Arthur the King: A Romance

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Orion, Dec 8, 2011 - Fiction - 304 pages
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A thrilling and highly original retelling of the Arthurian legend with a twist!

It is the aftermath of the Roman occupation of Britain. Kings are now jockeying for position, for title, for land and for power. A young boy confounds the most famous knights of the realm when he pulls a jewelled sword from a cleft in a stone and claims the throne left vacant by the death of Uther Pendragon.

In this new vision of the Arthurian story, Camelot is set on the River Tweed and Merlin who disapproves of his knights' yearning for battle and their quest for the Holy Grail. With great humour and energy, Massie has created a bold and original new tale from the stuff of legend.

From inside the book

 

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He looked him boldly in the eye, but could not hold the steely gaze directed at him, and fellto his knee and kissed the hairyhand that was demandingly extended. 'It isKingLot of Orkney,' onesaid. 'Surelyheis the manwill draw the stone.
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He lifted his narrow black eyes to the heavens and his lips moved, as if perhaps he mouthed a prayer. He spat twice on his right hand and seized hold of the richly decorated hilt. He pulled, but the sword didnot move.
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... hisaversion from sociability,and byhaving one eye blue andthe other brown. Moreover, hewas given to sudden spasmodic gestures, nervous ticsanda quite unusual clumsiness. It was perhaps because he was conscious of his odditythat he ...
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Thenhe told Lycas to command wine for the young men and closed his eyes. They retired into theother room, and satover theirwine and brokethebread of sorrow. And, as they didso and debated among themselves what might nextbedone, ...
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She triedtoturn her eyes away from his,asonemay fromthat which offendsone; butshe could not. ... his eye asifbya basilisk's, and shecried out 'Mother', but even as she made to form the words which should succeed, her voice failed her.

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ARTHUR THE KING

User Review  - Kirkus

Historical novelist Massie unrolls the familiar knightly yarns with some fresh, unusual twists.Offering a vaguely postmodern take not merely on Arthur himself but on the whole of British history, the ... Read full review

Other editions - View all

Arthur the King
Allan Massie
No preview available - 2003
Arthur the King: A Romance
Allan Massie
No preview available - 2011

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About the author (2011)

Allan Massie is the author of seventeen highly praised novels, as well as non-fiction works on Muriel Spark, a study of twelve emperors of ancient Rome, a history of crime in 19th-century Edinburgh and the acclaimed Glasgow: Portraits of a City. Born in Singapore in 1938, he was brought up in Aberdeenshire and educated at Glenalmond School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read history. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been a judge of the Booker Prize. He is also a journalist contributing to the Scottish and English press. He is married, has three children and lives in the Scottish Borders.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Arthur the King
TitleArthur the King: A Romance
Volume 2 of Dark Ages
AuthorAllan Massie
PublisherOrion, 2011
ISBN178022270X, 9781780222707
Length304 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Fiction / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
Fiction / General
Fiction / Historical / General
  
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