Customer Reviews

The Prince and the Pilgrim (Classics of Arthurian Legend)

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

 

 

I thought this was a very sweet book and I enjoyed it a lot. Am I missing something? This is the first and only book of Mary Stewart's I've read. It was very entertaining and the characters were likable and understandable. Maybe this is not a masterpiece, but I very highly recommend it as a feel-good, fun-to-read book. Especially if you don't know much about the Arthurian legends, it's pretty self-explanatory. Definitely, read it.

I would have given this book only 2 stars except for the fact that I enjoy Arthurian type stories and this was one I found previously untold (shy of Malory's book). Stewart tells the story of Alexander the Fatherless and the Pretty Pilgrim Alice. However, the interesting story the book cover promised of Morgan Le Fey persuading Alexander to try and steal the Holy Grail just never developed. Oh, Morgan is in the story, but the author seems to give up on that plot very quickly and then wraps the story up quickly and neatly with little drama or suspense. The Grail itself barely gets mentioned until the end of the book and then the author invokes a philosophy of the Grail that she later notes came from a personal friend and not from legend or lore. Stewart also introduces the Merovingian kings of Gaul into the story but again - the drama and excitement of the four brothers battling for control of the entire kingdom is sorely lacking. Instead, she wraps it all up in a puts the storyline to bed without really taking advantage of the twists and turns that it could have provided. So, why three stars for a story I obviously found sugar-coated, far from any historical possibiity and not even exciting enough to rouse Arthur from his throne in the story??? It's a new tale of the Arthurian time period that I had not discovered before outside of Malory. The book makes somewhat entertaining reading -especially if you like romance and lack of thought provoking substance. It's sweet and simple and an easy read. I found her historical notes at the end of the book to be the best part of the entire work.

i have to disagree with those who have said this book is poor, unadventurous, etc. this book is wonderful!!! Mary stewart has done a phenomenal job in writing this book. the two main characters are alexander and alice. one is a prince with a lost kingdom, the other a pilgrim waiting for marriage. this book tells the adventures that both go on, whether to the dark tower of morgan le fay or to Jerusalum, the Holy Land. this book is excellent, i can't wait to read it again!!

Stories involving King Arthur and sundry acts of chivalrous derring 'do have always entertained me, so I was heartily disappointed in Stewart's novel, a return to the world of her Merlyn trilogy. Honestly, it seems like she simply ran out of gas or out of time. The novel sets up nicely, with two different plot threads that promise an epic resolution. Instead, the two main characters miraculously meet, fall in love and save the day, all in the space of about 90 pages. You know you are in trouble when you are reading a novel about the holy grail and one of the characters scoffs that it isn't the real holy grail, all the other characters agree, and everyone moves on. Yikes! I think Merlyn is rolling over in his crystal cave.

Mary Stewart who wrote one of the best Arthurian stories in her Merlin Trilogy, has highlighted the story of Alisander and Alice, who were very minor characters from the one of the oldest Arthurian legends. The story has the feel of a fairy tale and runs around the periphery of the original tale. If you are interested in Arthurian literature and want to know more about a couple barely mentioned in Malory, then I would suggest that you read this book, but don't expect the depth of other Stewart stories

Mary Stewart is one of my favorite authors, I have read almost all of her books! So when my mom told me about this book, I grabbed the closest copy and spent the next 2 days reading. It was a decent book and better then some I've read, but I was surprised it was the same person who wrote the wonderful novels The Stormy Petral, Wildfire at Midnight, and my all time favorite The Ivy Tree. I suggest that you read it, just don't buy the hardcover, It's way to $ expensive $ for this kind of writing!

Although not quite as interesting as the Merlin series, Prince and the Pilgram was entertaining and a worthwhile read.

The heroes were superficially ideal. Alexander, the prince, is handsome, dark-haired, muscular yet slender, and his lack of intelligence is made up for by his talent with the sword. Alice, the pilgrim, is pretty, slender, and adventurous yet feminine. There are many confusing legends included in this book, taking up pages with content irrevelent to the plot. Despite the superficiality of the plot and the too-good-to-be-true characters, the book reads surprisingly fast, though the complete lack of depth is often irritating

Although this book is quite well written, with a satisfactory craftmanship of words, I must say that I was not particularly excited about this novel. It held my interest fairly well, but I didn't feel the flood of emotions truly good books always bring me. I liked the way both Alexander and Alice have, in their way, their own seperate sections, like how it explained their youth, but I didn't really enjoy how they didn't meet until close to the end of the book. It seemed short and fake when Alexander proclaimed his love to Alice, and lacked the ability to set my heart thumping and my eyes watering as a passionate romance novel may have. Since it was obvious how the book would end, I didn't feel the suspense or intrigue I expected. Although it may have its faults, it was not a completely bad book, and in the end, I would dub it "okay".

Alexander travels trough many obsticals to find the pilgrim Alice, join him as he battles, escapes, and finally meets the pretty pilgrim Alice. This book has good points and bad but in the long run it was a book worth reading. I would probably recommend this book to anyone interested in the middle ages because it takes place then and has lots of information on the holy grail, caliburn, The high king Arthur and middle Aged England.