'A gorgeous, rich retelling of the Arthurian tale.' - The Times
Rome is burning.
In Britain, Uther Pendragon is dying.
Enemies stalk his land.
Into this uncertain world a boy is cast - an outsider, plagued by memories of those he's lost.
Under the watchful eye of Merlin, the boy begins his journey to manhood. He meets another outcast, Guinevere - wild, proud and beautiful. And he is dazzled by Arthur - a warrior who carries the hopes of the people like a flaming torch in the dark.
But these are treacherous times, and the fate of Britain rests on a sword's edge. This young man becomes a lord of war: loved, hated, admired and feared. He is a man forsaken but not forgotten.
He is Lancelot.
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Set in a 5th century Britain besieged by invading bands of Saxons and Franks, Irish and Picts, Giles Kristian's epic new novel tells - in Lancelot's own words - the story of the most revered yet reviled of all Arthur's knights, the warrior who fought at his lord's side - yet stole his wife. This is the story of one of the great figures of British myth and legend - a story ready to be re-imagined for our times.
Imprint: Transworld Digital
Published: 31/05/2018
ISBN: 9781473543027
Length: 672 Pages
RRP: £7.99
It is a masterpiece in the true sense of the word.
Some of us grew up with T H White’s Once and Future King as our touchstone for authenticity in the Arthurian myths; others found that Rosemary Sutcliff, Bernard Cornwell or Mary Stewart filled that role. Giles Kristian pulls together the best of the best and infuses it with his own utterly transformative understanding of myth, magic – and the many faces of love . . . There are so many modern retellings of the Arthurian myth, but this one stands head and shoulders above the rest, in the company of true greatness.
Without doubt this is Giles Kristian’s finest novel to date. Glorious. Tragic. Lyrical. Totally gripping. I loved it.
This most fascinating character from Arthurian legend has been plucked from the 14th-century romances and positioned firmly back in the early medieval environment he belongs in. Giles is an extraordinary writer, able to capture sounds, smells, sensations in a sentence. No other writer thinks and feels his way back to the medieval past the way he does . . . Lancelot is an exceptional book and does what only great historical fiction can do: transport you back through time to feast, fight and feel alongside fascinating characters from the past. No one does this better than Giles Kristian.
A gorgeous, rich retelling of the Arthurian tale.