Tales of King Arthur

by Henry Gilbert, Walter Crane (Illustrator)

Enter the thrilling world of the Knights of the Round Table with these exciting retelling of the Arthurian legends. Henry Gilbert's classic collection includes the adventures of Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Merlin, Gwenevere, and many other famous characters.

Filled with daring quests and chivalrous deeds, these stories will enchant readers of all ages. This edition features illustrations by the renowned artist, Walter Crane.

Genres: Classics, Arthurian, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mythology, Medieval

266 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1911

Reviews

[Ellie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being the first classic of its sort I've ever read, my review is quite novice.

However, it has been such a joy to read!

Instantly the language drew me in, Gilbert clearly being skilled in the craft, and the old language rubbed off on me. As I have been reading it, I have caught myself speaking the terms and it has been hilariously geeky. It was wondrous, and flowed - it just seemed befitting and whimsical.

The tales were tremendous, and each showed the valiant nature of knights, and their values at the time. Each story had a message within them, and I thought they were very pleasant to quietly mull over.

At first, the stories seemed at best random, but by the end of the book Gilbert had tightly knitted together each tale into a fantastic, yet deceiving, end. It finished like the characteristic ending to most stories of doom, and I felt emotional by the end - don't read this book if you cry easily!

I won't spoil you but it's definitely worth the read.

This version of the book had the font very small and it wasn't really spaced out, which did play slight havoc with my eyes, but there are many other versions; although, this has the best cover!

I cannot wait to read more of Gilbert and will greatly encourage anyone to READ THIS BOOK!

[Natasha]

I wanted to read the tales of King Arthur because I’ve always heard that it is a classic. If I’m being honest it put me into a reading slump and took me so long to get through it and I honestly didn’t even enjoy it. So much of the killing is just plain illogical and with no motive. But it is interesting to read tales from hundreds of years ago.

[Elida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the preface: “This book is an attempt to tell some of the stories of King Arthur and his Knights in a way which will be interesting to every boy and girl who loves adventures…. No doubt many of you, my young readers, have at some time or another taken down the Morte D’Arthur from your father’s bookshelves and read a few pages, but I doubt if any of you have every gone very far in the volume. You found generally, I think, that it was written in a puzzling, old-fashioned language, that though it spoke of many interesting things, and seemed that it ought to be well worth reading, yet somehow it was tedious and dry. In the tales as I have retold them for you, I hope you will not find any of these faults. Besides writing them in simple language, I have chosen only those episodes which I know would appeal to you. I have added or altered here and there, for in places it struck me that there was just wanting a word or two to make you feel the magic that was everywhere abroad in those days.”

Gilbert wonderfully accomplished his purpose! There’s plenty of swashbuckling and a touch of fairy tale magic. There was a surprisingly Christian tone with a strong emphasis on the Holy Grail and how Britain would lose it because of its wickedness. One of my favorite chapters was when Sir Bors fights against demon knights and prays through the night to be delivered from them.

The book was written in 1911 and was purposely made to sound old-fashioned. Here’s a sample: “Forthwith he slept; but at midnight he awoke and found it was deeply dark, and looking to the arrow slit in the wall, he sought some friendly star.”

This version sanitizes Lancelot’s relationship to Guinivere. Nevertheless, Lancelot’s loyalty to her does have dire consequences to King Arthur’s reign.

It’s been a while since I took a deep dive into the Arthurian legends, so I only remembered half of these stories. Because of Gilbert’s excellent writing, even the stories I knew were told in such a way as to keep me on the edge of my seat.

This vies with Howard Pyle’s as my favorite version.

[Kathryn (Dragon Bite Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review first published on my blog, Dragon Bite Books . Excerpted here (the original is LONG and discusses the differences and similarities between this and other versions of Arthur that I've encountered).

In his preface, Henry Gilbert calls out readers like myself: “No doubt many of you, my young readers, have at some time or another taken down the Morte D’Arthur from your father’s bookshelves and read a few pages of it here and there. But I doubt if any of you have ever gone very far in the volume. You found generally, I think, that it was written in a puzzling, old-fashioned language, that though it spoke of many interesting things, and seemed that it ought to be well worth reading, yet somehow it was tedious and dry.” I was one such reader. I gave up my copy, possibly without even opening it. I have stronger memories of having tried and failed to get much more than a few pages into T. H. White’s The Once and Future King (originally published 1958, 47 years after Gilbert’s collection).

Gilbert warns that in this collection, “Besides writing them in simple language, I have chosen only those episodes which I know would appeal to you. I have added or altered here and there, for in places it struck me that there was just wanting a word or two to make you feel the magic that was everywhere abroad in those days.”

I opened this book to preview it for a six-year-old currently reading The Magic Tree House series and curious about Morgan le Fey, Merlin, and Camelot. I wonder what Gilbert considered his intended audience, because it is not today’s six-year-olds. Language has changed a great deal in the past century (this collection was published 110 years ago), and I as a 32-year-old with a BA in English found myself using liberally the dictionary feature of Libby while reading these tales.

Gilbert’s source materials for this collection are “two books, one being the Morte D’Arthur, written by Sir Thomas Malory, the other being the Mabinogion, a collection of old Welsh stories, first translated [into English] by Lady Charlotte Guest in 1838. I have selected thirteen tales from the number which these two books contain; but there are many more, equally as interesting, which remain.” I believe, though I can’t be certain, that Gilbert, then, uses Guest’s translation rather than the original Welsh version or any other translation.

[...]

What I learned from reading this collection more than anything else is how very much contemporary versions of Arthurian legends have lied to me or left out interesting details.

[...]

[Jackie Duck · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a reader who loves Arthurian legends but knows I have a tendency to be too critical of them at time, I don't think my biases even come into play when I say this was a truly terrible version of the story. The author says they set out to make the tales approachable for young readers which I can only take to mean he cut out every reference to infidelity and most to romance (a bold choice in a story perhaps best known for Lancelot and Guinevere's love affair) and every ounce of agency demonstrated by women in the legends. Yet he leaves the book filled gratuitous violence and tells it in a manner that does nothing to make it more comprehensible for children. In fact this book seemed littered with run on sentences, questionable translation decisions, and droned on repetitiously forever in a confusing manner.

[Katy Langendoen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to a BBC radio AUDIOBOOK of King Arthur tales (not quite as many as what’s in this book but goodreads said the audiobook didn’t exist ???? So ???)

Honestly I was floored by the uncensored nature of the audiobook version. The content had my jaw on the floor I’ve never heard of these parts of King Arthur before and I was REELING. still very much enjoyed but with shock 😂. Would like to go back and read more extensive tales of King Arthur one day I think.

[Jianna Zadnik · Rating 3 out of 5]

The adventures were interesting but not really captivating, could be due to the style of writing. Old English to me always makes me lose some of the interest of the story since I do not read it as often.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gilbert's adaptation "for boys" is written in a stilted and wooden style, and avoids the most interesting (for adults) aspects of the Arthurian legend: the incest, adultery, and betrayals. I would instead recommend T. H. White's "The Once and Future King" or Thomas Berger's "Arthur Rex."

[Xian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite bring a book of legends this is surprisingly engaging; it has foreshadowing, plot, intrigue, climax, and tragic end. I had heard of may of the legends but never read them beginning to end and now I finally have.

[Gregory Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book, after the first 40 pages or so I could not put it down, it was therefore a short read.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 stars

[Shannon McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unusually artful retelling.

[Russell Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

These tales are so fun. I'm a fan!

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just guys being dudes

[Makayla Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really disliked Guinevere. Arthur's death was pretty cool. The rest of the knights were alright.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthurian legends. Hard slog at times, but good to read all of the legendary stories, even if they have been cleaned up a bit

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read

[Crmaju · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't understand much of this book, but the little I managed to understand seemed entertaining.

[Charles Tainter · Rating 4 out of 5]

High 4/5. All the stories are interesting though not always obviously connected. The last few are really powerful and since this is drawn from such classic material, a 4 was in order.

However, I could not give this the 'classic' high 5/5 stamp because there are some - you guessed it - weird things about women in the story. I don't like unmarked spoiler reviews, so I will gripe that I wish I could mention some of the absolute absurdity in how men are 'chivalrous' or women are 'emotional' in the book. A couple of the men are churlish yet are still supported by the narrator (lead 4 horses; you'll know when you get there). Most of the guys are kind yet condescending, while most women have no character arcs (or else have them in reference to men).

Again though, the ending is very powerful and earlier adventures solidify the world, soak you up to squeeze you out at the end and bring fantastical elements to the early or pre-medieval UK.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

When young Arthur pulls a sword he finds out of stone, the great wizard Merlin reveals that he is destined to be the next king of Britain, where he will lead a band of brave and powerful knights in his quest to protect the country from mutiny and evil magic. Gilbert retells the classic tales of "King Arthur" with beautiful language that will keep readers of all ages begging for more. Will Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table be able to prove himself to the kingdoms and fend off the enemies that comes their way?

[Josh Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging collection of stories from the time of King Arthur and his valiant knights. Still written in the old tongue so maybe not for too young of a reader, but the story is so well written I didn’t hardly notice. Fun read. Young teens or elder tweens likely the target audience.

[Selkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books of the Arthur legends, this is my favourite. It is elegently written, without being lofty, & is beautifully illustrated.

[Zackary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tales of valor and knighthood! What more could you want?

[Brandon Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories, some bad.

[Krysta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more readable version of the tales of King Arthur.

[styx · Rating 3 out of 5]

i dont fw how pro lancelot and anti gawain this was ngl

[Heather M. Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this to my 10 year old. He loves knights and jousting. Lots of crazy love stories and violence but very well written and entertaining. Exploring all the famous knights- King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Knights of the Round Table. My son has already read it once but he wanted me to read it with him.