Peter Ackroyd
An immortal story of love, adventure, chivalry, treachery and death brought to new life for our times. The legend of King Arthur has retained its appeal and popularity through the ages: Mordred’s treason, the knightly exploits of Tristan, Lancelot’s fatally divided loyalties, his love for Guinevere and the quest for the Holy Grail. Now retold by Peter Ackroyd with his signature clarity, charm and truth to the spirit of the text, the result is not only one of the most readable accounts of the knights of the Round Table but also one of the most moving.
‘I thought Peter Ackroyd’s Morte d’A was masterful. The quality I admired most was the absolute clarity of the storytelling. This story – or set of stories – has to move with both swiftness and dignity, and yoking those two qualities together is not an easy task; but Ackroyd does it with ease. I think he can probably do anything. I admire this version enormously.’ Phillip Pullman
‘Peter Ackroyd lightly trims and streamlines Le Morte d’Arthur, making it eminently readable.’ Sunday Times
‘In this ingenious decanting of an old wine into a new bottle, he has taken a glorious part of our glorious heritage and made it more accessible to the readers of the twenty-first century.’ Telegraph
‘ …the majesty of Malory’s book survives too, not least in the final chapters telling of the internal conflicts that destroy the Round Table, the passion of Lancelot and Guinevere, and the destiny that Arthur has had coming to him for a long time: death in battle. This, as retold by Peter Ackroyd, remains a bizarre but thrilling piece of writing.’ Michael Caines, Wall Street Journal
‘A controlled, brisk, purposeful, highly approachable version, something of an heroic undertaking’ Kevin Crossley-Holland, The Times
Sales
- Penguin Classics UK & USA
- Alpina Russia
- Zysk Poland
Material: finished copies (316pp)