The Sword and the Circle: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

The Sword and the Circle by Rosemary Sutcliff is a very interesting book. It is about a boy named Arthur Pendragon, son of both Utha Pendragon and Igraine Pendragon. He starts off as a foster boy in Britain in the medieval times. He has no idea that he is heritage to the throne of Great Britain. Until one day his foster brother (who is a knight) is ready to partake in a tournament but Arthur forgot his sword at home. Not being able to get in, Arthur decides to take a sword out of a stone as easily as if it went out of a sheath. (He has no idea that pulling the sword out would make him the King of Britain.) Then he finds himself king at the age of sixteen. Arthur wants evil to leave his lands, so he asks knights to take up quests. Can a single man do the deed? This book offers a certain quality, which is hard to find in books that make the readers feel as if they are part of all of the action. It's fast pace makes it almost never boring. I would recommend this to anyone with an active imagination and a somewhat sense of maturity. This book is a little bit graphic so it should be for ages 10-14 and if you are a girl this may not be for you, unless you are used to graphic violence.

The Sword and the Circle is a well written retelling of the legend of King Arthur. Rosemary Sutcliff's writing flows gracefully, and she skillfully describes the scenes in this book. I could vividly picture them in my mind and watch them unfold as I read through the book. It is very satisfying for someone who understands the vocabulary she uses. Sutcliff nicely fits together the classic adventures of King Arthur and his knights in her book. Each of the chapters seems to have a small plot of its own, each being an adventure of one of The Knights of the Round Table and tied into the legend of King Arthur. The book begins with Arthur's finding of the sword in the stone and becoming king at the age of fifteen. Sutcliff tells of the early years and formation of Arthur's kingdom, and how the round table passed into his keeping. Her book progresses into the many adventures of the knights who sit at that table, and of the lords and ladies of King Arthur's hall. Some people may say that the book is redundant, or that it is simply the same all the way through, but I though that each of the chapters is distinct, yet following the rest of the book. I highly enjoyed this book, and I thought Sutcliff's writing was beautiful, but I would not recommend it to anyone who can't stand a book that isn't rapid and action oriented.

I went through a stage where I was reading everything King Arthury and I of course read this. I really loved that Sutcliff managed to mesh the true historical Arthur with the mythological one. She kept the magic but put his feet on the ground. A lovely story. I particularly loved Gawain and the Loathly Lady.

I don't know why everyone keep complaining about how confusing this book is, and how there are too many names or the adventures are all the same. First of all, people did have names in the story, and there are more than two knights at the Round Table. In fact, there are 150, so occasionally, other knights MUST pop up in the story,and it's wise that they have names. As for the adventures, I can't agree less. Each adventure is so skillfully written in this book, you are immediatly pulled in. And each character is wonderfully brought to life from there less-described first days in La Morte D'Arthur, where you only had a few descriptions to go on. Sutcliff expounds on those and more, and leaves you with memorable, believable characters, my especial favorites being the boisterous and hot-tempered Sir Gawaine, his handsome and noble brother Gareth and Merlin, who, instead of sounding corny and magical, just sounds like a very wise man who knows of the days to come. Awesome variety of selections from the orginal King Arthur book(s), inlcuding the classics like Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight, Gawaine and the Loathly Lady (a humorous retelling), and my favorite: Beaumains, the Kitchen Knight. All great stuff! However, if you are not into King Arthur, and you just picked this up because you're bored, I'm not sure how well you'll enjoy it. Obviously, the Round Table and King Arthur are a big part of this book, and since I notice a large number of people on here only read it and nothing else, it pays to read other King Arthur books as well as this one, to give you a bigger picture, and better appreciation for this fantastic retelling of the first 10 or so years of Arthur's reign.

Rosemary Sutcliff's adaptation of the King Arthur legend is truly a unique and inspiring work, told in a highly descriptive yet very concise format. It is not only powerful and thought-provoking, but creates a sense of the ancient and medieval time it owes its existence to. Starting years before Arthur comes to power, Sutcliff tells the story of young Merlin and how Arthur came to be, following him through his rise to High King, the meetings of such brave and infamous knights such as Lancelot, Tristan and Gawain, right up to just before the quest for the Holy Grail begins. Sutcliff not only tells the traditional and time-honored stories, such as the sword in the stone, but also adapts other variations of the quests that individual knights took upon themselves to maintain peace and honor in Britain. For example, although he may not have actually been a knight of the round table, Sutcliff tells the tragic and romantic story of Tristan and Iseult, the ironic tale of Beaumains, and the humorous story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, all of which reflect the honor and love which bounded King Arthur's kingdom together. This book easily stands alone, but simultaneously lays solid groundwork for the next two books, The Light Beyond the Forest and The Road to Camlann, two other excellent books written by Sutcliff on the rise and fall of Arthur. By taking her stories to a level above just the basic story-telling, Sutcliff also helps put King Arthur's place in history into perspective and gives an excellent reason for retelling this timeless legend again for this day and age. The book is really a medieval romantic story at heart, but has enough battles and swashbuckling adventures to keep readers more interested in action than a rambling story hooked. I would recommend this book to those who have never read a King Arthur book in their life, to those who might know the story by heart, and anyone in between those two categories, because it is an excellent way of reacquainting ourselves with the days of princes and knights, of villains and dragons, chivalry and fair maidens, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. The Sword and the Circle and the other two books in the trilogy truly deserve a place all their own among those stories about the knights of the round table. Reading through it page by page, I truly felt drawn into a dim and room, lit by a crackling fire while the wind howled outside, listening to the voice of an excellent story-teller speak of a bygone age and long-dead heroes.