Idylls of the Queen by Phyllis Ann Karr
So, when someone titles something The Idylls of the Queen and subtitles it “A Tale of Queen Guenevere,” I, uhm, expect the focus to be on Guenevere, not on Kay? Though, unlike the last time this happened to me, it was not all icky and traumatizing and was quite good! Also, uhm, I like Kay, and most authors these days either forget he exists, or have him show up for 30 seconds/2 pages and be a bully and/or drunken lout.
Based on both the older Celtic versions and Mallory (and framed more through Mallory) The Idylls of the Queen is a murder mystery that uses the mystery to frame a criticism of some of the chivalric interpretations of heroism, and the treatment of various characters (especially women) in the medieval myths. The plot, in essence, is that a knight is poisoned at Guenevere’s dinner table, and it’s believed that Gawain was the intended target. Guenevere is cast as the prime suspect, and it’s assumed that any knight who was at the dinner would also become a suspect if he put himself forth as her champion, and so several knights set out to find Lancelot, who is off gallivanting around, having adventures and seeking glory. The questers we follow are Kay (our POV character, who is not a bully, drunk or lout, but is quite sharp tongued) and Mordred. The groundwork is laid for Mordred’s future actions, and while he isn’t quite a sympathetic character, his situation is sympathetic, and his approach to it is very honest and pragmatic.
The book is actually very critical of Lancelot (though tempered by being filtered through Kay’s dislike of him in this version) in a way I appreciate. But then, I’ve never been big on the whole “perfect adventurous heroic knight who just happens to stumble across heroic deeds in the nick of time” thing. And, uhm, may sometimes sulk at Kay and Gawain getting shouldered aside for him. I think I’ve mentioned that in other recent Arthuriana I’ve posted on. At the same time, it uses the same mentality to have various cameo appearances by minor female characters and have them voice their own (not always favorable) interpretations of chivalric actions. Guenevere is an adulteress, but for once we’re actively discouraged from judging her for it, or viewing her as weak, though she is also cast in the traditional idealized Lady role, a combination we don’t often get. There’s also this utterly fabulous bit where Morgan ruthlessly dissects all the typical arguments about her being jealous of Guenevere, and the more negative interpretations of her, while still maintaining her role as antagonist. Oh, and it remembers that there were multiple Gueneveres, which most don’t.
The book doesn’t quite reach the level of a full on deconstruction of medieval ideals of chivalric heroism as applied to Athurian myth, but it comes close, and is a very good read.
Based on both the older Celtic versions and Mallory (and framed more through Mallory) The Idylls of the Queen is a murder mystery that uses the mystery to frame a criticism of some of the chivalric interpretations of heroism, and the treatment of various characters (especially women) in the medieval myths. The plot, in essence, is that a knight is poisoned at Guenevere’s dinner table, and it’s believed that Gawain was the intended target. Guenevere is cast as the prime suspect, and it’s assumed that any knight who was at the dinner would also become a suspect if he put himself forth as her champion, and so several knights set out to find Lancelot, who is off gallivanting around, having adventures and seeking glory. The questers we follow are Kay (our POV character, who is not a bully, drunk or lout, but is quite sharp tongued) and Mordred. The groundwork is laid for Mordred’s future actions, and while he isn’t quite a sympathetic character, his situation is sympathetic, and his approach to it is very honest and pragmatic.
The book is actually very critical of Lancelot (though tempered by being filtered through Kay’s dislike of him in this version) in a way I appreciate. But then, I’ve never been big on the whole “perfect adventurous heroic knight who just happens to stumble across heroic deeds in the nick of time” thing. And, uhm, may sometimes sulk at Kay and Gawain getting shouldered aside for him. I think I’ve mentioned that in other recent Arthuriana I’ve posted on. At the same time, it uses the same mentality to have various cameo appearances by minor female characters and have them voice their own (not always favorable) interpretations of chivalric actions. Guenevere is an adulteress, but for once we’re actively discouraged from judging her for it, or viewing her as weak, though she is also cast in the traditional idealized Lady role, a combination we don’t often get. There’s also this utterly fabulous bit where Morgan ruthlessly dissects all the typical arguments about her being jealous of Guenevere, and the more negative interpretations of her, while still maintaining her role as antagonist. Oh, and it remembers that there were multiple Gueneveres, which most don’t.
The book doesn’t quite reach the level of a full on deconstruction of medieval ideals of chivalric heroism as applied to Athurian myth, but it comes close, and is a very good read.