David L. (marauder34) reviewed Brilliant introduction to Arthurian legend on 4/17/2009 + 63 more book reviews

T.H. White's treatment of Arthur, which he more fully develops in "The Once and Future King," is one of my favorite renderings of the legend.

"The Sword in the Stone" shows White at his finest, creatively speaking. His depiction of life in the Forest Savage and of Arthur's entire childhood with Sir Ector and Kay is entirely his, and it is filled with attention to detail and wry wit. The book starts around the time Arthur is around seven or eight, still unaware of his parentage, and living in the care of Sir Ector.

The book is riddled with memorable characters like Sir Grummore and King Pellinore, what; charming buffoons like the sergeant-at-arms with his heaving chest and the nurse who fusses over everyone; and (of course) Merlyn. During the course of the book, Merlyn teaches Arthur by changing him into animals, all with an eye on the day when Arthur will be crowned king and will have the chance to inaugurate a golden age where Might fights for Right, rather than making right.

"The Once and Future King," of course, was White's treatise on pacifism, as well as his exploration of the triumphs and failings of government, and you see a lot of this in "The Sword in the Stone." Arthur has a miserable time among the ants who are preparing for war; and falls in love with life among the geese, for whom war is a completely foreign concept. (Both stories appropriated from White's final and least impressive Arthurian work, "The Book of Merlyn.")

If you have a child you would like to interest in Arthur, in fantasy, or just in reading, this is an excellent book to begin the journey.

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