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Lancelot: Her Story
A young girl sees a man rape and murder her mother. She grabs a stick and puts out his eye. Her father raises her as a boy so she will be safe from men's attacks. She practices and practices until she becomes a great fighter - Lancelot. She wants to protect women, and she does.Lancelot hears about King Arthur, a just king across the sea, and journeys to earn a place at Camelot. She vows to serve him, but fears that Arthur and his men will discover that she is a woman and send her away. Lancelot is shocked to realize that she is falling in love with the king's wife, Guinevere.Guinevere is a strong woman who would have preferred to be queen in her own right, not through marriage. Saxons attack Arthur's kingdom, and Lancelot finds out that fighting a war is far different from saving women in single combat. The savagery of war devastates her.
598 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 12, 2015
19 people are currently reading
744 people want to read
About the author
Carol Anne Douglas
12 books98 followersCarol Anne Douglas is a writer of novels and plays. In her lalest novel, Choosing Yellowstone, she looks at a long-term couple who make different choices and have to live with the consequences. In her novel Sister Matthew and Sister Rose: Novices in Love, Douglas revists her Catholic girlhood. She also passionately loves the Arthurian legends and the works of Shakespeare, and has used them as the basis of her own fiction. Her Arthurian books are Lancelot Her Story and Lancelot and Guinevere, in which Lancelot is a woman in disguise. Her young adult novels, Merlin's Shakespeare and The Mercutio Problem, are about a teen-age girl's time travels to Shakespeare's world.
She worked on a feminist news journal for many years and published many essays. She has taught women's studies classes at George Washington University. She is now focusing on her novels and plays. Several of her short plays was read at the Kennedy Center, and at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Md.
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December 5, 2015I have to admit at the outset that I've never liked the Arthurian cycle. Disaster turning on adultery has been a lifelong turn-off for me.
But there’s one exception--this book.
Lancelot: Her Story is the first half of the familiar Arthurian cycle. Though the author and I only met a couple years ago when she came to Variable Paradise, we've been internet correspondents for at least fifteen years, maybe longer. During that time I've read a number of drafts of this book, as Carol Anne Douglas slowly reworked and layered the story into what it is now.
She’s studied those earlier versions, and it shows in the episodic nature of the narrative, the easily accessible prose, and of course the famous people and incidents. But she added a twist: Lancelot is a woman. And Arthur and his Knights don’t know it.
This is the female gaze view of the Camelot story that I’d hoped to see in Mists of Avalon, but didn’t get. I don’t mean to crab on Bradley’s book, for she wrote the version of the story that she wanted to write, and it delighted (and continues to delight) its audience, but I was not part of that audience because it was too heavy-handed in its message, the characters too cartoony. The world unconvincingly black-and-white.
Douglas gets into sex, gender, and identity in ways that I found fascinating, especially in this storyline, where I know the general flow of what is to happen to who, but with twists that add new insight or meaning into the old incidents. And Douglas chooses a simple narrative style that is not post-modern, using language and worldview from an early medieval-feeling time when the Roman hold on Britain is mostly gone, but not quite, and when pagan practice is being replaced by Christianity.
At first it seems that this is another Arthurian with no magic, and indeed most of the characters pretty much don’t think magic exists, or it is fading with the old ways, but Douglas has some nice surprises. Merlin is a mysterious figure who walks in and out of the tales.
One of the most interesting characters is Ninian, who heads a nunnery. Elderly, experienced Ninian remembers the old ways in the old days—and respects and celebrates them still— but there are times when she feels she must pray as a Christian. Arthur’s Christianity is a state religion, his own theology more difficult to define (in that, and in a few other ways, he reminded me rather of Charles I); Guinevere’s is surface; like her queenship she does what is expected of her, but hers is not a religious nature. Lancelot’s is, and a significant part of her personality is her deep, sincere religious struggle.
Gawaine’s take is a cheerful blend of practicality and an acceptance that the world is far weirder than he can compass: he was baptized because Arthur wanted him to be, and he goes to Mass without a problem, but his mother Morgause’s pagan ways are also deeply rooted in him. Gawaine is another of my favorite characters, complex, puzzled, passionate and opinionated, loyal, smart.
As for Lancelot's identity and how it's handled. I'll never forget the Regency novel published in the late seventies or early eighties, in which, on the first page, the heroine when told she was to be presented at Almack's, which had pretty much become the Heyerian standby trope for intoducing heroines, replied that she didn't want to--she wanted to, and I quote, "actualize her personhood." I put the book back down on the library shelf. The thing is, Jane Austen, in being the first to write about what women thought, and making it matter, was doing just that, but in the language and spirit of her time.
We don't know what Arthur's time was, since over the centuries the myth has hovered somewhere between the height of the middle ages in certain aspects, and earlier history in others. Douglas, in dealing with the matters of gender, identity, and the expectations of either sex, avoids postmodern language, keeping the myth in its timeless place.
To sum up, I never cared for the gloom and doom of the Arthurian cycle, with its slow, foreordained slide into shipwreck and misery, but this version I am following with fascination. The doom is there, in Morgan’s complicated ambitions, and in glimpses of a very, very angry young Mordred—but given what I’ve read here, I believe that in Lancelot and Guinevere, book two, there will be found beacons of light, which makes me look forward to the second half of the tale.
But there’s one exception--this book.
Lancelot: Her Story is the first half of the familiar Arthurian cycle. Though the author and I only met a couple years ago when she came to Variable Paradise, we've been internet correspondents for at least fifteen years, maybe longer. During that time I've read a number of drafts of this book, as Carol Anne Douglas slowly reworked and layered the story into what it is now.
She’s studied those earlier versions, and it shows in the episodic nature of the narrative, the easily accessible prose, and of course the famous people and incidents. But she added a twist: Lancelot is a woman. And Arthur and his Knights don’t know it.
This is the female gaze view of the Camelot story that I’d hoped to see in Mists of Avalon, but didn’t get. I don’t mean to crab on Bradley’s book, for she wrote the version of the story that she wanted to write, and it delighted (and continues to delight) its audience, but I was not part of that audience because it was too heavy-handed in its message, the characters too cartoony. The world unconvincingly black-and-white.
Douglas gets into sex, gender, and identity in ways that I found fascinating, especially in this storyline, where I know the general flow of what is to happen to who, but with twists that add new insight or meaning into the old incidents. And Douglas chooses a simple narrative style that is not post-modern, using language and worldview from an early medieval-feeling time when the Roman hold on Britain is mostly gone, but not quite, and when pagan practice is being replaced by Christianity.
At first it seems that this is another Arthurian with no magic, and indeed most of the characters pretty much don’t think magic exists, or it is fading with the old ways, but Douglas has some nice surprises. Merlin is a mysterious figure who walks in and out of the tales.
One of the most interesting characters is Ninian, who heads a nunnery. Elderly, experienced Ninian remembers the old ways in the old days—and respects and celebrates them still— but there are times when she feels she must pray as a Christian. Arthur’s Christianity is a state religion, his own theology more difficult to define (in that, and in a few other ways, he reminded me rather of Charles I); Guinevere’s is surface; like her queenship she does what is expected of her, but hers is not a religious nature. Lancelot’s is, and a significant part of her personality is her deep, sincere religious struggle.
Gawaine’s take is a cheerful blend of practicality and an acceptance that the world is far weirder than he can compass: he was baptized because Arthur wanted him to be, and he goes to Mass without a problem, but his mother Morgause’s pagan ways are also deeply rooted in him. Gawaine is another of my favorite characters, complex, puzzled, passionate and opinionated, loyal, smart.
As for Lancelot's identity and how it's handled. I'll never forget the Regency novel published in the late seventies or early eighties, in which, on the first page, the heroine when told she was to be presented at Almack's, which had pretty much become the Heyerian standby trope for intoducing heroines, replied that she didn't want to--she wanted to, and I quote, "actualize her personhood." I put the book back down on the library shelf. The thing is, Jane Austen, in being the first to write about what women thought, and making it matter, was doing just that, but in the language and spirit of her time.
We don't know what Arthur's time was, since over the centuries the myth has hovered somewhere between the height of the middle ages in certain aspects, and earlier history in others. Douglas, in dealing with the matters of gender, identity, and the expectations of either sex, avoids postmodern language, keeping the myth in its timeless place.
To sum up, I never cared for the gloom and doom of the Arthurian cycle, with its slow, foreordained slide into shipwreck and misery, but this version I am following with fascination. The doom is there, in Morgan’s complicated ambitions, and in glimpses of a very, very angry young Mordred—but given what I’ve read here, I believe that in Lancelot and Guinevere, book two, there will be found beacons of light, which makes me look forward to the second half of the tale.
November 23, 2015
This is another book written in my favorite category - woman disguised and living as man. I never associated Camelot, the Arthurian age with lesbianism...till this book. The ending is left hanging, so for those who dislike cliff hangers, might want to wait for the series to be completed before you start reading.
December 25, 2015
There are few things more frustrating than a book that seems to be tailor-made to push all your buttons that ends up simply not working for you. Arthurian re-telling (check) set in a historically-informed post-Roman Britain (check) with cross-dressing female Lancelot (check) in a lesbian romance with Guinevere (check). Yep, should have been perfect. So believe me when I say that I went into this book expecting to love it.
Unfortunately, the premise is the only thing that the story solidly delivered. At first I thought I might have gone into the book with the wrong reading protocol. At first glance, the prose style gives the impression of being a YA novel (and one on the younger end of the YA range), though the blurb and marketing materials give no indication in that direction. Short direct sentences, sparse description, lots of telling and relatively little “showing”. (Check out the Amazon preview to get a taste of what I mean.)
But other than the writing style, the book definitely doesn’t say “YA” to me, in particular in the continual emphasis on a violent and misogynistic depiction of Dark Age society, and repeated (although rarely graphic) references to sexual violence. (One may debate the historic accuracy of the depiction, and I realize that YA doesn't shy away from sexual topics, but this aspect definitely didn't feel YA to me.) The other aspect that doesn’t fit the YA paradigm is the book’s slow and monotonous pace. While the characters are continually doing things, there is little in the way of an overall plot arc. Events plod from one battle to the next assignation to another rescue of a damsel in distress. And then, after a great number of pages, they stop. There is, evidently, a sequel, because this volume ends before we get to the Arthur/Lancelot crisis, the Modred betrayal, and the other end-of-story plot elements.
While the story does an admirable job of cramming many of the medieval Arthurian tales into a single text (we get Gawain and the Green Knight, the abduction of Guinevere by Melwas, the begetting of Mordred, and many many more) it fails to make sense of them as a unified narrative. This may be due to too close a loyalty to the original texts (which were never intended to serve as a coherent narrative), although plotting and the identity of the primary characters is the only aspect in which this loyalty shows.
“Lancelot: Her Story” follows the modern neo-pagan version of the Arthurian mythos, in which conflict plays out not only between Britons and Saxons but between the fading remnants of an ancient goddess-worshiping society and the dominance of a sex-negative patriarchal Christianity. In execution, it copies the playbook of “The Mists of Avalon” and its successors rather than working from a more historic Dark Age context. Douglas’s Lancelot balances her way between the two cultures in parallel with the way she balances between two genders: raised a Christian and raised a boy, but in many ways more comfortable with the more accepting goddess-culture and with her female identity. (Note that while Lancelot spends most of the book passing as a man to the majority of the other characters, she is not presented as a transgender character and uniformly identifies internally with female pronouns, although she regularly contemplates topics of gender identity.)
Although one might think that a story centering around a cross-dressing lesbian Lancelot would examine gender roles from a critical and enlightened perspective, there is an annoying tendency for all the identified-as-sympathetic female characters to have a case of “I’m not like those other girls.” While Lancelot’s cross-gender upbringing might have been due to trauma, we’re given previous signs that she’s “not like other girls” in her tomboyish preference for running wild in the woods and her longing for spirited horses, along with her disdain for sewing and other feminine pursuits. Guinevere, too, is signaled as sympathetic by her rejection of traditionally feminine activities and her interest in reading and in riding horses. And much later in the book when Guinevere takes on a protégé who also becomes something of a substitute daughter to Lancelot, we know she’s going to be an important character because she doesn’t sew or spin well, her behavior is unruly, and she enjoys swordplay and learning to read.
Rather than critiquing gender roles, the story accepts the premise that traditional femininity is uninteresting, not admirable, and ill-suited to a protagonist. Most of the other women in the book are either downtrodden wives, manipulative seductresses, or dead in childbirth (or from sexual assault).
There were a few other issues that grated on me, but for the most part they hit personal idiosyncrasies rather than being writing flaws. In the end, the book’s worst flaw was that it never grabbed hold of me and sucked me in. I fought my way, step by monotonous step, to the end of the book.
Unfortunately, the premise is the only thing that the story solidly delivered. At first I thought I might have gone into the book with the wrong reading protocol. At first glance, the prose style gives the impression of being a YA novel (and one on the younger end of the YA range), though the blurb and marketing materials give no indication in that direction. Short direct sentences, sparse description, lots of telling and relatively little “showing”. (Check out the Amazon preview to get a taste of what I mean.)
But other than the writing style, the book definitely doesn’t say “YA” to me, in particular in the continual emphasis on a violent and misogynistic depiction of Dark Age society, and repeated (although rarely graphic) references to sexual violence. (One may debate the historic accuracy of the depiction, and I realize that YA doesn't shy away from sexual topics, but this aspect definitely didn't feel YA to me.) The other aspect that doesn’t fit the YA paradigm is the book’s slow and monotonous pace. While the characters are continually doing things, there is little in the way of an overall plot arc. Events plod from one battle to the next assignation to another rescue of a damsel in distress. And then, after a great number of pages, they stop. There is, evidently, a sequel, because this volume ends before we get to the Arthur/Lancelot crisis, the Modred betrayal, and the other end-of-story plot elements.
While the story does an admirable job of cramming many of the medieval Arthurian tales into a single text (we get Gawain and the Green Knight, the abduction of Guinevere by Melwas, the begetting of Mordred, and many many more) it fails to make sense of them as a unified narrative. This may be due to too close a loyalty to the original texts (which were never intended to serve as a coherent narrative), although plotting and the identity of the primary characters is the only aspect in which this loyalty shows.
“Lancelot: Her Story” follows the modern neo-pagan version of the Arthurian mythos, in which conflict plays out not only between Britons and Saxons but between the fading remnants of an ancient goddess-worshiping society and the dominance of a sex-negative patriarchal Christianity. In execution, it copies the playbook of “The Mists of Avalon” and its successors rather than working from a more historic Dark Age context. Douglas’s Lancelot balances her way between the two cultures in parallel with the way she balances between two genders: raised a Christian and raised a boy, but in many ways more comfortable with the more accepting goddess-culture and with her female identity. (Note that while Lancelot spends most of the book passing as a man to the majority of the other characters, she is not presented as a transgender character and uniformly identifies internally with female pronouns, although she regularly contemplates topics of gender identity.)
Although one might think that a story centering around a cross-dressing lesbian Lancelot would examine gender roles from a critical and enlightened perspective, there is an annoying tendency for all the identified-as-sympathetic female characters to have a case of “I’m not like those other girls.” While Lancelot’s cross-gender upbringing might have been due to trauma, we’re given previous signs that she’s “not like other girls” in her tomboyish preference for running wild in the woods and her longing for spirited horses, along with her disdain for sewing and other feminine pursuits. Guinevere, too, is signaled as sympathetic by her rejection of traditionally feminine activities and her interest in reading and in riding horses. And much later in the book when Guinevere takes on a protégé who also becomes something of a substitute daughter to Lancelot, we know she’s going to be an important character because she doesn’t sew or spin well, her behavior is unruly, and she enjoys swordplay and learning to read.
Rather than critiquing gender roles, the story accepts the premise that traditional femininity is uninteresting, not admirable, and ill-suited to a protagonist. Most of the other women in the book are either downtrodden wives, manipulative seductresses, or dead in childbirth (or from sexual assault).
There were a few other issues that grated on me, but for the most part they hit personal idiosyncrasies rather than being writing flaws. In the end, the book’s worst flaw was that it never grabbed hold of me and sucked me in. I fought my way, step by monotonous step, to the end of the book.
March 31, 2026
Yet another version of the same story following the same couple? Don’t mind if I do. Genuinely speaking though, this specific type of Lancelot (& Guinevere) is very different from the rest and it’s so dear to me.
This time Lancelot is indeed a woman as the title might have you think. And Guinevere loves her not in spite of it, but because of it. What if their relationship was treated as it was not so much because it was adulterous, but because it was queer? Lancelot is so deeply faithful to both her Queen and her God. She didn’t even know a woman like her could exist, let alone her not being the only one who is like this. She’d only heard of men being able to love other men, never women. And when she found that in Guinevere (who by the way realized she was a woman upon first seeing her) she fell in love. “You are beautiful beyond belief” she said. Lancelot being a Christian woman as well as everything else that she is, is also very in character for her. She knows her love isn’t wrong, the only thing she’s iffy about is that Guinevere’s married. Lancelot’s story itself as to why she had to pretend she was a man is just so sad.
Guinevere on the other hand, such an amazing character. She’s sure of what she wants (women) and is not afraid to pursue her beloved. And she’s so strong-willed in her way of thinking, like she openly told Gawaine she would always hate him after what he’d told her. I’ve truly never read about a single Guinevere I didn’t love. Hoping for more of her in the next book, as she is the (other) titular character of it.
I also loved Lancelot’s friendship with Gawaine here, almost a brotherhood. Yeah, she’s a woman but he didn’t know, they went to war together and everything. What he did for her was honorable and just made me like him more. And when he discovered she was a woman he didn’t bat an eye, he was only pissed he didn’t realize it himself sooner considering they’d known each other for decades.
I’ve honestly been wanting to read this book for the longest time and it exceeded all expectations. 5 stars, obviously.
This time Lancelot is indeed a woman as the title might have you think. And Guinevere loves her not in spite of it, but because of it. What if their relationship was treated as it was not so much because it was adulterous, but because it was queer? Lancelot is so deeply faithful to both her Queen and her God. She didn’t even know a woman like her could exist, let alone her not being the only one who is like this. She’d only heard of men being able to love other men, never women. And when she found that in Guinevere (who by the way realized she was a woman upon first seeing her) she fell in love. “You are beautiful beyond belief” she said. Lancelot being a Christian woman as well as everything else that she is, is also very in character for her. She knows her love isn’t wrong, the only thing she’s iffy about is that Guinevere’s married. Lancelot’s story itself as to why she had to pretend she was a man is just so sad.
Guinevere on the other hand, such an amazing character. She’s sure of what she wants (women) and is not afraid to pursue her beloved. And she’s so strong-willed in her way of thinking, like she openly told Gawaine she would always hate him after what he’d told her. I’ve truly never read about a single Guinevere I didn’t love. Hoping for more of her in the next book, as she is the (other) titular character of it.
I also loved Lancelot’s friendship with Gawaine here, almost a brotherhood. Yeah, she’s a woman but he didn’t know, they went to war together and everything. What he did for her was honorable and just made me like him more. And when he discovered she was a woman he didn’t bat an eye, he was only pissed he didn’t realize it himself sooner considering they’d known each other for decades.
I’ve honestly been wanting to read this book for the longest time and it exceeded all expectations. 5 stars, obviously.
September 18, 2019
This is a long book but it didn't feel that way at all as I enjoyed reading every page. I thought it was a neat idea to have a female as Lancelot.
It was heartbreaking when Lancelot was in despair and I felt for her because of how the ongoing war affected her.
Review also posted here: https://wp.me/p4Pp9O-MS
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It was heartbreaking when Lancelot was in despair and I felt for her because of how the ongoing war affected her.
Review also posted here: https://wp.me/p4Pp9O-MS
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 9, 2016
I really wanted to love this book. For the wonderful idea of a female Lancelot, the best knight in the world as a passing woman, and the doomed love between Lancelot and Guinevere as a passion between two women. And I pushed through it, waiting patiently for it to 'click' for me. But it never quite did - though it came close at times.
I enjoyed Lancelot's voice, her innocence about the ways of the world turning to confusion, sorrow and pain as she sees at every turn the treatment of women and the brutality of war in Arthur's Britain. The telling of her descent into what can only be described as post-traumatic stress during the long sequence of battles against the Saxons.
Douglas clearly intends this book to be a critique that covers a range of feminist issues - from sexual abuse and domestic violence to paternalistic attitudes that limit women's opportunities and options. These issues are, in fact, present in the experience of virtually every female character who is even mentioned in the book. Unfortunately, the author falls into the trap of dismissing women's work, both physical and emotional, and women's concerns about relationships with men, family and children, as being something to be escaped, rather than accepted as a part of life that needs to be valued and embraced by society and all its members.
Instead of a story that validates all the possible choices women can make about their lives, what we get is a story in which women like Lancelot and Guinevere are able to transcend cultural limitations because they are different, and don't like "girl's things." Douglas also falls into the habit of giving most of the other women in the novel traditional roles - spurned lover, manipulative bitch, subservient wife, wise old crone, victim of violence or the dead woman in the fridge.
There are other problems. I found it overly slow and meandering, especially at the beginning. The author has incorporated elements of all the Arthurian stories she can possibly fit in, all together into one text, and it often seems that they are there just to add yet another instance of male indifference or brutality to women and their concerns, as many do not add significantly to the story of Guinevere and Lancelot. Even Malory, whose classic work is more a compendium of tales than a unified story, was selective about his choices, and kept one thread, that of the king whose greatness carries the seeds of his downfall, at the core of his narrative.
Moreover, there is something overly simplistic about the way key decisions that will literally change the course of lives are made. The choices that lead to Lancelot being raised as a boy in the first place, Gawaine's choice to follow Arthur, Morgan's decision to betray him, Guinevere's sudden acceptance of her lesbianism.... These things all happen almost without thought, like the flipping of a switch. The motivations are hollow, we barely see inside the characters enough to understand how or why such drastic choices are made and justified. We are told, but we do not see.
As well, the style of writing is rather pedestrian. At times it reads like a YA novel - and one for the younger end of that audience - but the themes of sexuality and violence rather run counter to that.
The story also relies upon one of my own pet peeves - failure to communicate. I was rather annoyed with the long keeping of secrets that prevented Guinevere and Lancelot from realising that their love was mutual. Particularly when there were so many times that Guinevere could have made it clear that she had seen through Lancelot's masculine facade.
On the other hand, it was quite satisfying to see some of the less-frequently adapted Arthurian tales brought into play, and to have so much of the story told from female perspectives, so I can't say there was no pleasure here for me. It's just that there could have been so much more. For those who want to explore the idea of a female Lancelot, in my opinion the gold standard remains Jo Walton's duology, The King's Name and The King's Peace.
I enjoyed Lancelot's voice, her innocence about the ways of the world turning to confusion, sorrow and pain as she sees at every turn the treatment of women and the brutality of war in Arthur's Britain. The telling of her descent into what can only be described as post-traumatic stress during the long sequence of battles against the Saxons.
Douglas clearly intends this book to be a critique that covers a range of feminist issues - from sexual abuse and domestic violence to paternalistic attitudes that limit women's opportunities and options. These issues are, in fact, present in the experience of virtually every female character who is even mentioned in the book. Unfortunately, the author falls into the trap of dismissing women's work, both physical and emotional, and women's concerns about relationships with men, family and children, as being something to be escaped, rather than accepted as a part of life that needs to be valued and embraced by society and all its members.
Instead of a story that validates all the possible choices women can make about their lives, what we get is a story in which women like Lancelot and Guinevere are able to transcend cultural limitations because they are different, and don't like "girl's things." Douglas also falls into the habit of giving most of the other women in the novel traditional roles - spurned lover, manipulative bitch, subservient wife, wise old crone, victim of violence or the dead woman in the fridge.
There are other problems. I found it overly slow and meandering, especially at the beginning. The author has incorporated elements of all the Arthurian stories she can possibly fit in, all together into one text, and it often seems that they are there just to add yet another instance of male indifference or brutality to women and their concerns, as many do not add significantly to the story of Guinevere and Lancelot. Even Malory, whose classic work is more a compendium of tales than a unified story, was selective about his choices, and kept one thread, that of the king whose greatness carries the seeds of his downfall, at the core of his narrative.
Moreover, there is something overly simplistic about the way key decisions that will literally change the course of lives are made. The choices that lead to Lancelot being raised as a boy in the first place, Gawaine's choice to follow Arthur, Morgan's decision to betray him, Guinevere's sudden acceptance of her lesbianism.... These things all happen almost without thought, like the flipping of a switch. The motivations are hollow, we barely see inside the characters enough to understand how or why such drastic choices are made and justified. We are told, but we do not see.
As well, the style of writing is rather pedestrian. At times it reads like a YA novel - and one for the younger end of that audience - but the themes of sexuality and violence rather run counter to that.
The story also relies upon one of my own pet peeves - failure to communicate. I was rather annoyed with the long keeping of secrets that prevented Guinevere and Lancelot from realising that their love was mutual. Particularly when there were so many times that Guinevere could have made it clear that she had seen through Lancelot's masculine facade.
On the other hand, it was quite satisfying to see some of the less-frequently adapted Arthurian tales brought into play, and to have so much of the story told from female perspectives, so I can't say there was no pleasure here for me. It's just that there could have been so much more. For those who want to explore the idea of a female Lancelot, in my opinion the gold standard remains Jo Walton's duology, The King's Name and The King's Peace.
July 1, 2024
3,5 stars
HERSTORY ~ what if sir lancelot was a woman?
what if that was why guinevere and lancelot's love story was so enticing? the forbidden love...add a layer of lesbianism to it and it becomes something much more transcending. it changes the drama of their love into something a bit more complex and tragic.
the prose was beautiful and the characters proper tragic medieval lovesick idiots.
my favourite part of this story—though guinevere pining for a repressed religious lancelot was delicious—was lancelot and gawaine's friendship. they mean everything to me, your honour!
i really enjoyed 'lancelot: her story; though this story was very slow paced and some elements felt rushed. the changes the author made to make sense of characters like, lancelot's child, did seem a bit random to me, but it was still imaginative and somewhat captivating.
HERSTORY ~ what if sir lancelot was a woman?
what if that was why guinevere and lancelot's love story was so enticing? the forbidden love...add a layer of lesbianism to it and it becomes something much more transcending. it changes the drama of their love into something a bit more complex and tragic.
the prose was beautiful and the characters proper tragic medieval lovesick idiots.
my favourite part of this story—though guinevere pining for a repressed religious lancelot was delicious—was lancelot and gawaine's friendship. they mean everything to me, your honour!
i really enjoyed 'lancelot: her story; though this story was very slow paced and some elements felt rushed. the changes the author made to make sense of characters like, lancelot's child, did seem a bit random to me, but it was still imaginative and somewhat captivating.
June 28, 2016
The title and subtitle provide the gist: in this telling of the Arthurian story, Lancelot is a woman, a nobleman's daughter raised as a son after her mother is killed, so the romance between Lancelot and Guinevere is illicit twice, once for being adulterous on Guinevere's part and again for being between two women. It's a long book but a quick and enjoyable read. Most of the time I managed to suspend my skepticism about whether Lancelot could have pulled this off. I must confess, though: I'm not a romance reader. This probably explains why I was looking more more depth in the novel's key relationships, not just between those in the central triangle but between them and those around them. Gawain and Morgan in particular threatened to steal the story whenever they appeared. I look forward to seeing them again in volume 2.
April 15, 2020
I am very conflicted about this novel, 2.5 stars I think. It did grow on me a little in the later half, but like other reviewers have also pointed out there are some issues that really threw me off.
1. The faux feminism where being a woman is unbearable unless you are "different" and enjoy more masculine things, depicting femininity as boring, weak and empty was Not Great. I get that this is historical fiction and that the lives of women weren't necessarily great at that time, but dismissing all the court ladies and making pretty much all other women in the narratives nuns or whores was not great
2. The pacing is not always great, especially when it comes to important decisions and relatively big story beats. Like others mentioned, Marcus suddenly decides to raise Anna/Lancelot as a boy without any warning or explanation, Guinevere somehow realises Lancelot is a woman the very first time she meets her, despite Lancelot being able to deceive everyone for like, at least a decade, and Guinevere knows it for sure because she can SMELL Lancelot's menstruation?????????? Excuse me??????? Also Gawain suddenly realises Lancelot is a woman after twenty years because she refuses to share a bed with him like, THAT is what made him realise???? how is that realistic at all???
3. This is just a personal pet peeve of mine I guess, but whenever there is an Arthurian adaptation with a female protagonist who is not Arthur, Arthur tends to be a dick??? Combined w the less than great depiction of men in general its just, not great. Especially because that means that out of the whole of Camelot there are only a few people who are actually sort of okay, there are but a few exceptions to the rapist brutish men who do not care and the highly feminine women who just care for sewing and marriage. idk man its disappointing.
4. The narrative switches POV every now and then which is totally fine except there are some interjections where we get a scene in the POV from a character who really isnt relevant at all and might not come back ever???? Like, we know Guinevere's half sister is alive bc of one short tiny scene but like, its not relevant at all within these 600+ pages. Same with the interjections on Ninian and the small bit about Gawain being a father which like, does not receive any closure at all (yet). Also what was the point of having Melwas follow Guinevere and have nothing happen???? idk man it was weird.
5. Def not a fan of the mutual romantic love between Arthur x Morgan, incest is r e a l l y not my thing yikes, and Morgan as a whole is meh, when she is/could have been so interesting
Things I did like:
1. I do love Lancelot and Gawain's friendship
2. The war episode was sort of nice in that it actually addressed the trauma that war causes and the depression that can come with it. I appreciated the comradery of everyone caring for Lancelot
3. I appreciate the depiction of Guinevere, she has her faults but it is one of the more human versions of Guinevere in historical adaptations
idk man. I really dont know how to rate this novel, I guess it hovers somewhere between it was okay and I liked it, not because I actually liked it that much, but because it did draw me in, and I could not put it down but hm.
1. The faux feminism where being a woman is unbearable unless you are "different" and enjoy more masculine things, depicting femininity as boring, weak and empty was Not Great. I get that this is historical fiction and that the lives of women weren't necessarily great at that time, but dismissing all the court ladies and making pretty much all other women in the narratives nuns or whores was not great
2. The pacing is not always great, especially when it comes to important decisions and relatively big story beats. Like others mentioned, Marcus suddenly decides to raise Anna/Lancelot as a boy without any warning or explanation, Guinevere somehow realises Lancelot is a woman the very first time she meets her, despite Lancelot being able to deceive everyone for like, at least a decade, and Guinevere knows it for sure because she can SMELL Lancelot's menstruation?????????? Excuse me??????? Also Gawain suddenly realises Lancelot is a woman after twenty years because she refuses to share a bed with him like, THAT is what made him realise???? how is that realistic at all???
3. This is just a personal pet peeve of mine I guess, but whenever there is an Arthurian adaptation with a female protagonist who is not Arthur, Arthur tends to be a dick??? Combined w the less than great depiction of men in general its just, not great. Especially because that means that out of the whole of Camelot there are only a few people who are actually sort of okay, there are but a few exceptions to the rapist brutish men who do not care and the highly feminine women who just care for sewing and marriage. idk man its disappointing.
4. The narrative switches POV every now and then which is totally fine except there are some interjections where we get a scene in the POV from a character who really isnt relevant at all and might not come back ever???? Like, we know Guinevere's half sister is alive bc of one short tiny scene but like, its not relevant at all within these 600+ pages. Same with the interjections on Ninian and the small bit about Gawain being a father which like, does not receive any closure at all (yet). Also what was the point of having Melwas follow Guinevere and have nothing happen???? idk man it was weird.
5. Def not a fan of the mutual romantic love between Arthur x Morgan, incest is r e a l l y not my thing yikes, and Morgan as a whole is meh, when she is/could have been so interesting
Things I did like:
1. I do love Lancelot and Gawain's friendship
2. The war episode was sort of nice in that it actually addressed the trauma that war causes and the depression that can come with it. I appreciated the comradery of everyone caring for Lancelot
3. I appreciate the depiction of Guinevere, she has her faults but it is one of the more human versions of Guinevere in historical adaptations
idk man. I really dont know how to rate this novel, I guess it hovers somewhere between it was okay and I liked it, not because I actually liked it that much, but because it did draw me in, and I could not put it down but hm.
June 19, 2017
I had written an initial review of this book, before I could finish it, thinking I would leave it on hiatus for months and months. I actually decided to finish the book immediately so I changed my review. My first warning is this: I have read the first part (about 52% of the novel, if kindle is correct) in October 2016 and then stopped reading till May/June 2017. For this reason, I don't remember much of the first part but some particular elements, which is why my review might seem vague about the first part but have more details about the second part.
This is the story of Lancelot, a woman raised as a man by her father after the mother's death. She loves other women and, of course, she falls in love with Queen Guinevere.
To conclude: I immensely enjoyed the last part of the novel, the way the plot thickens and the new characters are introduced and I will surely wait for the new book.
This is the story of Lancelot, a woman raised as a man by her father after the mother's death. She loves other women and, of course, she falls in love with Queen Guinevere.
To conclude: I immensely enjoyed the last part of the novel, the way the plot thickens and the new characters are introduced and I will surely wait for the new book.
December 28, 2015
Really, really enjoyed this book, though a part of me wants to reserve judgement until I read the sequel (please don't end tragically! I know you're supposed to, but don't..!)
Lancelot: Her Story is very different from anything I've read. It's fairly meandering and doesn't always seem to be going somewhere concrete—Arthurian slice of life, if you will—but that's also one of its charms. If you, like me, have wanted to spend more time in Arthurian legends but can't get past all the tragedy, this book (on its own at least) is a fantastic way to do so. I loved the friendship between Lancelot and Gawaine and I loved how Guinevere could be brittle and judgemental to some while being kind and loving to others (mainly Lancelot). Arthur is a more nebulous figure, and not particularly likeable, but that was very effective in context; being a good king does not necessarily require being a good person, and this book shows that. Lots of character development as the characters mature, and the story is told mostly from the perspectives of Lancelot & Guinevere, with occasional chapters from Gawaine and even more infrequent chapters from others.
All in all, a definite recommendation for people looking for something that's more an immersive read than a page-turner. There are a lot of horrifying images that might put people off (rape & pillaging, etc) but they're not described in explicit detail, thankfully, and the characters who matter respond to them with suitable disgust. Furthermore, I loved the little tidbits about religion and how the characters all differed in their beliefs, from believing in pre-Christian gods to devout Christianity to a practical apply-as-needed brand of belief. It made the characters feel more distinct and real in my mind.
Lancelot: Her Story is very different from anything I've read. It's fairly meandering and doesn't always seem to be going somewhere concrete—Arthurian slice of life, if you will—but that's also one of its charms. If you, like me, have wanted to spend more time in Arthurian legends but can't get past all the tragedy, this book (on its own at least) is a fantastic way to do so. I loved the friendship between Lancelot and Gawaine and I loved how Guinevere could be brittle and judgemental to some while being kind and loving to others (mainly Lancelot). Arthur is a more nebulous figure, and not particularly likeable, but that was very effective in context; being a good king does not necessarily require being a good person, and this book shows that. Lots of character development as the characters mature, and the story is told mostly from the perspectives of Lancelot & Guinevere, with occasional chapters from Gawaine and even more infrequent chapters from others.
All in all, a definite recommendation for people looking for something that's more an immersive read than a page-turner. There are a lot of horrifying images that might put people off (rape & pillaging, etc) but they're not described in explicit detail, thankfully, and the characters who matter respond to them with suitable disgust. Furthermore, I loved the little tidbits about religion and how the characters all differed in their beliefs, from believing in pre-Christian gods to devout Christianity to a practical apply-as-needed brand of belief. It made the characters feel more distinct and real in my mind.
June 17, 2017
I first heard Carol Anne read part of this book at a convention, and I had to take a look. The book does not disappoint. The characters are fully realized, interesting spins on traditional characters of Arthurian legend. The book examines serious issues such as romance, war, chivalry, and love, all of them in a fresh way without becoming anachronistic. This book is a must read for people who think they've seen everything that can be done with Arthurian legend. I look forward to reading the sequel.
October 18, 2021
Last fall I ordered the books ‘Lancelot Her Story’ and ‘Lancelot and Guinevere’Lancelot and Guinevere . I read both volumes, each over 600 pages, in about two weeks, and have been going back to dip into this world again recently. I highly recommend them for pandemic reading and future rereading.
This story should be recognized as a classic tale of enduring lesbian love and friendship. Lancelot, a woman disguised as a man, and Guinevere trust and believe in each other, and grow old together in the end. How rare, and how satisfying!
This story is also about how women, especially lesbians, could/may have been a positive influence in that increasingly patriarchal society. Gawaine’s mother, a priestess of the Goddess, teaches him to treat women well. As a girl, Guinevere’s ambition is to be a kind queen, a ruler in her own right. As Arthur’s queen she influences him to be kinder and uses what power she has to help women. Over and over the knights, inspired by Lancelot, rescue women who are being abducted, raped or otherwise abused. Disguised as a man, Lancelot brings a woman’s perspective into the men’s discussions about things like sexual relationships, war, class, prostitution, and the treatment of women generally.
It’s also about how Lancelot is disillusioned and traumatized by the experiences of war.
The characters grow and evolve and are changed by their experiences and actions. Arthur is likeable at first but becomes more cold and eventually cruel as his ambition and fears form him. Lancelot, Guinevere, Gawaine and others are self-reflective, wanting to do right and be true to themselves, and their understanding of themselves and others matures.
Gawaine is a sex-positive heterosexual male who cares about women and treats them well by the standards of the time. As a young man he transfers his allegiance from his father to Arthur because his father is a rapist and Arthur’s intention is to be a ruler who protects his people rather than pillaging them – because it is a more successful policy. When Gawaine becomes Lancelot’s friend he thinks Lance is a man, but later in the story when he finds out the truth he remains loyal and respectful, and tries not to be protective in a disempowering way. A good model of male friendship.
The Christian convent is a haven for former priestesses of the Goddess, women-loving women and girls in boys’ clothing.
Lancelot and Guinevere both love nature, and find solace and healing in the forest.
Having known Carol Anne Douglas’s political writing in off our backs I was prepared for her fiction writing to be a little dry, but it’s not. I enjoyed reading both volumes.
This story should be recognized as a classic tale of enduring lesbian love and friendship. Lancelot, a woman disguised as a man, and Guinevere trust and believe in each other, and grow old together in the end. How rare, and how satisfying!
This story is also about how women, especially lesbians, could/may have been a positive influence in that increasingly patriarchal society. Gawaine’s mother, a priestess of the Goddess, teaches him to treat women well. As a girl, Guinevere’s ambition is to be a kind queen, a ruler in her own right. As Arthur’s queen she influences him to be kinder and uses what power she has to help women. Over and over the knights, inspired by Lancelot, rescue women who are being abducted, raped or otherwise abused. Disguised as a man, Lancelot brings a woman’s perspective into the men’s discussions about things like sexual relationships, war, class, prostitution, and the treatment of women generally.
It’s also about how Lancelot is disillusioned and traumatized by the experiences of war.
The characters grow and evolve and are changed by their experiences and actions. Arthur is likeable at first but becomes more cold and eventually cruel as his ambition and fears form him. Lancelot, Guinevere, Gawaine and others are self-reflective, wanting to do right and be true to themselves, and their understanding of themselves and others matures.
Gawaine is a sex-positive heterosexual male who cares about women and treats them well by the standards of the time. As a young man he transfers his allegiance from his father to Arthur because his father is a rapist and Arthur’s intention is to be a ruler who protects his people rather than pillaging them – because it is a more successful policy. When Gawaine becomes Lancelot’s friend he thinks Lance is a man, but later in the story when he finds out the truth he remains loyal and respectful, and tries not to be protective in a disempowering way. A good model of male friendship.
The Christian convent is a haven for former priestesses of the Goddess, women-loving women and girls in boys’ clothing.
Lancelot and Guinevere both love nature, and find solace and healing in the forest.
Having known Carol Anne Douglas’s political writing in off our backs I was prepared for her fiction writing to be a little dry, but it’s not. I enjoyed reading both volumes.
July 24, 2020
I've always enjoyed reading books about the times of King Arthur so I'm overjoyed reading Carol Anne Douglas' story of Lancelot as an honorable woman. Her father, protecting her from the same fate as her mother, raises her as a boy & trains her in weaponry. Anna's name changes to Lancelot due to her fighting prowess. Douglas' writing is effective and it's evident she's knowledgeable of the time period through landscape and character descriptions. Christianity and Heathenry are in constant conflict and its effect on the main and secondary characters is well done. The story's about Lancelot coming into her own, always aware that she can't be discovered to be a woman, and falling in love with Queen Guinevere. It's a great read and a wonderful exciting and different take on Merlin, Arthur, Morgase, Morgan, Gawain, and the love story of Lancelot and Guinevere.
April 30, 2025
This book was a long read, but I enjoyed the story. The retelling of the Arthurian legend and the premise that Lancelot has been a woman all along is such an interesting take on the tale.
Lancelot is a very likable character and stays true to her morals throughout the journey. The story doesn’t focus solely on romance, but the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere is quite lovely. It was funny seeing Lancelot remain loyal to the Queen despite other women throwing themselves at her. I also like the friendship between Gawain and Lancelot, these two are definitely the textbook definition of BFFs.
There’s so much going on in this book and so many characters, so prepare yourself for a long read. But I think this book is great and worth reading.
Lancelot is a very likable character and stays true to her morals throughout the journey. The story doesn’t focus solely on romance, but the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere is quite lovely. It was funny seeing Lancelot remain loyal to the Queen despite other women throwing themselves at her. I also like the friendship between Gawain and Lancelot, these two are definitely the textbook definition of BFFs.
There’s so much going on in this book and so many characters, so prepare yourself for a long read. But I think this book is great and worth reading.
September 22, 2023
The details in this story painted a vivid landscape of a time gone by. Characters were fleshed out and I experienced their anger, fear, triumphs and love. While violent at times, this wasn't unrealistic for that period in history. I recommend to anyone wanting to read a story with strong women surviving by their wits and bravery in a time when women were treated as property and 'less than' by society.
June 5, 2018
Arthurian twist
Douglas writes of Arthurian Times with great engaging prose that paints the picture of ancient Britain. The love story of Lancelot and Guineviere has the twist of Lancelot as a woman warrior, enchanting me. If you like jousting and courtly intrigue, this books for you.
Douglas writes of Arthurian Times with great engaging prose that paints the picture of ancient Britain. The love story of Lancelot and Guineviere has the twist of Lancelot as a woman warrior, enchanting me. If you like jousting and courtly intrigue, this books for you.
July 28, 2020
A most worthy read
This book is a finely written story of hierarchy, love, loyalty, violence and of women taking their agency and power from a society that forbids them any at all. It evokes cringing disgust and joyful transcendence. A worthy read set in yet another unworthy, misogynist historical era.
This book is a finely written story of hierarchy, love, loyalty, violence and of women taking their agency and power from a society that forbids them any at all. It evokes cringing disgust and joyful transcendence. A worthy read set in yet another unworthy, misogynist historical era.
June 4, 2021
Great book! I couldn’t put it down. Please write more F/F fantasy novels!
July 2, 2025
2.5 stars rounded up :( I had to deduct because of the prose, pacing, and heavy-handedness... I thought it could have been done better and I was disappointed that the theme of courtly love was not pursued as intensely when that feature is so very essential in the Lancelot/Guinevere romance. Also, I had my gripes with the actual romantic scenes haha :") this book is not for those who are very insistently in the camp of "show, don't tell"!
I also really did not like how things would get introduced and build tension and then the actual fallout would be so easily resolved? What I loved about Lancelot/Guinevere in Arthurian legend is how messy they could be. The fluff doesn't pop out as sweetly because there wasn't enough actual conflict between them to contrast it with :/ Guinevere doesn't even get to lash out much. I was quite disappointed at that, let me tell you. I have had many thoughts in the past about how Lancelot being a women might compound their intense love with a bit of resentment for how Lancelot has access to all the power Guinevere never could. (idk. maybe I'm too Lancelot/Guinevere-falling-apart-tragic-unsustainable-romance-tangled-in-so-much-power-and-gender-dynamics-pilled.)
HOWEVER. I still really enjoyed this. When I found out this book existed, I tell you, it was like caffeine was shot DIRECTLY into my veins. I have literally been talking about yuri Lancelot/Guinevere for days and the discovery that someone HAS published a book on it was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was nothing more fun than seeing beloved characters, and especially Lancelot, be reinterpreted through this book! I can't wait to read the next!
Funnily enough I also liked that the author did the Arthur-is-still-hung-up-over-his-sister thing. Although I would have personally stuck with Morgause, I get why the author chose Morgan. I liked that the author wasn't afraid to tackle the incestous themes present in the legend, and especially because it contributes to how deeply flawed this Arthur is. Actually, I did like this portrayal of Arthur quite a bit. You see him through different POVs and different moods and you can't exactly pin down if you should hate/dislike him or not, and even the characters can't really decide, or at least they push it aside for their loyalty. Tbh it's like this for all the male characters. Hashtag the patriarchy
Anyways, despite all the criticism I did write above, please please please don't let this deter you from checking out this fresh, wonderful take on Lancelot and Arthurian legend! I thoroughly enjoyed it and sped through the book in like. A day. Less than. I started reading it at like uhhh 2:30AM last night (this morning?) and I slept at 5:30AM after having gotten through halfway already because I couldn't put it down sdkshfjk
I also really did not like how things would get introduced and build tension and then the actual fallout would be so easily resolved? What I loved about Lancelot/Guinevere in Arthurian legend is how messy they could be. The fluff doesn't pop out as sweetly because there wasn't enough actual conflict between them to contrast it with :/ Guinevere doesn't even get to lash out much. I was quite disappointed at that, let me tell you. I have had many thoughts in the past about how Lancelot being a women might compound their intense love with a bit of resentment for how Lancelot has access to all the power Guinevere never could. (idk. maybe I'm too Lancelot/Guinevere-falling-apart-tragic-unsustainable-romance-tangled-in-so-much-power-and-gender-dynamics-pilled.)
HOWEVER. I still really enjoyed this. When I found out this book existed, I tell you, it was like caffeine was shot DIRECTLY into my veins. I have literally been talking about yuri Lancelot/Guinevere for days and the discovery that someone HAS published a book on it was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was nothing more fun than seeing beloved characters, and especially Lancelot, be reinterpreted through this book! I can't wait to read the next!
Funnily enough I also liked that the author did the Arthur-is-still-hung-up-over-his-sister thing. Although I would have personally stuck with Morgause, I get why the author chose Morgan. I liked that the author wasn't afraid to tackle the incestous themes present in the legend, and especially because it contributes to how deeply flawed this Arthur is. Actually, I did like this portrayal of Arthur quite a bit. You see him through different POVs and different moods and you can't exactly pin down if you should hate/dislike him or not, and even the characters can't really decide, or at least they push it aside for their loyalty. Tbh it's like this for all the male characters. Hashtag the patriarchy
Anyways, despite all the criticism I did write above, please please please don't let this deter you from checking out this fresh, wonderful take on Lancelot and Arthurian legend! I thoroughly enjoyed it and sped through the book in like. A day. Less than. I started reading it at like uhhh 2:30AM last night (this morning?) and I slept at 5:30AM after having gotten through halfway already because I couldn't put it down sdkshfjk
January 10, 2017
I had started reading the second book in this series and I had gotten maybe 100 pages in before I decided I had to read the first one to get a much deeper understanding and connection even though I was already enjoying the second book. There is only one complaint at times it felt they it was a lot more saying than actually doing, which worked in some places but other places felt as if you missed something but the characters and their interactions with each other are great especially women like Guinevere and Lancelot with other women. Inspiring them to be better and helping when they can.
Lancelot is a brilliant character because she strong, kind, and honorable. Everything you want in a knight. I also love that she proves every man wrong because she is equal o them in everything even if they aren't aware of who she really is. I didn't think I would love gawaine as much as have but he might be my favorite. His character development is wonderful and he brings a lightness to darker times. The comradare of the Knights is fun to read about.
This book just sucks you in within the first several pages and it doesn't let you go. It has everything I want in a book.
Lancelot is a brilliant character because she strong, kind, and honorable. Everything you want in a knight. I also love that she proves every man wrong because she is equal o them in everything even if they aren't aware of who she really is. I didn't think I would love gawaine as much as have but he might be my favorite. His character development is wonderful and he brings a lightness to darker times. The comradare of the Knights is fun to read about.
This book just sucks you in within the first several pages and it doesn't let you go. It has everything I want in a book.
December 7, 2015
I do not enjoy histrionic revisionism. This isn't "A Connecticut Yankee" style "what if." It is a maudlin daydream carried on far too far. I do not like the author's style of writing.
December 24, 2023
im lonely :(
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October 30, 2018The legendary Lancelot is reimagined as a woman disguised as a man in Carol Anne Douglas’ lesbian tribute to the King Arthur canon.
Douglas, who describes herself as a “lifelong student of Arthurian and Shakespearean lore,” constructs a post-Roman, Medieval world that is otherwise meticulously loyal to the source material. Read the rest of my review at Queer Sci Fi.
Douglas, who describes herself as a “lifelong student of Arthurian and Shakespearean lore,” constructs a post-Roman, Medieval world that is otherwise meticulously loyal to the source material. Read the rest of my review at Queer Sci Fi.
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