Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy (Hardcover)

by Mary Stewart (Author) "O Merlin in your crystal cave..." (more)
Key Phrases: dragon brooch, crystal cave, grey stallion, High King, Bryn Myrddin, Count Ector (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Merlin Trilogy is Mary Stewart's take on the Arthurian legend in three books: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. These books have Merlin, Arthur's wizard mentor, as their focal point, and the result is a charming, engrossing tale providing a unique perspective on a familiar tale. Her history is superb and richly detailed, her characterizations are masterful, and her plotting is perfect. You'll be entranced by this magical story.

Product Description
The Crystal Cave
The Hollow Hills
The Last Enchantment

The prophetic voice of Merlin, the mysterious enchanter of Arthurian legend, has completeted his story. Written over a period of ten years, Mary Stewart's three best-selling novels now stand together in one volume -- the finest work of her distinguished career.

Hers is the most extended portrait in all literature of this compelling figure of Dark Age myth and history. Merlin, the protector and tutor of Arthur, has usually been protrayed as an old man. But The Crystal Cave begins the trilogy with the story fo his perilous childhood as the bastard son of a Welsh king's daughter and the secret discovery of the magic arts that will set him apart from other men.

With the birth of Arthur, Merlin's guardianship began and the ancient legend continues in The Hollow Hills with the dramatic immediacy that is Mary Stewart's special gift. Arthur grew to young manhood, ignorant of his royal parentage, in the deep and dangerous forests of fifth-century England and Wales, where no law was stable and fierce battle rages amongst the brooding mountains. When, in due course, Merlin guided him to the sword that tested his claim to power and the crown, Arthur became king by right, and soon Merlin, his adviser, was to emerge, however obscurely, as the architect of the first United Britain.

King Arthur plunged instantly into violent warfare against the Saxons. But in The Last Enchantment there are also more dangerous and subtle enemies ranged against him: Mortgause, half-sister and seductress of Arthur; their child, Mordred; the friends and kin who will betray him. Merlin's darkest prophecies were realized one by one, yet his bright vision of the future kingdom did prevail, and he foresaw the mystic power that would be at the King's service as long as Arthur lived.

The imaginative brilliance of the Merlin Trilogy completes the life and character of Merlin which are left untold in the early legends. At the end of each of the novels, Mary Stewart has set down the substance of the original legends and with it the sources of her own variations. Her portrait of Merlin is a new legend in itself.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 928 pages
• Publisher: Eos; 1st edition (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688003478
• ISBN-13: 978-0688003470
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,557 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Stewart, The Enchantress..., September 7, 2004

By	J. Redbird "Tolkien Fan" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whenever I see as many reviews as this book has, I doubt that anyone will ever see mine, but at the same time it says a lot of people have read it, and that is a good thing. Mary Stewart happens to be one of my very favorite authors, and I have all of her books. When the Merlin Trilogy came out, I was already a big Mary Stewart fan. I could hardly wait to get my hands on the trilogy. Her descriptive style is one of the aspects of her writing that always left me feeling as though if I ever went to any of the places she described, I'd recognize them. The Merlin Trilogy is refreshingly different than the usual Arthurian Legends; Mary Stewart has created a Merlin who is believable, not entirely without magic, but endowed with wisdom, and common sense. I think perhaps he has more magic than he is willing to admit, but I got the feeling that that is just what Lady Stewart intended for me to feel. She weaves a mystical web in this trilogy that enthralled me. Although not part of the trilogy, The Wicked Day, deserves to be included, because it brings the entire story to a close with an entirely different view of Mordred. I only wish she'd dared to have a different ending. But what a magnificent tale to read by a fireside on cold winter nights...and having them all together in this way is wonderfully convenient. A beautiful product and a magnificent gift!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic, yet enchanting, May 28, 2000

By	James P. McMahon "www.cleanairpurewater.com" (Brookside, UT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The story of Merlin has always intrigued me. Yet I have found the various books and movies distasteful. They portray Merlin in ways that do not jive with my inner sense of what might have been real. Mary Stewart, on the other hand, has portrayed a real individual in her books. A boy, Myrddin Emrys, who grows up spending a great deal of time alone, exploring and thinking. He is then believable as an adult because the magic he practices is ensconced in political wisdom, the beliefs of the people, strategic thinking, and the type of shamanic power that no doubt exists in the world. When the Merlin stood on a hillside overlooking Arthur's troops entering battle, of course they won. They won because they knew they would. Amazingly simple. Was it wizardry or was it the power of belief? Or both? I was permanently affected by this book. I named my son Emrys. I came to believe that the king's merlin no doubt existed, much as political advisors exist today. It is the realistic portrayal of this very important historical character that no one else has managed to conjure in quite so convincing a way.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stewart has based much of her story on historical record, October 9, 2000

By	A. Tresca - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I believe that no story has been told more often than the Arthurian legends. Stewart, however, has based much of her story on historical record, which lends a certain ring of truth that other versions do not have. The story is told from Merlin's point of view and begins with his childhood and the uncertain parentage that people believe gave him his extraordinary abilities. As the High King's advisor, his prophecies unfailingly come to pass, much to the surprise of some and despite the orchestrations of others. His intelligence helps guide the kingdom through the dark times and into the light.

Through Merlin's eyes Arthur, Ygraine, Uther, Guenever and Morgause are created anew. He shows us their loves, their secrets, their treachery, and their lives. The magician shows us much that is hidden from plain view, and the scandalous truths that even Arthur himself does not know. The original heroic fantasy tale, I recommend it to both history and fantasy buffs alike.