In the first book, ‘The Sword And The Circle’, Merlin foresees Britain’s eventual downfall, so the final ending is always partially known to the reader. But rather than being put off, I raced through the second book to get to the third, and find out how it would happen. Throughout the trilogy, Rosemary Sutcliff builds towards the end cleverly, with hints and reminders that ‘this character will play a part’, and ‘that place is where it will happen’.
I knew vaguely how the story would end from an old cassette tape with ‘King Arthur’ stories I listened to as a child. But I wanted to read it in full detail, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was bittersweet, and strangely satisfying. I’ve never minded a sad ending if it’s done well (hello Michael Henchard), and the legends are improved in my opinion by having this ‘end of all things’ where nothing and no-one is left.
Gawain is still my favourite, and while Lancelot became more interesting, he is still at fault for a lot that goes wrong. I agree with another reviewer who said that Sutcliff seems to like Lancelot too much and Gawain not enough. Mordred was the perfect weaselly bad guy, Guenever annoyed me.
Arthur was finally the central character again, and is torn between mercy and justice. At times in the previous books I thought that Arthur gave his name to the legends but not much else. After the first few chapters it’s the knights who have all the adventures. But by the end you realise how important he was… the king who united Britain, drove out the Saxons, and, with the help of The Round Table, created a brotherhood which promoted loyalty, chivalry and valour. The best knights in the kingdom wanted to be part of it, and mirroring Arthur, they set the tone for the entire realm. It becomes obvious how important Arthur was when a usurper seizes power for a while: before long, Britain is full of doubts and whispers; invaders and rogues see that Britain’s strength has gone and plot their moves.
Anyway, I have loved this trilogy, and thankful that I have at last found what I hoped for when I read TH White’s ‘The Once And Future King’… which was awful.