Knights and castles. Ladies in waiting. Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot. The stories of romance and chivalry. I always hated them. I thought Guinevere was a spoiled shameless woman, Lancelot was a peacock masquerading as a man, and Arthur wasn't worthy of his title of King.
Jousting didn't thrill my soul. I'd rather watch baseball. (For my opinions on baseball, watch for my next blog) Honestly, I'm supposed to take two men in metal riding at each other with sticks seriously? At least the Scots threw poles with brute strength and tossed rocks with abandon! At least they danced! Honestly, Sir Modred seemed to have more gumption than the rest of the knights put together.
So how did I become a fan of a series of books like The Squire's Tales? I happened to read a blurb about one (the eighth in the series I think) and it sounded funny. I was having a bad day and a funny book sounded delightful. I bought it. As you can see, this alone should have shown my mental state. I'm having bad day today, so I'll buy a book today, and read it on a day when I'm probably having a marvelous day. After all, bad days don't happen that often!
Well the book, The Lioness and Her Knight, arrived on an afternoon when the house was unusually empty. Lorna was snoozing in my bed, Ethan was buildiing masterpieces of Lego and the rest were off with friends racing around the desert practicing, I assume, for Jenna's great head injury. To show why I was so eager to read the book, here is the publisher's synopses and a couple of reviews.
Synopses & Reviews
Luneta is tired of living in dull Orkney with her mother and father (who happens to be the most boring knight of King Arthur's Round Table). She prides herself on always getting what she wants, so when the opportunity presents itself, she jumps at the chance to stay at a family friend's castle near Camelot. Her handsome cousin, Sir Ywain —a young knight seeking adventure—arrives just in time to escort her to King Arthur's court.
Along the way they pick up a knight-turned-fool named Rhience, whose wit and audacity set many a puffed-up personality in its place. Before arriving at Lady Laudine's castle, the trio stops at Camelot, where they hear the story of the Storm Stone, a magical object deep in the forest that soon sweeps everyone into a web of love, betrayal, and more than a bit of magic.
Filled with broken promises, powerful enchantresses, unconventional sword fights, fierce and friendly lionesses, mysterious knights, and damsels in and out of distress, The Lioness and Her Knight proves itself as witty and adventuresome as the rest of Gerald Morris's tales from King Arthur's court.
Review:
""Adventure, magic, love, and knights of the realm collide in this delightfully witty tale from the legend of King Arthur. . . . With characters reminiscent of a Monty Python sketch and a knight with a Don Quixote complex, this romp through the land of King Arthur is a gem." --School Library Journal
Review:
"Morris balances farce and drama with ease, and his main characters are memorable, sympathetic, and frequently hilarious." —Horn Book
Who could resist?
Honestly, I laughed through the entire book. I rolled, I roared, I got more raised eyebrows from my kids than I can count. I read sections to my husband who dutifully smiled and snickered as the occasion warranted. He is so obliging.
I decided that it was worth a shot. Maybe, just maybe, the first book would be at least semi-enjoyable. It was. I read the second book. Loved it. I passed them on to friends. I kept buying. I've now read them all and am tapping toes, fingers, and nose hairs waiting with baited breath (and come on Mr. Morris, do you know how FOUL baited breath is? Give my family a break!) for the next book. Haven't I bought enough of them to hold weight with you? I personally have purchased four complete sets!
I've never been a fan of the Arthurian Legends. These books do what someone should have done years ago. They take all of the stories, from all of the sources and languages, and pull the best from them into one great story.
A few of my favorite things in these books:
Lancelot: He's shown for the philandering creep that he is without defiling my mind to do it. He also is later shown as a repentant and worthy man. What a concept. Repentance. What will they think of next?
Guinevere: She's shown as the silly self-absorbed woman that she was. She isn't romanticized and idolized as the epitome of femininity. It's about time.
Arthur: He's shown as a hurting husband. His wife's mental infidelity is shown as the home-wrecking thing that it is. He's shown as a loving and forgiving man but one who is strong and unyielding too.
Tristan and Isolde: A totally different take than the movie. I loved it.
The Hermits of the Wood: Oh boy. This was marvelous. So these knights are wandering through a wood and come across a few hermitages. The first was clearly a Calvinist. As I read it, not realizing there would be more and different hermits, I thought that Morris must be a Reformed Baptist. He captured the Reformed view perfectly with just a hint of, what I presumed to be self-, teasing.
Then you came to the next hermit. Oh boy was he funny. Charismatic or Pentecostal, I'm not quite sure which, this man tried desperately to bring them to grief and repentance over their sins. He pushed, he pleaded. He wanted them to weep for their lot. I regret to say that he failed.
The final hermit was a pleasant fellow but a bit non-descript. He was clearly pious but not in a way that could define his theology. I imagine there might be a smidge of Morris himself in this hermit. Mr. Hermit spoke of both of the other hermits and asked if they'd wept for the second. The knights admitted that they had not. Alas, the hermit was disappointed. "Oh it means so much to him if you cry."
Talk about side splitting.
Get the books. Go to the library, eBay, whatever it takes but get the books. You won't regret it and you just might learn to enjoy Arthur. Now that's amazing!
Ok, if I haven't convinced you yet... I could mention that Kaylene had a less than thrilled attitude about having to read the first book. While she knew better than to truly complain, she was not excited about it in the least. It took a reminder that there was a deadline. The shelf of eight more books wasn't very encouraging either. However, I am pleased to say that she started on the second book without a word of encouragementand is talking about Terrance as though he was a dear friend. They're THAT good.
Caveat: These books DO have the "other world" stories of Morgan le Fey and similar "magical" things that are in the original legends. If these things violate your conscience, I am afraid I've just wasted your reading time and for that, I apologize.
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HE royal feast was done; the King 