Recommendations

[weresay.livejournal.com]

I just recently joined this community, and found the conversation a bit wanting, so I thought I'd be brave & post.

I'm always on the lookout for new books and movies related to the Arthurian time period. What are some of your favorites? Maybe we can get talking and find new stories we've yet to try in the process? :)

Comments

[silver-spryte.livejournal.com]

the avalon series by marion zimmer bradly
the crystal cave series by mary stewart
lancelot de leth, mad merlin, and le morte de avalon by j. robert king

just the beginning of some of my favs...

[yourgypsy.livejournal.com]

ah, i love posts like these. :)

movies - for some reason, i cannot sit through an arthurian movie. i got through the most recent 'king arthur' one, but even that, i had plenty of argument with.

books, now here's where i can babble for a bit.

obviously, the marion zimmer bradley books: mists of avalon, the forest house, lady of avalon, and priestess of avalon (although that last one, compared to the others, isn't as good, imo)

most recently i've read:
firelord and beloved exile by parke godwin. the second one is focused on guinevere AFTER arthur's death, and it truly suprised me as to how good it is. i'm not sure if it's still in print, but it's definitely worth searching for.

also, if you can find it, persia woolley's guinevere trilogy.

and, in the arthurian time period - rosalind miles' isolde trilogy.

:)

[qualinesti.livejournal.com]

I have searched and searched for Persia Wolley's Guinevere books, its always out of print.

[yourgypsy.livejournal.com]

the first book i found at a used bookshop, the second through amazon, and the third i had special ordered through a bookstore. tough to find, but definitely worth it!

[silver-spryte.livejournal.com]

there's another gwenivere series, the first book is 'queen of the summer country' i think they're by rosland miles but im not sure

[yourgypsy.livejournal.com]

yep. by rosalind miles... 'queen of the summer country', 'knight of the sacred lake', and 'child of the holy grail'. good stuff. :)

[silver-spryte.livejournal.com]

*makes mental note to pick them up* thanks

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

Well, there are my dreams... but I guess you can't see those. ;-)

But seriously, even when I haven't had anything Arthurian in my life for a while, I get the most random Arthurian-inspired dreams.

I don't even do that about *Classics*, and I study that constantly! :-P

[madameviking.livejournal.com]

I think for books, my absolute favorite will always be The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. Its beauty and sadness and magic is unmatched.

[silver-spryte.livejournal.com]

yeah, the classics are always the best, the once an future king,the book of merlin, le morte de arthur...cant go wrong with those

[weresay.livejournal.com]

So many great suggestions here! I've added several to my reading list, so thank you!

Movie wise, did any of you like First Knight? I completely loved that movie for some reason. I think I've seen it 10 times since it first came out. *laughs*

King Arthur was dreadful though, much to my dismay. I'd hoped for better.

[irishdancer13.livejournal.com]

I didn't mind First Knight as a movie, but as an Arthurian movie, I disliked it. My two favorite Arthurian movies (and a lot of people disagree with me on these) are Camelot and Mists of Avalon.

[qualinesti.livejournal.com]

I like Mists of Avalon as a stand alone movie. When I compare it to the book, I want to cry, but when I look at it as something seperate from the book I think its really good.

I totally agree with you on Camelot! I bought the two tape VHS at a drugstore for, like, two bucks. At the very end of the movie, when Arthur sings... OMG... I'm getting all teary eyed just thinking about it. Gwen is such a ho-bag.

(I also like your icon, although I prefer the Cavaliers to the Blue Devils. ^_^)

[irishdancer13.livejournal.com]

I love Camelot and MOA. The two of them are the only two movies that have made me cry everytime I've seen them. I also have the soundtrack to Camelot with Julie Andrews as Guenevere and Richard Burton as King Arthur. Everytime he sings that last stanza, I start bawling.

I actually like the Cavaliers better than the Blue Devils, but I like the Blue Devils uniform better. (Blue is my absolute favorite color.) Plus, I didn't have enough room to get both the Caviliers and the Blue Devils icons.

[qualinesti.livejournal.com]

I cry, too! I just cant help it!

I have to say I like the Caviliers uniforms better. Those hats really do something for me.

[peace-bunny.livejournal.com]

I read 'King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table' by Roger Lancelyn Green as required reading in Junior High and really enjoyed it. It seems to be for more of a younger audience (I read it in 6th grade), but thoroughly entertaining nonetheless.

[impgrrl.livejournal.com]

I have to say -

I *love* Dresden Dolls.

[weresay.livejournal.com]

Me too :)

[multipletrees.livejournal.com]

Try 'Sword at Sunset', by Rosemary Sutcliff. It seems more historical, mostly because they are very Roman, and it's got a Dark Ages feel. And there's no Lancelot.

And no another note, don't buy the Rosalind Miles books. If you must read them, get them, from a library. They aren't worth the money.