The Once and Future King

First collected in 1958, this Arthurian novel follows the boy Wart, tutored by the wizard Merlyn who lives backward through time, as he becomes King Arthur and tries to replace might with law. Later books turn to the Orkney brothers, the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, and the political collapse that Mordred forces on the Round Table. Settings move from a comic castle childhood to tournament, convent, and the eve of civil war. The narrative mixes medieval chronicle with modern talk of justice and war. The book is a retelling of the Arthur cycle as one life, not a scholarly edition of Malory.

Bound in blue cloth blocked with a colour design by the artist. Dark blue slipcase.