The Great Book of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table: A New Morte D’Arthur

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John Matthews Neil Gaiman

The Great Book of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table

A New Morte D’Arthur

John Matthews, Neil Gaiman, John Howe

$59.99

Hardback

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English

HARPER360
19 December 2022

Fantasy; European history; Medieval history; Religion & beliefs

The most famous and influential work of English fantasy ever published, reimagined for a new generation of readers by John Matthews, one of the world’s leading Arthurian experts, and illustrated by internationally acclaimed Tolkien artist, John Howe.

The tales of how the boy Arthur drew the Sword from the Stone, or the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, or how the knights of the Round Table rode out in search of the Holy Grail are known and loved the world over.

It all began when an obscure Celtic hero named Arthur stepped on to the stage of history, sometime in the sixth century, and oral tales led to a vast body of stories from which, 900 years later, Thomas Malory wrote the famous Morte D’Arthur.

THE GREAT BOOK OF KING ARTHUR presents these well-loved stories for a modern reader, for the first time collecting many tales of Arthur and his knights either unknown to Malory or written in other languages. Here, you will read of Avenable, the girl brought up as a boy who becomes a famous knight. You will learn of Gawain's strange birth, his upbringing amongst poor folk and his final rise to the highest possible rank – Emperor of Rome. There is also the story of Morien whose adventures are as fantastic and exciting as any to be found in the pages of Malory.

In addition, there are some of the earliest tales of Arthur, deriving from the tradition of Celtic storytelling. Here is the original Arthur, represented in such powerful stories as ‘The Adventures of Eagle-Boy’, and 'The Coming of Merlin', based on the early medieval text Vita Merlini, which gives a completely new version of the great Enchanter's story.

These age-old stories, still as popular today as they were from the Middle Ages onwards, are dramatically brought to life by the luminous paintings and drawings of John Howe, whose work on the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies has brought him a world-wide following.

By: John Matthews
Illustrated by: John Howe
Foreword by: Neil Gaiman
Imprint: HARPER360
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 252mm, Width: 195mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 1.440kg
ISBN: 9780008445805
ISBN 10: 000844580X
Pages: 448
Publication Date: 19 December 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

John and Caitlin Matthews are two of the most well-respected experts in the area of mythology and legend. Best known for their work surrounding Celtic and Arthurian traditions, they also have a tremendously broad base of knowledge of cultures worldwide from which they have drawn on for this amazing work. Their previous books include The Encyclopedia of Celtic Myth and Legend, Walkers Between the Worlds and The Aquarian Guide to British and Irish Mythology and Hallowquest: The Arthurian Tarot Course. John Howe was born in 1957 in Vancouver, Canada. He moved to France in 1976 and gained a Diploma in Illustration at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs de Strasbourg in 1981. He has illustrated many French children's books, but is best known for his Tolkien calendars, book jackets, maps and posters, and he is currently working as a production designer on New Line Cinema's forthcoming Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Reviews for The Great Book of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table: A New Morte D’Arthur

[Le Morte D'Arthur] deserves not only to grace the shelf of every serious reader of speculative fiction, but to be read as well in its entirety. This version, edited by John Matthews ... is presented in a prose style ... more accessible to the average reader. SF Site