King Arthur book recommendations?

[atigercametotea]

So, I've done the Tudors to death and need to get my teeth into somethinng else, so where should I start?

I realise that the Arthurian legend covers quite a lot, so any advice appreciated...

I'm not sure you'll get much joy in non-fiction, to be honest!

The once and future king is great, though (although I'm still ploughing through the final book, having started it in 2008)

bernard cornwell wrote an excellent series on Arthur as a more realistic figure than Malory's romantic hero.

And it's children's literature, but Susan Coppers Over Sea, Under Stone series is really really excellent

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Philip Reeve's "Here Lies Arthur" is an unusual take on the legend, and very readable.

I'd also second Susan Cooper but I think the series is now published as one large book called "The Dark is Rising Series".

Second Mists of Avalon, though gets a bit carried away with the 'romance' of it all. Great seeing the stories from the 'underdog' as it were.

Hello Pan!
I'd like to read some stuff to my ds's. They think Arthur is that blond geezer from the BBC program.

Evening Cornsilk!

you mean Arfa Daley???

The Mary Stewart Arthur trilogy (Crystal Cave, Hollow Hills and, er, something else) is my favourite.
Kevin Crossley-Holland did a teen version that is good too.
Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset also brilliantly atmospheric and makes you feel sixth-century Britain probably was the way she describes it.
Philip Reeve is very enjoyable too.
You won't find much in the way of non-fiction though, because, I hate to break it to you, but...

You could look at some of the 'original' books - Chretien de Troyes or the Mabinogien, Geoffrey of Monmouth.

From a historical viewpoint, they show where some of the legends come from which is very interesting.

Or Morte d'Arthur by Malory, which despite being a bit of an Arthur fan, I find hard to read!!

Alternatively there are various non-fiction (ish) books by Geoffrey Ashe.