Child of the Northern Spring by Persia Woolley, a novel of King Arthur and Guinevere

Product Details

Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (November 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 140224522X
Child of the Northern Spring by Persia Woolley
"Child of the Northern Spring" is a prism-like blend of the traditional legend and the reality of Britain at the beginning of the Dark Ages. Raised by her father in the northern kingdom of Rheged, Guinevere is a feisty Celtic tomboy who sees no reason why she should have to learn to wear dresses, speak Latin and go south to marry that king. But destiny (and legends) being what they are, she's packed off to the south where she and Arthur quickly become partners not only in horse-racing but in seeing the potential for unifying Britain. This is a rendition in which the magic is created by the power of the people involved, rather than by fantastic plot twists.

Many of the major characters are introduced and the stage set for the splendid adventures, foibles, triumphs, sorrows and magnificent spirit of the very real Camelot to come.
ABOUT PERSIA WOOLLEY
"As an only child born during the Depression, telling myself stories became my chief form of entertainment. In college I chose to study Architecture rather than English, however, and it wasn't until I was in my 30s that I began to make my living with words, first in public relations, then as a critic and reviewer, a TV writer, producer and interviewer. Was also a print journalist before settling into writing books.

I am what's called a 'euhemerist'--a person who believes that legends begin with real people doing something in real time which then gets embroidered through generations of retelling into iconic form. Approaching legends this way gives me a chance to indulge my love of research, human nature, word-smithing and creative play. Happily, my readers seem to enjoy the results."
Source: Sourcebooks, you can read an excerpt here
My Thoughts:
Child of the Morning Spring is the first in a trilogy by Persia Woolley, originally published in 1987 and reissued by Sourcebooks November 2010. For me this historical novel about the King Arthur and Guinevere legend is very informative. Sure I knew the jist of the story from watching movies and reading other books. But what I did get from this well written novel is the feelings of the characters of Guinevere, King Arthur and other people important to the tale. The story tells of Guinevere leaving her home to travel to Logres to be wed to King Arthur. It is told in the first person as Guinevere being the narrater. A good friend and confidante of King Arthur, Bedivere, accompanies Guinevere on her journey and he tells her of  Arthur's rise to the throne. He tells her about Arthurs relationship with his father, King Luther, Merlin and the Lady of the Lake Vivien and the investiture with Excalibur. As the story progresses to the time of the wedding, Guinevere tells of events in her life from a young girl in Rheged. Other characters include Morgan le Fey, Igraine, Gawain and many more. I found the book easy to read as it was told in more of a modern language than other books of the same story are written and what with all the different people and events that if they were written differently could have made this a difficult read. I am eager to read the rest of the trilogy.The next book in this trilogy is Queen of the Summer Stars.
I received an uncorrected advanced copy of this novel and was not compensated monetarily for my review.