And speaking of King Arthur, I’m not in favor of banning books, but damn if I'm not tempted when it comes to Mists of Avalon. Not permanently, but just long enough so that there's one generation of teenies that doesn't shriek, "But Guinevere was blonde! She was a pious Christian virgin! Why isn't it all about the women? Where's Morgaine/Viviane/Morgause/whotheheckever?" whenever something Arthurian arises in pop culture. And I like MoA, or at least I did when I read it at thirteen (haven't read it since, and from what I hear it often doesn't hold up well after adolescence). But kiddies, it is not the Arthurian gospel. It's certainly not very good history, Arthurian or not. Or, you know, history at all. It's just a novel. Honestly.
THANK YOU. I despite MZB's Gwen intensely, and I wish she weren't seen as the 'correct' one. I'm also tired of the dismissal of the men in the legends -- yes, the women were important, but ultimately the story is about Arthur.
And MoA is such crappy historical revisionism. Mary Stewart does much better with the women, and there are many other authors who not only did their research better, but who didn't resort to shoddy, one-dimensional pagan/Christian conflicts that bear little resemblance to history to drive their stories.
I loved MoA when I was eight, but I didn't even make it all the way through again this summer. I should read the copy of Sword At Sunset on my bookshelf as an antidote.
(Regarding Blood and Sand -- Amazon and www.abebooks.com periodically have used copies, if you're willing to pay for them. I got mine, hardbound, for about $30 US, ex-library copy.)
no subject
THANK YOU. I despite MZB's Gwen intensely, and I wish she weren't seen as the 'correct' one. I'm also tired of the dismissal of the men in the legends -- yes, the women were important, but ultimately the story is about Arthur.
And MoA is such crappy historical revisionism. Mary Stewart does much better with the women, and there are many other authors who not only did their research better, but who didn't resort to shoddy, one-dimensional pagan/Christian conflicts that bear little resemblance to history to drive their stories.
I loved MoA when I was eight, but I didn't even make it all the way through again this summer. I should read the copy of Sword At Sunset on my bookshelf as an antidote.
(Regarding Blood and Sand -- Amazon and www.abebooks.com periodically have used copies, if you're willing to pay for them. I got mine, hardbound, for about $30 US, ex-library copy.)