⋙ Download Free Guinevere Sharan Newman 9780312862336 Books

Guinevere Sharan Newman 9780312862336 Books

Download As PDF : Guinevere Sharan Newman 9780312862336 Books

Guinevere Sharan Newman 9780312862336 Books

Guinivere is normally vilified. This first book in a trilogy reveals her life, and how her character was formed. The unicorn was interesting, and her only trusted friend growing up. Merlin is portrayed as a man torn and in need of family. Arthur becomes less legend and more human. The Saxons are a vital part of why Arthur wins Guin. Good start.


Tags : Guinevere [Sharan Newman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>Shaman New man tells the story of the golden child whose dearest friend is a saint who hears spirits singing; of the gentle-hearted woman who begins to dream of love,Sharan Newman,Guinevere,Tor Books,0312862334,Fantasy - Historical,Arthurian romances;Adaptations.,Great Britain;History;To 1066;Fiction.,Guenevere, Queen (Legendary character);Fiction.,Adaptations,Arthurian romances,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction - Coming of Age,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Fantasy Historical,Fiction-Fantasy,GENERAL,General Adult,Great Britain,Guenevere, Queen (Legendary character),Historical - General,POPULAR AMERICAN FICTION,Queens,United States,Guenevere, Queen (Legendary ch,History,To 1066

Guinevere Sharan Newman 9780312862336 Books Reviews

Out of all the characters in Arthurian legend, it is Queen Guinevere that has always intrigued me the most. Perhaps an unusual choice from amongst all the knights and wizards and magical creatures that permeate these stories, but I've always found something haunting in the figure of a good and noble queen who is torn between her genuine affection for her husband and her undeniable passion for her champion, resulting in a love affair that becomes one of the key factors in the destruction of Camelot. Love, desire, honor, duty, friendship, intrigue - it is all these conflicting components that have made Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot the most famous love triangle of all time. And no, that's not hyperbole. I challenge you to name another love triangle that is more renowned than this one.

Unfortunately, it is the character in the middle of any love triangle that always comes across in the worst light. So often the blame for Camelot's destruction falls upon Guinevere's shoulders, and many of the earliest writers who use her character as the catalyst for civil war throw her into a very unsympathetic light. Malory and Tennyson had no love lost for her, and even more contemporary writers paint her as a manipulative shrew. I hated her portrayal in Marian Bradley Zimmer's "The Mists of Avalon" and Rosalind Miles "Guenevere Queen of the Summer Country," and so far the only depictions that have really appealed to me has been T.H. White's surprisingly sensitive take on her adultery in "The Once and Future King" and Angel Coulby's sweet and understated performance in the television show "Merlin."

So the point of this rather long-winded introduction is to point out that for years now I have been in search of my quintessential literary Guinevere. I have yet to find her, although here Sharan Newman manages to provide an interesting new take. Delving back into Guinevere's childhood and moving through her youth up until her marriage to a young Arthur, this Guinevere is the sheltered and cosseted daughter of two Roman parents, well-bred and well-educated, but with an affinity to the forces of magic that lie outside the realm of human understanding.

As the historical setting isn't explored in any great detail (the Romans have pulled out of Britain, leaving divided tribes to fight off the Saxon hoards) Newman manages to sustain a fairytale-like quality to the book, with plenty of allusions to spirits, mysticism, pagan religion and even a unicorn. Leodegrance and his wife Guenlian live in one of the last Roman villas in Britain, and are besotted with their youngest daughter Guinevere in the absence of their three elder sons who have left to fight the Saxons. Guinevere lives an idyllic life surrounded by family and friends, with free run of the household and the surrounding countryside.

The story unfolds at a leisurely pace, exploring Guinevere's day-to-day existence and the various characters that make up her tiny world her happily married parents, her mysterious nursemaid, her boisterous older brothers, and several frequent visitors to the estate, such as the simple-minded Saint Geraldus who travels with an invisible choir of angels, and her mother's cousin Merlin, who intimidates Guinevere with his air of disapproval.

The book is an unusual one in terms of structure. Rather than having a clear story arc, "Guinevere" is episodic in nature, with the protagonist going through a series of unconnected events that mark her passage into womanhood. Among other things, she discovers a unicorn, lives with hermits in the forest, befriends a Saxon hostage during her sojourn at a beachside castle, is kidnapped, and eventually courted by Arthur, throughout which she meets a range of characters both original and legendary. My favorite would have to be Gawain, who by some quirk in his makeup finds it impossible to stay awake after the sun sets.

Several years pass during the story, and the perspective shifts between a range of characters as well as the omniscient third-person narrator. It's a rather odd way to tell a story, but for the most part Newman keeps it all coherent and interesting (though the unicorn part is rather trite). It wasn't until I neared the end of the novel that I realized this was the first installment of a trilogy, meaning that several plot-points raised here clearly aren't meant to be resolved until the next two books. It's a pity - I was expecting this to be a self-contained novel of Guinevere's youth.

As for Guinevere herself, I loved her in the first half of the book. She was an intriguing child innocent, dispassionate and detached from her surroundings, making her something of an enigma to all who met her. This however began to grate as the book went on - though she grows older, she loses none of the characteristics which intrinsically childish in nature. She is more of a catalyst of change than an agent to it (though this is not necessarily a bad thing, as it adds to her mystique and is in keeping with her preoccupation with the world beyond) but it would have been nice to see some sort of genuine growth in her character - as it is the novel ends with her as a young woman with the mind of a child.

Best known for the Catherine LeVendeur mysteries, Newman has a gift of lovely ornate prose that keeps "Guinevere" intriguing throughout and flowing at a steady pace. Though it's not hugely memorable, it still makes for a diverting read and sheds new light on a famous but still enigmatic character of legend.
Always a pleasure to read
Enjoyable story. Love these type of books. Mostly fiction. That's fine. It's a story book!
My favorite portrayal of Guinevere. FINALLY on the kindle platform!
Another entertaining historical by Sharan Newman. Sharan sets her novels in historically accurate settings and her characters are lively, strong, and engaging. Excellent reading and you learn a little history in the process.
Unlike Sharan Newman's other books, this contains fantasy which isn't my favorite. She is a wonderful writer.
Loved it...went right on to #2....and thence..to #3! It's not as if everyone doesn't KNOW what's going to happen. But Newman's writing is so evocative and engaging I just keep on going to see what's going to happen next. Historically and mythically well-researched.
Guinivere is normally vilified. This first book in a trilogy reveals her life, and how her character was formed. The unicorn was interesting, and her only trusted friend growing up. Merlin is portrayed as a man torn and in need of family. Arthur becomes less legend and more human. The Saxons are a vital part of why Arthur wins Guin. Good start.