The Sword in the Stone, Lancelot, the quest for the Holy Grail. … Ever wondered where to find accurate, clean representations of these age-old stories? Well, look no further than King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (1953) by Roger Lancelyn Green.
The legends of King Arthur and his knights have been traced as far back as the 11th century, but it is possible that they are even older! They tell the stories of a young king doing his best to tame the land during a time of magic, dragons and quests.
Roger Lancelyn Green attempted to merge the many legends into one cohesive story, basing his work mostly on Le Morte d’Arthur (1485) by Sir Thomas Malory.
In my opinion Green succeeded! He created a book of legends that, while not having a lot of dialogue, succeeds in transporting the reader to a very different time. It is not a narrative, but it accomplishes exactly what Green set out to do.
I give this book a five star rating. It’s one book I wish I would have owned as a kid. I always wanted to read authentic stories — but ones I could still understand. This book is both based on scholarly-approved sources, and written for kids. The suggested audience ranges ages 8-12.
More Books Like This
If you like King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, you may also like The Once and Future King (1958) by T. H. White. White takes more liberties with the characters than Green does. He creates them into flawed, yet lovable human beings that the reader can relate to.
If you like Roger Lancelyn Green’s legends and mythology, you might also enjoy his Myths of the Norsemen (1960) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1956).
– by Abbie Call
Read next: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Book Review.
Abbie Call – Cannonville/Kirksville, Missouri
Abbie Call is a journalist and editor at The Byway. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University. Her favorite topics to write about include anything local, Utah’s megadrought, and mental health and meaning in life. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hanging out with family, quilting and hiking with the dog she’s getting soon — fingers crossed.
Find Abbie on Threads @abbieb.call or contact her at [email protected].