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The Once and Future King T H White 9780441627400 Books

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The Once and Future King T H White 9780441627400 Books

I spent the summer reading this along with my daughter, who had been assigned it for summer homework prior to her freshman year in high school. This volume is actually a composite of four books that were initially published separately between 1938 and 1958. The first is rather different from the others. It is about the future King Arthur's experiences as a boy while he was being tutored by Merlyn. It's a series of adventures in which Arthur is turned into various animals by way of educating him about governance. It is the most like a children's story of the four books, and it is very, very dull for the most part--though King Pellinore and his Questing Beast are delightful. The second book tells the story of Arthur's nephews, who are destined to cause problems in the future. They're raised by a witch who--and this is almost the only thing I remember from the book--boils a cat alive for purposes of magic. It's a horrific but superbly written scene. But things actually get good in the third book, when Lancelot is introduced. His relationship with Arthur and Arthur's wife Guenever form the spine of books three and four. Their love triangle--for they all love one another--is tragic and nuanced. The book is over-long, if one can criticize a classic such as this: so much detail; and those tiresome animal stories at the beginning would turn off many a reader. It's as if White wanted to weed out the chaff among his readers and save the better stuff for the hardy few. But ultimately it is worth the read, and it ends well, with the final chapter of book four summing things up well.


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The Once and Future King T H White 9780441627400 Books Reviews

I've just read this again after many years and I found this rich telling of the Arthur story more entertaining, delightful, suspenseful and moving than ever before. T.H. White's use of the English language is masterful and he is an engaging and witty storyteller.
Be advised that this edition does NOT include "The Book of Merlyn". The reviews here have mashed together multiple editions of this story, and cannot be trusted for you specific purchase.
This is one of my favorite books. I have read it four or five times already, since I was 13. Wanted to read it again, and got a hardback copy from the library, but the type hurt my eyes. Reading it on software on iPad is a treat for old eyes.

Anyway, the story itself. It begins when the young man who will become King Arthur meets Merlin, goes through his life, all the legends come to life, the sword in the stone, Arthur's eventually fatal misalliance with his sister, Lancelot and Guenevere's betrayal, the Knights of the Round Table, all told with wit, humor, compassion and sensitivity by the great T.H.White. My favorite parts will always be in the first part of the book, when Merlin tutors the young Arthur, or Wart, as he is nicknamed, in the ways of the world by changing him into a beast or a bird or a fish or an insect. Those little vignettes are so charming. Well, I am only halfway through this re-reading, Lancelot just met Guenevere, and, while I know how it will end, I am still absorbed and enthralled, all over again.
I was reading through the one-star reviews, and I felt that I should mount a defence of my favourite book. First of all, I think it's rather important to remember that The Once and Future King is not a book about King Arthur. It is a book about being human, and about the misery and joy which attend that particular condition. It is a book about T.H. White's peculiar solitude, about loving nature more than men, and about loving humans fiercely for their flaws and their sorrows, and for the hollowness of their glory.

Coming from this perspective, I think that White is one of the only modern writers whose approach to Camelot mirrors that of the original Arthurian authors. Chretien de Troyes and Mallory were not writing about Arthur, they were writing about their own times -- the places and fashions that mattered, the people and manners that they experienced, reflected in the idealized mirror of Arthur.

The Once and Future King is about White's experiences with war and tragedy -- these are mirrored in the childish foolishness and aged grief of the Wart, and muddled into the tragedy of Lancelot and Guenever. It is not always an easy book. It is very obviously a product of its own peculiar place and time, as all good Arthurian stories should be. It is my favourite book.
"The Sword in the Stone" Okay.

"The Queen of Air and Darkness" A bit better but not great.

"The Ill-Made Knight" Made the previous two books worth it. Absolutely incredible. It has a strong claim to be the second best fantasy (to Tolkien's masterpiece) ever. White is a genius when it comes to characterization, and his portrayal of Lancelot is full of incredible nuance. He makes the ill-made knight more human than I've ever even seen somebody attempt to do. The previous two books are important as set-up, though.

"The Candle in the Wind" One of the greatest tragedies I've ever seen, on par with Shakespeare. Once again, every single character feels alive. Even Mordred is presented with more sympathy than I thought possible. The ending is moving and heartbreaking.

Conclusion Despite a slow start, the book is a masterpiece.
I spent the summer reading this along with my daughter, who had been assigned it for summer homework prior to her freshman year in high school. This volume is actually a composite of four books that were initially published separately between 1938 and 1958. The first is rather different from the others. It is about the future King Arthur's experiences as a boy while he was being tutored by Merlyn. It's a series of adventures in which Arthur is turned into various animals by way of educating him about governance. It is the most like a children's story of the four books, and it is very, very dull for the most part--though King Pellinore and his Questing Beast are delightful. The second book tells the story of Arthur's nephews, who are destined to cause problems in the future. They're raised by a witch who--and this is almost the only thing I remember from the book--boils a cat alive for purposes of magic. It's a horrific but superbly written scene. But things actually get good in the third book, when Lancelot is introduced. His relationship with Arthur and Arthur's wife Guenever form the spine of books three and four. Their love triangle--for they all love one another--is tragic and nuanced. The book is over-long, if one can criticize a classic such as this so much detail; and those tiresome animal stories at the beginning would turn off many a reader. It's as if White wanted to weed out the chaff among his readers and save the better stuff for the hardy few. But ultimately it is worth the read, and it ends well, with the final chapter of book four summing things up well.