finished reading it.

I have only given up on a book once before in my life. This one makes two. The language is a bit cumbersome for the 21st century reader, but one can overcome that. If you make it past the archaic language, there is little/no character development or plotline. Basically, all you get is a series of fights and battles. "Sir So-and-So fought Sir So-and-So until their lances broke. Then they fought on the ground with swords until they were both bleeding badly. Then Sir So-and-So prevailed." Repeat this over and over and you've got it. The parts you'd think would be more interesting, like the sword in the stone or Arthur's marriage to Geneviere, are barely mentioned in the midst of all the fighting. I gave up about 1/3 of the way through and I'm going to check out some other Arthur stories recommended by other reviewers of this book.

This book has definately captured the spirit of medieval times and chivalry. While reading, I felt like I knew King Arthur and each of his knights and had an immediate like or dislike fr each of them. There is no lack whatsoever of blood, traitors, or twists in the plotline. Definately one of my all-time favourites and contrary to other readers' points of view, I beleive that to really understand the story (or series of short stories amazngly tied into one novel) you must read the entire book.

There is no personality development of any of the characters! It's basically just a dry reporting of jousts and battles - non-stop slaughter & cruelty, leaving me wondering why it's recommended as a children's version (or how there were any men - or horses - left at all after such goings-on). The Arthurian legends are fascinating, but there are many more detailed and interesting versions than this one.

This wasn't my favorite. I'm not quite sure if it was the language or just that I thought the stories were toned down from the original. Also, I was amazed at how often everyone "smote" each other. I like the King Arthur stories, but it can become a bit repetitive after a little while. A lot of damsels in distress who are wandering through the forest and then of course the smiting of each other. Even with all the smiting, the fighting wasn't very descriptive which is why I think it feels toned down. However, the story is a classic and one that I think every avid reader should read. There's plenty of chivalry, maidens in distress, magic, and wizards.

There are many versions of Arthur and the boys that are worth reading; Le Morte d'Arthur, Four Arthurian Romances, or even novelizations and outlandish ones such as Mists of... and Dawn of Avalon. All have something to offer
readers who wish to delve into the rich legends and lore where the rules of Chivalry dictate the action and
in which the exploits of errant knights are captured in all their glory.

In this work by Sir James Knowles, we are treated to these outlandish tales through a very Victorian lens.
While some reviewers may see this as a deterrent, I found that this perspective took very little
away from this fine work and, in some ways, enhanced the storytelling to a degree. The detractors focus on what's
not written. The broader influences of Merlin say, or the omission of certain tales (the green knight), or how
the dalliances of Lancelot are written in such a way to suggest it was a misunderstanding and not an affair. But
understand, while I too wish these were more plainly wrought, there is still much here to enjoy.

Many other sources may have a leg up (Pyle's three book narrative especially) but there is a certain preciousness
or innocence to these works that Sir James manages to capture that in some ways surpasses these works in terms of
romantic ideals. And, honestly, the courtly romance is truly what is at the heart of all Arthurian legends. The
epic adventures are nothing without the grounding of the courtly, chivalrous love that inspires them.

To a modern reader, this may be a point of frustration. It is hard for us to look upon the actions the knights
have to take to fulfill their promises without a certain amount of cynicism. Most will roll their eyes each time
a night promises to fulfill an obligation to a woman without first ascertaining if the woman is true or if she is
not a woman but a witch, etc. But again, it is the utter idealization of Arthur's court and the romantic notions
winding their way through the symbolic adventures that make these stories worthwhile.

Once you can accept these ideals, you will find the stories themselves to be chock full of adventure. Note that
redundancy is also an issue here. Fights always take an "hour or two", with pages devoted to horse provisions,
damsels are always more than they seem, and all valiant knights of the Round Table face 40/1 odds and always
slay opponents on both the left and the right. These scenes and phrases abound to the point where you often
can find yourself skimming large portions of the action scenes if you are not careful.

At about the 2/3 point, however, Galahad joins the crew and the whole focus of the book shifts. The courtly code
no longer is as obtrusive, and the focus goes from finding adventure to pursuing the holy grail. Here the
supernatural elements seem to become doubled, and each and every page begins to drip with symbolism. Lineages to
ancient biblical figures are established, and Camelot is propelled to full mythic proportions. Fittingly, just as
you begin to accept the godliness of these heroes, their very real humanity destroys them all.

Buying any Arthurian romance is worth the price of omission (in my opinion anyway). "Buying" it here as a free
E-read is even better. There are some disappointments with the format. Chapters are not as clean and the
many illustrations are described but are not to be found. However, these are available to view on the net if you
insist on seeing them. And as I said earlier, there are many versions available for purchase that can meet your
needs and many of them are free/public domain as well. But if you want to take a quick, accessible dive this
e-book will be a great first step into the realm of Camelot.

...this isn't the most complete text version of this story. It is however, good for what it is: an abridged (by about half the story) edition of the timeless tale of Camelot. I have none of the trouble with the character's speech, that seems to be frequently mentioned among reviewers. It's just Victorian era, you can adjust. It's worth what I payed, free but, I recommend the Howard Pyle translation of this epic legend. That one is either free, or it's 99 cents.