Lionors: King Arthur's Uncrowned Queen

by Barbara Ferry Johnson

When she was thirteen, Lionors first saw Arthur. Little did she know the consequences of that meeting. The handsome young knight would be declared King of Britain, marry the beautiful Guinevere, and fall to the treachery of his court while Lionors, secretly married to him, would bear his child and wait for him to leave his palace to be at her side in fulfillment of the old prophecy: "You will be a queen, but you will die uncrowned and unknown .......

Genres: Arthurian, Fantasy, British Literature, Historical Romance, Romance, Historical

291 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Birjis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the legend of King Arthur, a modest summary which is not exact appropriated as the story-tellers on google or movies. The story is same with descriptive changes. Here is adventure, tragedy and most of all a strong love.

I don't know if you heard the character Lionors in the legend of King Arthur she is the narrator of the book throughout. There is two or three pages of Arthur's POV which I don't remember. Lionor and Arthur are two star-crossed lovers ill fated to be together and there is Merlin who always guided Lionor and Arthur.
I will simply differentiate the variances  between the myth of King Arthur in google/movies and Lionors.
Lionor is the uncrowned queen of King Arthur, she met him when she was only thirteen. She was the daughter of an Earl and he was a mere ward. Their courting was complicated because of their social class. But their romance blossomed and then Arthur was recognized as the King. Lionor cannot be any happier. They got engaged secretly but cannot bring this out in public as his reign is new.
Arthur here is a glorious, triumphant King who is loyal, honest and just, very different from his father King Urther who was brutal. And then for militant exploits and to secure the strength of his kingdom he marries Guinevere. Lionor is pregnant.

Merlin plays a guide to Lionor and Arthur. Lionor plays an active strength to Arthur. They barely see each other once a year. Guinevere's relationship with Arthur differs from the legend. Her attraction to Arthur's knight, Lancelot is mentioned but she was not involved romantically with Arthur. Arthur knows she sees Lancelot and she knows Arthur loves someone else. They both are kind to each other and gets along though they sleep with each other when they have needs.
Arthur fathers two children, a son with his sister (he was drugged for revenge) and a daughter with Lionor, both are bastards.

This romance needs a hero and Arthur defines here through Lionor. The input of this character classifies essential details of Arthur's adventure. His wisdom and compassion for his people stands out. Then there was his quest for the Holy Grail and finally his downfall in one last final battle with his son/nephew, Mordred.  

Of Arthur and Lionor, their tragic and unrequited romance of doom was only broken by death. Sadly for Lionor who was created to be an additional strength to Arthur, loves and awaits for him until death where I imagine they meet at Avalon. 

[Misfit · Rating 2 out of 5]

"You will be a queen, but you will die uncrowned and unknown."

Lionors is the daughter of the Earl of Santam, and as a young girl meets and falls in love with Arthur, the *ward* of Sir Ector. Years later during another visit, the now grown pair fall in love and hope to marry, but life kind of gets in the way when it is revealed that Arthur is the son of the now dead Uther Pendragon and he becomes king. The pair plight their troth, but years pass as Arthur is busy stabilizing his kingdom and just when things are looking up he must make a marriage to secure the peace...and....I think you know where the rest of the story goes.

Not a bad idea basing your story around a very minor one in the Arthurian legends and one that most of us hadn't heard of before, but unfortunately the execution falls flat. Since Lionors pretty much spends her entire life stuck in the country managing the family estate her first person narrative gives the reader a whole lot of exposition as events are recounted in tedious detail. Nor does the book bring anything fresh to the Arthurian legends, this is just one more rehash of the same old same old. The love story itself is OK, but this really feels more like a YA novel than one that would appeal to adults, and any sex is left to the reader's imagination. I did spot a few anachronisms (velvet!!??), but I tend to be more forgiving with older books when information wasn't exactly at our fingertips like it is today. If you have a young (very young) teen just looking to get their feet wet in this period the book might suit, but overwise I'd recommend giving it a pass.

[Arthurianmaiden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes reading this book has felt like being forced to watch thebacks of too tall people while trying to peek at the interesting movie behind them.
Lionors tell us of her life in her manor, while amazing events are happening in Camelot and every page feel like the moment the story/plot might beging but- no. It never happens.
I gave it two stars but I was uncertain because the beginning was very exciting and the start of the love between Arthur and Lionors was sweet but never too cheesy. And also because I actually loved so many details of the life in the manor were and how elegant were the descriptions. Still this would be more like a 2 and a half stars than two stars.
I started to feel a little wary when Lionors started to be away from Arthur, fearing what eventually I would actually find in the novel: the plot was in Camelot, but we were stuck at Lionors' manor in the narration.

Arthur comes to visit but everything is so quick and fast that I couldn't feel anymore this great love and sweetness between Arthur and Lionors. There are no other characters. Just Arthur and Lionors as Merlin, who was probably the most interesting one, decides to retire.
There were also some points that confused me. First of all, the story of Will and Elise: the first is a village boy Lionors take under her protection and hire as page and the second one is the daughter of Lionors and Arthur, a blind girl who lives in a convent but often comes to visit her mother. The approach was interesting as it seemed to mirror what happened with Arthur and Lionors, the son/daughter of a king and the less noble girl/boy. Elise and Will fell in love and then, in basically 50 pages they are written out of the novel. Elise gets raped and she decides to become a nun and she is very happy about it (at least this is what Lionors tell us in two lines) and Will gets accused of murder (he accidentally killed the man who raped Elise) and after being judged innocent he totally disappear from the novel. The facts were so quickly narrated that it felt like the author introduced the characters but then she got bored with them and decided to take another road so she get rid of them (I think Will and Elise gets named just in other few moments of the book). And in the same mean, the great happenings (Guinevere and Lancelot being discovered and Guinevere's trial are narrated in just a few lines and I nearly missed them).
The second thing that confused me was this danger that Arthur faced as a cheater. I couldn't understand. The book is clearly presented as being in a sexist setting: Lionors herself says more than once that she wants to have the possibilities a boy could have, the threat of rape (like the useless, USELESS, scene where Lionors is nearly raped... what was the point of that?) for all women etc. Still for the kingdom to find out that Arthur has a mistress would weaken Arthur's position. Why? I truly did not understand it.
The third and last thing that confused me was Mordred. More than one the book tells us (I think Merlin? I don't remember if it's Merlin who says it) that Arthur should wonder if Mordred is growing with love or hate. For gosh's sake: take him with you! You are the king, Arthur, take Mordred with you as a page or a squire if you are that worried. But Arthur never did. While he still used time to spend it with Lionors and their daughters Elise, the only thoughts about Mordred were a vague preoccupation but no actions.
Lionors seem also to know stuff about Mordred. She knows that his hatred for Arthur had been instilled by Morgause (why? how does she know? Maybe Mordred hates Arthur because Arthur tried to KILL HIM and killed an innocent baby instead, and after that he never tried to build a relationship with him? MAYBE?). And all of this while Lionors more than once knows how Arthur felt sadness and pain from being a bastard and Merlin felt the desperation too. Lionors was all concerned by Elise's feelings, the danger of her feelings from being a bastard, but Mordred? Who cares.


Said this, I think storytellerknight wrote a much more interesting and well written review (with more toughts on the "rape" that in the book is disgustingly used in more than one occasion and more about the narrative used in the book and the use of descriptions) here: Review of Lionors

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved the story of King Arthur. This is a beautiful retelling.

[Alli Spry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The feminine perspective of life, love and rein of King Arthur.

[laura ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole book is us being told what happens rather than shown. It felt more like a summary than a narrative. Definitely a one-time read.

[Aonbelay · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE THIS BOOK!!! This is on my rotation, as in I re-read it every few years or so. This book just isn't a "romance" novel. In fact there really isn't a whole lot in it (well, compared to other racy romances). It is however a great saga of this woman's life.

It's a soothing read where you grow with Lionors, a women of the middle ages. It's a cute "what if" about the secret bride of Kind Arther. What's important to note is that the book is about HER and not about him. The author makes you feel like you are watching just over her shoulder where you can laugh and cry with her all along the way. She is so faithful to her main man that you almost forget about him because she is such a shining hero of her own.

worth the read, don't rush it.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I orginally read this book in the 1970's. Truely should be a classic but not many people know of this book. I was given this book to me by my cousin Beth. We were both in King Arthur at the time. It use to be a rotation book for me and I would read it every couple of years or so but have not read it in awhile. It is about a girl coming of age and her life and relationship with King Arthur and Merlin.

[Ta N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good historical fiction--realistic. I got a different idea of who King Arthur could have been, and Lionors is a strong woman in many aspects. But a one-time read, and definitely more of an adult romance.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

King Arthur's uncrowned queen.

[Arlene Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I searched for this book for years! I still have it.

[E.V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this novel. I wish it had been turned into a movie. It's a shame it can't be found in hardback or audio. I will read this novel again. It's that good.