Arthurian Literature By Women

by Alan Lupack (Editor), Barbara T. Lupack (Editor)

Arthurian Literature by An Anthology is a collection of Arthurian poems, stories, and plays by women, from Marie de France to the present, all of which are either significant examples of Arthurian literature or innovative interpretations of Arthurian tradition. Rather than reproducing brief selections from contemporary novels that are readily available, the volume collects and reprints works that have generally been overlooked by students of the Arthurian legend. The volume will be especially interesting to those studying or teaching Women and the Arthurian Legend or any other aspect of myth, fantasy, popular literature, or women's studies.

Genres: Arthurian, Short Stories, Poetry

396 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Alan Lupack is Emeritus Director of the Rossell Hope Robbins Library and the Koller-Collins Graduate English Center at the University of Rochester (Rochester, New York).

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection, attempting to redress the balance of gender in writing about the Arthurian legends -- or the perceived balance of gender, anyway. It's a good collection, ranging from medieval writing to modern, and covering poetry, plays and prose. Some of it was already familiar to me (Marie de France, Sara Teasdale, Edna St. Vincent Millay), but quite a few of the stories and poems were new. Worth picking up, if the idea catches your interest.

[Laurel E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun collection. It does tend towards the Christian; perhaps because I have read too many pagan-revival retellings, for I found the moralizing slightly overdone. The only other criticism I have is that some authors were given multiple entries instead of making space for a wider variety of authors.

Overall, however, a very enjoyable read and wonderful forward by the Lupacks to contextualize their chosen entries. The mix of prose and poetry is delightful, and I'm very grateful for the thorough bibliography at the end.

Don't tell, but I may have made more than a few notes in the margins.