Arthur-bib - 8/24/99
Bibliography on the King Arthur legends.
NOTE: See also the files: cl-Rom-Brit-art, cl-Celts-msg, Anglo-Saxons-msg, Celts-msg, England-msg, Wales-msg, Roman-Wales-bib.
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From tittle at zmall.com Thu Feb 20 13:36:34 1997
Date: 15 Feb 1997 10:28:01 GMT
From: Cindy Tittle Moore <tittle at zmall.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books, alt.mythology, alt.answers, rec.answers,
news.answers
Subject: Arthurian Booklist (rec.arts.books)
Archive-name: books/arthurian
Posting-frequency: 25 days
URL: http://www.zmall.com/bmm/books-faq/arthurian.html
Last-modified: 12 Dec 1996
ARTHURIAN BOOKLIST
This is a reading list involving the Arthurian legend. For its
original inception, I would like to thank the readers of the old
Camelot mailing list (no longer in circulation). I wrote a good many
of the original reviews when I was a member, but since then a number
of people have submitted additional references for inclusion into this
list. The very latest copy of this file may be found at the above
listed URL.
There are a number of very obscure references in here, especially with
respect to historic works and research. Check out your library's
Interlibrary Loan: chances are that you'll be able to get ahold of a
reference this way even if your local library itself doesn't have it.
Talk to the librarian! That's what they are there for!
My criterion for these books is that it be concerned with the Arthur
legend in some way. I have several categories:
* Fiction: novelizations of the Camelot legend, or novels that use
significant elements of the legend.
* Poetry: poetic renditions of the legend.
* Non-Fiction and research: includes research into the origin of the
legends, speculation on who the original characters might have
been, studies and critiques of medieval sources, literary
criticism, etc.
* Medieval and Early Texts: original or modern translations of texts
written before 16th century or so (an arbitrary divison point I
used).
* Periodicals: references that appear in magazines and articles.
These are typically research notes.
* Arthurian references: novelizations that use the legend in a minor
way or as secondary characters.
* Celtic Fiction: reworkings (novelizations) of traditional Celtic
stories. I suppose I could have a category for research into
celtic fiction, but the ones I consider relevant are in the
non-fiction and research section above.
* Organizations: finally, I provide a list of organizations dealing
with the Camelot legend. This is not exhaustive; in fact, it's
rather incomplete and I would love more information.
In general, related stories are acceptable (such as Tristam and
Iseult). Stories in other time periods are acceptable as long as they
still center on the Arthur myth (Kennealy's Hawk's Gray Feather) or
are talking about his return (Sir Machinery and others). References to
Arthurian elements are also acceptable, but I do not put all of them
in (a complete listing would be very large!); only the ones that seem
interesting. The Celtic works are included, because many of them
apparently provide an early genesis for the Arthurian stories, and
others are stories derived from minor characters in the Arthurian
stories (or perhaps the other way around, characters from well known
stories got honorable mention in these later stories --- who can
tell?).
Disclaimer: I have not vouched for the accuracy of each and every
entry in this list. If you find mistakes or have additional
information on a reference, by all means, let me know. I likewise
appreciate any additions to this list. Send them to the addresses at
the end of this posting.
Also please note that for some books their mere inclusion into this
bibliography constitutes a spoiler of sorts. Don't say you haven't
been warned!
Thanks to: Kurt Anderson, Shannon Appel (of the now defunct Camelot
mailing list), Ed Aubry, Landen Bain, Richard Barber, Ron Bean, Leanne
Bereznak, Wendy Betts, John Brannick, Mike Castle, Peter Chubb, Ben
Cohen, Denis Constales, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, Peter Davis, James Drew,
Gary D. Duzan, Harry Erwin, A.T. Fear, Scott Federhen, Margaret Martin
Gardiner, Roger Gardiner, Susan Gere, Todd Goldberg, Mark Edward
Harris, Steve Hartwell, Cameron Hayne, Sandra Hereld, Peter Janes, Tim
Johnson, Ray Kaiser, Peter Kumaschow, Jane Lean, Grace Lee, David
Lester, David Librik, Dave Linton, William D.B. Loos, Linda Malcor,
Melchar, Kevin McGuire, Alex Martelli, Francis Muir, Rick Myers,
Patrick Nielsen-Hayden, Terry O'Brien, Lisa Padol, Kimberly
Passarella, Robert Paulsen, Charles Power, Craig Presson, Stephen
Reimer, David Salley, Dale Schierbeck, William Smith, Steve Thomas,
Scott Vandenbe, Peter Van Heusden, Janet Walz, Nick Westgate, Tom
Wicklund, Darren Williams, Jean Wilson, Mary Winters, Erick "a six
foot hobbit," and MJ aka "classic bitch" for their help in putting
this list together.
This compilation is Copyright 1994-1996 by Cindy Tittle Moore. All
rights reserved.
_________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
* Fiction
* Poetry
* Non-fiction and research
* Medieval and early texts
* Periodicals
* Arthurian references (fictional)
* Celtic fiction
* Organizations
_________________________________________________________________
Fiction
Arthur Sex #7: The Erotic Adventures of King Arthur. Castle of Ill
Repute: Part one of two. This is a comic book. More issues? It is
actually fairly faithful to Malory. Unsure whom to credit.
The Romance of King Arthur (Mayflower, 1979. Reprint of 1917 Edition.
ISBN 08317-7460-6.)
ab Hugh, Dafydd. Arthur War Lord (Avon Books, 1994. ISBN
0-380-77028-8.) Part one of two. Two present day people find
themselves catapulted back in time, replaying events at Camelot with
history at stake.
Anderson, Poul. Three Hearts and Three Lions. Riverdale: Baen
Publishing Enterprises, 1993 (First published 1953).
Ashe, Geoffrey. The Finger and the Moon. St. Albans: Panther Books,
1975 (First published: Great Britain: William Heinemann, 1973).
Geoffrey makes himself a character in this one. He organizes a
ritual/play based on the Grail myth. (There's more to it than that, of
course.)
Ashley, Mike, The Pendragon Chronicles (Peter Bedrick Books, New York,
1991. ISBN 0-87226-228-6. paperback.) Anthology includes stories by
Andre Norton, John Steinback and Jane Yolen.
Ashley, Mike. The Camelot Chronicles. New York: Caroll & Graf
Publishers, 1992. Another anthology by the author of The Pendragon
Chronicles. Van Asten, Gail. The Blind Knight. New York: Ace Books,
1988.
Attanasio, A. A. Kingdom of the Grail. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.
Barthelme, Donald. The King. New York, London, Victoria, Toronto,
Auckland: Penguin Books: 1992 (First published in the USA by Harper &
Row, 1990).
Berger, Thomas, Arthur Rex. This retelling of the Arthur legend is
somewhat reminiscent of the movie "Excalibur" in feel.
Blaylock, James P. The Paper Grail. New York: Berkley Publishing
Group, 1992 (First published: 1991). Bond, Nancy. A String in the
Harp. New York: Penguin Books, 1987 (First published by Atheneum in
1976).
Borowsky, Marvin, The Queen's Knight (Random House, New York, 1955 -
probably out of print). An interesting Arthur, who begins as a
middle-aged bumpkin, crowned to be a puppet to a group of regents. All
in all, this novel is somewhat uneven but quite readable.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer, The Mists of Avalon (Del Rey. Ballantine
Books, New York, 1982. ISBN 0-345-35049-9. Hardcover and trade
paperback.) A female oriented and positive rendition of the Arthurian
legend. Considerably more sympathetic to pagan religions (although
depicted as modern neopaganism) than to Christianity.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer, The Forest House. Prequel to the Mists of
Avalon. Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 0-670-84454-3 (hc) 0-451-45424-3
(pb).
Bradshaw, Gillian, Hawk of May, Kingdom of Summer, In Winter's Shadow
(Menthuen Paperbacks, Great Britain also Signet Books, 1980 also
hardcover by Simon and Schuster.) The first book is the story of
Gwalchmai, one of Arthur's Knights; the last is told by Guinevere.
Down the Long Wind is the single book volume version of the three
books.
Bulfinch, Thomas, Age of Chivalry: or, King Arthur and His Knights
(John D. Morris, Philadelphia, 1898, many reprints). Published in
their own right, also found in Bulfinch's. Contains long summaries of
the Camelot legends and of the French Charlemagne legends.
Burnham, Jeremy, and Trevor Ray. Raven. London: Corgi Books/Carousel,
1977.
Cabell, James Branch. Jurgen, a Comedy of Justice. 1919.
Canning, Victor. The Crimson Chalice. Originally published as La
Leggenda del Calice Cremisi. Translated by Patrizia Rognoni, Codice
Libro 22 006 CN, Casa Editrice Nord S.r.l., via Rubens 25, 20148
Milano, Italia; Copyright by Victor Canning 1976, 1977, 1978, and for
the Italian edition by the publisher in 1990 (first edition, of the
Italian translation, June 1990). An "Arthur as Celtic Chieftain" book,
with nice twists.
Carlsen, Chris. Berserker: The Bull Chief. London: Sphere Books, 1977.
Carmichael, Douglas, Pendragon: an Historical Novel (Blackwater Press,
New York, dist. by Exposition Press, 1977). Arthurian romances --
adaptions.
Chant, Joy. The High Kings. Toronto, New York, London, Sydney,
Auckland: Bantam Books, 1985 (First printing 1983).
Chapman, Vera, The King's Damosel, The Green Knight, and King Arther's
Daughter. Out of print.
Christian, Catherine, The Pendragon (Warner Books, 1978.) A story told
by Bedivere in his old age recalling the golden days of Camelot.
Unfortunately this results in a lackluster story. Aside from the
intrusiveness of the story framed by Bedivere's old age, it's a decent
retelling. Takes the "Celts reclaiming Romanized Britain" slant.
Cochran, Molly and Warren Murphy. The Forever King. Tor Books, 1993.
ISBN 0-812-51716-4. The return of Arthur to present day, woven in with
the story as it happened long ago. Beautifully told.
David, Peter, Knight Life (Ace Fantasy, 1987.) A comedic book about
Arthur's return in modern day.
Davies, Robertson. Lyre of Orpheus. London, New York, Victoria,
Ontario, Aukland: Penguin Books, 1989. First published: Canada:
Macmillan of Canada, 1988.
Davies, Robertson. The Rebel Angels. Middlesex, New York, Victoria,
Ontario, Auckland, 1983. Copyright Robertson Davies, 1981.
Davies, Robertson. What's Bred in the Bone. London, New York,
Victoria, Ontario, Aukland: Penguin Books,1986. First published in the
United States of America by Viking Penguin, 1985. First published in
Canada by Macmillan of Canada, 1985.
Dickinson, Peter. The Changes Trilogy. New York: Dell, 1986. Includes
The Weathermonger, Heartsease, and The Devil's Children. Merlin is
used as a McGuffin to explain why the world no longer has modern
technology.
Eliot, T. S. The Waste Land. 1922.
Endersby, Clive. Read All About It! Toronto, New York, London, Sydney,
Aukland: Methuen, 1981.
Erskine, John, Galahad, Enough of His Life to Explain His Reputation
(Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1926 - certainly out of print)
Ford, John M. The Dragon Waiting: A Masque of History. New York: Avon
Books, 1985 (First published: 1983).
Finkel, George, The Twilight Province (London: Angus & Robinson,
1967.) This is an excellent "young adult" tale about a late Roman,
northern Arthur based on the Bamburgh Castle, Newcastle/Tyne area of
northeastern Britain.
Fraser, Antonia, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
(Illustrated by Rebecca Fraser, Knopf, Random House, New York, 1970).
First published under title: King Arthur. Retellings of seventeen
tales about King Arthur, Lancelot, Gawaine, Tristram, and other
knights of the Round Table. Juvenile.
French, Allen, Sir Marrok, a tale of the days of King Arthur (The
Century Co., New York, 1902).
Frith, Henry, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (G.
Routledge and Sons, London/New York, 1884).
Frost, William Henry, The Court of King Arthur; Stories from the land
of the Round Table (Illustrated by Sydney Richmond Burleigh, C.
Scribners Sons, New York, 1903).
Garner, Alan. The Moon of Gomrath. New York: Ballentine Books, 1981.
(First published: London: William Collins, 1963).
Garner, Alan.. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley.
London: William Collins, 1960; rev. ed. Harmondsworth, Middlesex:
Penguin Books, 1963.
Gash, Jonathan [John Grant]. The Grail Tree. New York, London,
Victoria, Ontario, Auckland: Penguin Books, 1988 (First published:
London: William Collins, 1979).
Gemmell, David. Ghost King and Last Sword of Power. A fictional
account of the life and times of Arthur, bearing little resemblance to
the usual myths.
Gloag, John, Artorius Rex (New York: St. Martin's, 1977.) This is the
final volume in a late Roman trilogy with two "pre-Arthurian" novels
titled The Caesar of the Narrow Seas and The Eagles Depart. Artorius
Rex is another Romano-Celtic tale which attempts a historical
reconstruction.
Godwin, Parke, The Last Rainbow, Fire Lord, Beloved Exile (Bantam).
The characters are terrific, the sense of time and place eye opening.
Arthur in the beginning is a native officer in the Roman legions
guarding the northern borders. First published as short stories in
Fantastic Sept. 1977, and in The Fire When it Comes (Garden City,
Doubleday 1984).
Godwin, Parke, Invitation to Camelot (Ace, 1988.) An anthology
including stories by Tanith Lee, Morgan Llywelyn, Elizabeth
Scarborough and Jane Yolen.
Greeley, Andrew M. he Magic Cup: An Irish Legend. New York: Warner
Books, 1979 (First published: New York: McGraw- Hill, 1979).
Griffiths, Paul. The Lay of Sir Tristam. London: Chatto & Windus,
1991. ISBN 07011 3570 0. A very exciting book which at best can be
described as meta-fiction. It takes on the whole problematic that the
Arthurian/Tristam tradition presents.
Gross, Gwen, Knights of the Round Table (Illustrated by Norman Green,
Random House, New York, 1985).
Haar (Hoar?), J. T. King Arthur (New York: Crane Russak, c.1967,
1975.)
Haldeman, Linda. The Lastborn of Elvinwood. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1978.
Hanratty, Peter, The Book of Mordred and The Last Knight of Albion
(Ace Fantasy and Bluejay Books. ISBNs 0-441-07018-3 and 0-312-94271-8.
Paperback and trade paperback.) A retelling of the Arthurian legend in
a bizarre mix of modern and ancient times.
Hanson, Charles Henry, Stories of the Days of King Arthur (With
illustrations by Gustave Dore, T. Nelson, London/Edinbugh/New York,
1898).
Hastings, Selina, Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady (Lothrop, Lee &
Shepard Books, New York, 1985). ISBN 0-7445-0295-0. This is
beautifully illustrated. The inside cover says that a version of Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight is also available by the same author.
Hawke, Simon [Nicholas Yermakov], The Wizard of 4th Street (1987), The
Wizard of Whitechapel (1988), The Wizard of Sunset Strip (1989), The
Wizard of Rue Morge (1990), The Samurai Wizard (1991), The Wizard of
Santa Fe (1991), The Wizard of Camelot (1993). New York, Warner
Books. Premise: There was a magical alien species which bred with
humans long, long ago. The descendants of these unions were humans
with magical abilities. Merlin was a half-breed, as was Morgan LeFay.
Since magic and technology cannot co-exist, magic went dormant as
technology increased. After the fall of technology, magic returned and
Merlin revived. Unfortunately, the alien species discovered that
Necromancy produces powerful magic and they are now known as demons.
Merlin has to recruit and train magical humans to thwart their plans.
Appearances by Merlin, Morgan Le Fay and Mordred.
Heller, Julek and Dierdre Headon. King Arthur & His Knights. Fiction
which draws on a variety of sources including, but not limited to
Chretien de Troyes' Arthurian Romances & Malory's Morte D'Arthur.
Dragons' World Ltd. 1990 ISBN 1850281149.
Hollick, Helen. Kingmaking, Pendragon's Banner, a third book due in
June 1997 to complete the trilogy.
Humble, William F. A Tale of Arthur (Anthony Blond, London, 1967).
Hunter, Jim. Percival and the Presence of God. London and Boston:
Faber and Faber, 1978.