Le Morte d'Arthur: The Death of Arthur

Where do I begin? Watching the film Excalibur inspired me to try to track down this book. I found out shortly after that day of this edition. Boy am I glad I did. The illustrations, whether in color or black and white are absolutely beautiful and vivid. They transport you expertly in your mind to the place being depicted in the image. When I first opened this book I was reminded in a way of reading Scripture almost. This is VERY old English folks, but PLEASE do not let that deter you. It only takes a little while to get used to the wording and you can soon begin to appreciate the "flavor" of, and get lost in the world of this book. To me this is the quintessential story of ideals, one man's dream as he wanted to affect the world for the better, and the problems, trials, and triumphs in his trying to make that dream a reality. It has EVERYTHING. Chivalry, love, honor, family, friendship, conflict, malice, trust, betrayal, and spice too. There is something in here that will surely delight everyone. Just give yourself time to get used to the wording of the text. A glossary is provided for this purpose in the back of the book as well. I loved this text partly BECAUSE of the way it was written, it did not "modernize" or "dumb down" the words. The "flavor" is ancient, noble-sounding, and captivating. It MADE me want to slow down and actually READ this thing, to ABSORB the text and story, the world and the people that live in it. If STAR WARS is a trip to a galaxy far far away, this is a voyage to a past rich in ideals, ideas, and passions of the human heart and soul that seem to have grown either cold, taken for granted, or simply and quite sadly, forgotten in this modern age.Again...please do NOT be turned off by the archaic writing style. Kick back, open the book, and let it carry you away to a world of romance, beauty, adventure, and passion that has seldom, if ever been equalled in our time. I fell in love with this work, and I think you will too... it can put a spell on you... and draw you into a world that you may wish you never had to leave. Even when you close the book, the allure and beauty and romance of this work just may stay imprinted on your heart forever.

The first thing you need to know about this manuscript (it is actually eight books) is that the spelling of all the words is as Malory wrote them. Let me give an example by taking a random sentence or two:"Ryght so sir Launcelot departed, and whan he com to the Chapell-Perelus he alyght downe and tyed his horse unto a lytyll gate. And as sone as he was within the chyrche-yerde he sawe on frunte of the chapel many fayre rych shyldis turned up-so-downe, and many of the shyldis sir Launcelot had sene knyghtes bere byfore-hande."As you can see, if you read slowly and sound out the words, you can make perfect sense of what is written. The point is, it is a very slow read because you must take every word one at a time. It is also somewhat slow because the descriptions of the tournaments go on and on for many pages and introduce so many characters that it is difficult to keep track. This is especially true in the early books. I found Books 6, 7 and 8 to be more story-driven and engaging.That being said, it doesn't take long to adapt to the spelling and the language, but it is still always slow-going. However, that in itself is a feature of the time and the manuscript gives a genuine transportation to that period. Meanwhile, the stories themselves are fantastic and the characters as real and deep as anything you've ever read.For me, this manuscript was a more enjoyable way to read the legend than the modern-English versions (which I started but could never finish). It is well worth the extra effort.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I'm sure there are any number of more pleasurable books of which one could listen to audio versions, but sometimes it's good to buckle down and get acquainted with something that boasts more historical relevance than literary value. This text is a trial, not because of the language, which one becomes accustomed to easily enough, but because it possesses nothing of the pacing or narrative structures that characterize more modern novels. Events happen seemingly at random, people do things for no apparent reason, swords are stuck in stones (more than once!), the holy grail is so ubiquitous that it begs the question of why anyone would bother to go quest for it, and at no point does the author feel obliged to account for anyone's motivations or the inconsistencies of the plot. I doubt I would have the patience to get through this text if I were reading it on paper (although if you are interested, some nice older versions are digitized on googlebooks), but I'm somewhat enjoying the audiobook. For all the deficiencies of the narrative, Derek Jacobi's reading is nothing short of masterful, as one might expect. He gives the writing much more pungency than one might think possible, to the point where it can be almost humorous. His spirited delivery of the line "Nay, nay, my lord Arthur, it is not so; I was never your father nor of your blood, but I wot well ye are of an higher blood than I weened ye were," made me laugh so hard that I rewound and replayed it at least a half dozen times. Such interludes of levity are welcome in a text that can otherwise get quite ponderous, so I'm quite pleased with this production.

From beginning to end, this story braces the imagination, and takes one to a place and time where faith, honor, and courage were central. You just may find yourself admiring and beginning to love some of the knights and damsels you're reading about. When I finished the book and put it on the shelf, it was a lot like saying good-bye to a friend.What makes the book even better for a modern is that Mr. Matthews' edition has rendered it extremely readable, while still keeping the ancient flavor that helps put aside for a moment the outlook of the present century. And Ms. Ferguson's excellent drawings of various scenes, interspersed throughout, are further delights that help the mind paint its own pictures along the way.It is said that Arthur's story is known throughout the world. That must be in part because the story is great; and this edition tells it very well.

Nice fantasy. Shame its not real. Great read.

The book itself is very striking, and for those into Arthurian myths, this is the original story. Book well constructed and should last many years

Wanted a cheap eBook version of this, as i have several different paper copies, but this will be ideal for portable reference from my Kindle.

Remembered it from school and decided to try it. Took a while to get into as it's written in archaic English but once on the roll it's difficult to discard. Don't expect fireworks but there's plenty of jousting, etc, which may seem repetitive; but there's plenty of intrigue to go with it. Super for those who like tales of knights in shining armour rescuing maidens locked away in castle towers, for this must be the 'Daddy of them all'. For perhaps the first printed work ever published in the English language it's well worth the 75p layout.

Bought as a gift & was told 'most thoughtful secret Santa ever', they loved book & illustrations