Customer Reviews

Tales of King Arthur: King Arthur and the Round Table (Books of Wonder)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm honestly very surprised to see that there are (at the time of this review) no other recommendations written for this wonderful book, as that usually means that people aren't compelled to write about it - or haven't had the chance to get hold of it. Hudson Talbott's King Arthur series (beginning with "The Sword in the Stone" and continuing on with "Excalibur") are excellent introductions for the younger reader to the legends of King Arthur and the dense mythology that surrounds him.

Though it may be a tad complicated for younger readers, with the subtleties of romance and the strategies of war explored in reasonable detail, it is still great Arthurian reading for the older ones, especially in Talbott's touching insecurity of Arthur as he struggles to lead men who: "have *grandsons* older than me!" Talbott's early Arthur is a delight - nervous, love-struck, inexperienced, and yet brave, determined, fiery in battle and devoted to his cause. Often authors downplay either Arthur's strengths or his weaknesses, but Talbott finds the perfect balance between the two, and as such presents the quintessential Arthur.

"King Arthur and the Round Table" chronicles several crucial events in the young king's life - his skirmishes with rebel kings that reject his claim to the throne, his fateful meeting with his future queen Guinevere, and the founding of Camelot and the Round Table. It is obviously the middle-installment of a trilogy as it neither begins anything nor resolves anything, yet it is gloriously illustrated and loyally told - though with a few original flourishes of Talbott's own.

At a stage when most authors are attempting to find increasingly "new" takes on the Arthurian stories, Talbott is refreshingly traditionalist in his portrayal of people and places; presenting it all through rose-coloured glasses as a fully romanticised Golden Age of the medieval era. Everyone here is as you'd expect them to be, from Merlin in his purple robes and conical hat to Arthur himself; a heroic vision in gold and red, with a white steed and shining sword - every little boy's dream of medieval magnificence. Likewise it's easy to see why Arthur was so immediately smitten with golden-haired, sweet-faced Guinevere. The Round Table is the perfect vision of unity and mystery, and as for Camelot itself...it's simply glorious, as captured by Talbott in the evening light.

Only battle is appropriately portrayed as bloody and tragic, with darkened (through exciting) scenes of combat and sieges, resulting in a gory scene of the post-battlefield. This however is perhaps Talbott's most beautiful picture, considering the vision of Guinevere aiding the wounded by the lakeshore, watched from afar by Arthur. It is a heartbreakingly poignant scene if one is aware of their future together, and though their meeting is an original creation by Talbott, it feels so *right* in both its innocence and foreshadowing.

I mentioned before that other authors are going to increasing lengths to create new ways of telling the Arthurian stories, and one that often pops up is the conflict between Christianity and Paganism. Talbott has an answer for this too; in another of his gorgeous two-page vistas we see the marriage of Arthur and Guinevere, awash in golden light and flanked by a Catholic priest with a crucifix and Merlin with an oak branch. It is stunning scene of hope and peace, where differing religions, genders and kingdoms are presumed to be in harmony, not conflict.

The more I discuss it the more I realise that this is a simply gorgeous book, and must-have for any young Arthurian fan.

Each of the books in this collection by Hudson Talbott is excellent. My 5 year old son developed an interest in knights after a visit to Medieval Times. From there, he discovered King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Of the many books we have on this topic, there are the best written. The illustrations are wonderful. I highly recommend the entire collection.