Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

I have always loved stories about King Arthur, so when I started collecting historical fiction a few years ago, I included several books about this time period on my “must have” list. Although I’ve read several of them, most have left me unsatisfied for one reason or another – too romantic, not romantic enough, not realistic enough, too feminist in attitude etc. Having loved Helen Hollick’s Harold the King (just the right balance of romance and realism), I hoped that her Arthurian trilogy would be just what I was looking for. With the completion of the first volume, The Kingmaking, I was not disappointed!


Set in the mid 5th century, Hollick’s story is a realistic version of what might have been. Arthur is no knight in shining amour; instead, most of the time he is a drunken louse who has a temper, uses women, makes promises he has no intention of keeping and is not above lying, cheating ,stealing, and scheming to get what he wants. He’s even not above executing a woman when it suits his purpose. Yet underneath his flaws and bad attitude, he has a good heart, tries to do the right thing when it really counts and is likeable enough that you can't help but want to see him succeed.

Gwenhwyfar is the daughter of a Welsh chieftan. The only girl among nine children, she is a bit of tomboy and can generally take care of herself. When she and Arthur first meet in their early teens, they take an instant disliking to each other but in the way of kids that age that means they actually like each other! They find they share some commonality and through that, they form a friendship that gradually becomes more.

But the recent discovery of Arthur’s parentage and the winds of war and defeat work against the pair and their lives quickly become anything but a fairytale as they are used as pawns in the battle for control of Britain. A night of drunkenness and the schemes of others find Arthur married to the king's daughter, Winifred and Gwen virtually in exile. But Arthur is biding his time for the right opportunity to stake his claim to his country and to the woman he loves.

Gritty and raw, it is easy to imagine that this is how it was. The threat of battle was constant and it’s not pretty – guts are spilled, women are raped and innocent people are left for dead or their lives destroyed for no other reason than they were in the wrong place. The battles depict enough realism without being too gory or gross though and at times it easy to feel the anguish and desperation of not only the common people, but also of their leaders.

I loved Hollick’s version of Arthur and his world. The secondary characters are interesting and add dimension to the story – especially Winifred who is a delightful, scheming bitch who seems to get what's coming to her.  Or does she?  I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of Arthur's story.






In case the FTC asks: I bought this one myself.