A forty year search

[Nicole]

I was recovering from orthopedic surgery, and for the first time I had to stay at a convalescent hospital. They had very few books but reading was my escape. I found *one* fantasy book I'd never read before on my last day there, and I was devouring it, but before I could complete the story my parents came and I had to go. I tried to remember the book, the title, but I was being pulled away (literally!) no time to write anything down.

So, this was the seventies, the book may have been published in the sixties. I do not remember the author, but I remember the main character was named David, this was set in Wales, there was an archaological dig, and David *just* met a clairvoyant dreamer named Christant. I've looked for a very long time, has anyone heard of this book?

[John]

Don't know if you checked this out, but it might help. Book list set in Wales:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

[Chris]

Was it The Chrysalids by John Wyndham?

[Margaret]

The only time I remember running across the name "Christant" for a woman in a fantasy was in Excalibur by Sanders Anne Laubenthal. Could that be it? It's certainly an old enough book -- forty years ago is probably about when I read it!

[Ian]

Margaret wrote: "The only time I remember running across the name "Christant" for a woman in a fantasy was in Excalibur by Sanders Anne Laubenthal. Could that be it? It's certainly an old enough book..."

Much as I hate to admit it, "Excalibur" probably fits the time bracket -- it seems tp me like yesterday since its first appearance, in the old Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, in 1973, but it is well over forty years....

However, while worth reading, it doesn't fit the description very well, being set in the southeastern United States, not Wales.

(The author caught some undeserved flack for bringing the Arthurian legend to the New World .)

[Margaret]

Most of it took place in Mobile, Alabama, yes, but I'm pretty sure a) there were some scenes in Wales and b) Cristant Aberglas definitely lived in Wales.

[Ian]

You may be right about scenes in Wales, not just discussions about it.

I haven't re-read the book since the mid-80s, and they may not have made a sufficient impression on me to last.

Or they blended into the other Welsh-based fantasy I was reading back in the 70s, like Nancy Bond's A String in the Harp (1976), or maybe Alan Garner's The Owl Service (1967, but I found it in paperback in the 70s), both of which are set in Wales.

[CBRetriever]

Excalibur has this on Google books for a description:

""The novel is set in modern times against the background of the legendary Medieval Welsh colonization of Mobile, Alabama under the Prince Madoc in the 12th century. The modern Pendragon, King Arthur's secret successor, must recover Arthur's famed sword Excalibur."--Publisher's description."

it comes up while searching for Cristant

[Margaret]

From my memories of the book, there is also a Grail quest in there!

[Cheryl]

Nicole, your experience is a story in itself!

Do you think the book was marketed to children or to adults?

[Nicole]

Ok..having ordered, and now read the book..
This IS the book I've been searching for. Thank you so much for helping me to bring this long quest to fruition. The book made a deep impression on me, as I'm sure you can tell, especially Cristant Aberglas, who is my favorite character. Very Lady-of-the-Lake, I thought.
It's definitely not a child's book, I think or even a young adult's book. Very mystical, with some echoes of C.S. Lewis and some of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Pretty heady for a teenager. It sparked a deep love for all sorts of Arthurian legend retellings.

[Margaret]

Not only C.S. Lewis, but Charles Williams, I remember thinking! Possibly the only writer in my experience who seemed to be influenced by all three "major" Inklings!

I'm glad you and the book had a happy reunion!