The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

by John Steinbeck and Sir Thomas Steinbeck, John;Malory

Book Overview

The first book John Steinbeck read as a child was the Caxton "Morte d'Arthur," and he considered it one of the most challenging tasks of his career to modernize the stories of King Arthur. "These stories are alive even in those of us who have not read them. And, in our day, we are perhaps impatient with the words and the stately rhythms of Malory. I wanted to set the stories down in meaning as they were written, leaving out nothing and adding nothing."...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345273893
• ISBN13: 9780345273895
• Release Date: December 1977
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 451 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An overlooked pleasure...

I read this book as a teen and loved it and forgot about it until I came across it again recently. I forgot what a little jewel it is. Steinbeck, with his own inimitable style, has taken the ancient stories and retold them with his own wry, wise perspective of live and of human frailty. I am particularly partial to the story of Sir Marhalt, an under-appreciated knight in the romantic pantheon. Marhalt is a fierce warrior and a great knight but he is very independent and doesn't want to be part of the Round Table. He goes adventuring with a "damsel" he meets in the forest and the results are both comic and exciting. When he is forced to do battle with the Lord of the South Border and his six sons, his damsel worries but Marhalt does not. Finally he tells her that he would rather fight seven men than one beecause if any one of the seven thought he was any good, he wouldn't need the other six. A knight after my own heart.

Another return of the king...

John Steinbeck is noted for many things - The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, The Pearl, Cannery Row; he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 - most are not familiar with (or are unaware of) his literary life beyond novels. Steinbeck was an avid reader, reviewer, and turned the occasional time to translation. That is where this text comes in - Steinbeck had a long passion for the Arthurian legends. In 1958-59, he began the (still unfinished) task of reworking the tales of Arthur and his knights, spending time in England with the famous Winchester manuscripts of Mallory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur', and continuing his work in various stops and starts until his death in 1968. The text here is unfinished, and for some part unedited by Steinbeck; his literary heirs have kept the project more or less as Steinbeck left it. Hence, only part of the tales of Arthur are included here.Steinbeck began with primary tales that come from the first section of Mallory's text, entitled 'The Tale of King Arthur'. This tale in fact only covers the early part of Arthur's life - the search for the Holy Grail and the final battle of the death of Arthur are not included here, as they were in separate sections of Mallory's text, from which Steinbeck did not live to complete translations. This story includes the tale of Merlin, including Merlin's 'death', Uther Pendragon and the birth of Arthur, the sword-in-the-stone event, the wedding of Arthur and Guinevere, the advent and plotting of Morgan Le Fay, and tales of three knights - Gawain, Ewain, and Marhalt. From another text of Mallory's comes 'The Noble Tale of Sir Lancelot of the Lake', including the beginning part of the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere. Steinbeck's translation is interesting and full; many renditions of Mallory's text (including the popular standard by Baines) eliminate a lot of the material to make the narrative speed along - Steinbeck does not do this. He keeps to the original in substance while recreating the world of Arthur. Steinbeck said that it was not his intention to out-do Mallory - 'I believe the stories are great enough to survive my tampering'. Choosing the Winchester manuscript over the more common Caxton one also provides a key difference between Steinbeck and Baines.A rare treat for those who enjoy the process of literary production is the appendix to this volume, compiled by his friend Chase Horton, which consists of letters to Horton and to Elizabeth Otis, Steinbeck's literary agent, from late 1956 to 1965, as Steinbeck continued this project (almost 70 pages of the correspondence is printed, including the wonderful final entry in which Steinbeck says that, even though he is excited by the Arthur project, he isn't going to show it to anyone, lest it be badly done, and he might want to destroy it!).Hail Arthur! Hail Mallory! Hail Steinbeck!

The acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights

This book, "The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights, is a collection of vignettes (stories), each, a differnet tale of the knights and their quests for honor and fame. Some of the legendary characters in this book you may know of are King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Lancelot, and many other unique knights. Not only do these stories have adventure, they are also of romance, betrayal, hatred, and trust. My opinion, it's a very good book because it's realistic, yet it's a fantasy. For example, women are treated as though they weren't worth much and the battles have some of the same causes as today, such as greediness and people's beliefs. I also liked it because it is very adventurous and exciting with lots of interesting stories that are well written. King Arthur has many battles and knights fight for honor in these tales of virtue. One such battle is when King Arthur struggles to keep his kingdom when rebellious,greedy lords and dukes attack. This would be a good book for people interested in the Middle Ages and the Arthurian Legend. Therefore, I must say that I would definetly recommend this book to people who like adventure with a touch of histiory.

Book exudes author's passion for the tales!

I'm a great fan of the Arthurian legends and grail romances. Having read Malory's Morte de Arthur, I must say that Steinbeck's version exudes passion in a way that Malory's does not. I regret that he never finished it but it was certainly great to be able to feel another's passion for the same legends. The editor's publication of Steinbeck's letters, written, whilst he was researching the tales is essential reading for anyone who wants to search for his own 'grail'. The letters expose his own reasons for writing such a book and lend some reasons as to why he never finished it. A must read for all interested in the Arthurian legends.