When I first started reading this, I was so completely taken aback by the Boys’ Own, jolly-good, public school vibe of the writing that I honestly wasn’t sure whether I was going to like it. The first part was, thus, slow-going for me, used as I was to depictions of Arthurian romance that were a lot less grounded in reality than this was. But as the book progressed, as we got to Excalibur and Morgause and Lancelot and Guenever and the Grail and Mordred, it became readily apparent that the entire point of stripping the earlier part of the fantasy of the romance of it all was to allow T H White and, by extension, the reader to examine the enduring legacy of the Arthurian legend in how it changed, for good, how the English moved from Might Is Right to a legal system in which no one was exempt. And I know it’s a bit disingenuous to say that it was Arthur himself who, if he wasn’t entirely fictional was likely far less important than the literature he inspired, ushered in the concept of civil laws: I’m well aware that Mr White was likely using the legend to fit his own meditations rather than the other way around. But by God, it’s a convincing, compelling use of the Arthurian story, to ask the reader to consider humanity and civilization and justice and what it means to be great and good, through this familiar literary lens. Mr White pulls together all the disparate strands, popular and obscure, of the legends and lays and fits them into a coherent narrative that feels fresh and, even after nearly a century of the book’s writing, contemporary in its consideration of the human feelings that propel the narrative. My only complaint is that the book ends before the actual death of Arthur: I would have loved to see how Mr White would have handled that!
Sep 08 2015
The Once And Future King by T. H. White
- By Doreen Sheridan in Alternate History, Doreen, Fantasy
-
September 8, 2015
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/09/08/the-once-and-future-king-by-t-h-white/
Recent Posts
- The Knitting Witch by Norma Kassirer & Mark Richardson October 23, 2024
- MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious — The Graphic Stories by MrBallen, Robert Venditti & Andrea Mutti October 22, 2024
- Patsy Cline’s Walkin’ After Midnight by Judith A Proffer, Julie Dick Fudge & Yoko Matsuoka October 21, 2024
- Tantalizing Tales — October 2024 — Part Two October 18, 2024
- Gaza Faces History by Enzo Traverso October 17, 2024
- Mr. Lovenstein Presents: Feelings by J.L. Westover October 16, 2024
- The Light Keeper by Karen Levine, Sheila Baslaw & Alice Priestley October 15, 2024
- Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold October 14, 2024
- The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin October 13, 2024
- Die Physiker by Friedrich Dürrenmatt October 12, 2024
Contributors
- Al Singh
- Doug Merrill
- Doreen Sheridan
- The Knitting Witch by Norma Kassirer & Mark Richardson
- MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious — The Graphic Stories by MrBallen, Robert Venditti & Andrea Mutti
- Patsy Cline’s Walkin’ After Midnight by Judith A Proffer, Julie Dick Fudge & Yoko Matsuoka
- Tantalizing Tales — October 2024 — Part Two
- Gaza Faces History by Enzo Traverso
- John Pitzel
- Lars N. Goldschlager
- L.M. Davenport
- Laura Eilers
- Professor X
- Robert Maedgen
- Sylvere Ap Leanan
- The Shire
Categories
Tag Cloud
Al
Alternate History
Art
Auf Deutsch
Autobiography
Children's
Discworld
Doreen
Doug
Dystopia
Eastern Europe
England
Fabulous Ones
Fantasy
Feminism
Fiction
Games
Germany
Graphic Novel
Graphic Novels
History
Horror
Hugo Finalist
Humor
LGBTQIA
Literature
Mystery
Mythology
Non-fiction
Novella
Poetry
Poland
Politics
Religion
Romance
Russia
Science
Science Fiction
Short Stories
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Terry Pratchett
Thriller
Urban Fantasy
World War II
Young Adult