The Prince and the Pilgrim [ABRIDGED] [AUDIOBOOK] [LARGE PRINT] (Audio Cassette)

by Mary Stewart (Author), Hannah Gordon (Reader)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
YA?Returning to the era of Arthur and his Camelot, Stewart has given life to two lesser-known characters from Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. She enlarges upon and gives wonderful detail to Alexander, a young prince who sets off on a quest to avenge his father's assassination and to Alice, a gentle young lass who accompanies her father on pilgrimages to Holy shrines. Their stories are told in five alternating chapters until they meet, fall in love, and vanquish the foe in the exciting climax. Interwoven within the plot are background details on other characters and the complex legends of the period, especially evil Queen Morgan Le Fay, who detains Alexander for her own greedy purposes. A British map (same one several times) appears frequently to identify various locales, and one family tree assists readers, but there is no preliminary list of characters to help keep the participants in mind. The appended author's notes and the legend itself are interesting and help pull everything together once the story has concluded. A light fantasy for fans of this period.?Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

In this classic Arthurian adventure, Alexander seeks to avenge his father and sets out on a journey to Camelot, in quest of justice. Meanwhile, Alice becomes embroiled in the rescue of a young fugitive, who insists he has the Holy Grail. Whether it is or not, it brings Alexander and Alice together to find what they are seeking.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Hodder Headline; Abridged edition (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859984894
• ISBN-13: 978-1859984895
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,855,480 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Weak Plant From a Potent Seed, July 18, 2000

By	Jeffrey Siuda (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prince and the Pilgrim (Classics of Arthurian Legend) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, January 2, 2000

By	Zoe (Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prince and the Pilgrim (Classics of Arthurian Legend) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat entertaining - not much substance, March 17, 2005

By	S. E. Kennedy "ocinnedeagh" (Minnesota, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Prince and the Pilgrim (Classics of Arthurian Legend) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.