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Prelude to Camelot
by Cynthia
Breeding
Inspired glimpse into the early Arthurian days
In
PRELUDE TO CAMELOT, Cynthia Breeding looks into the early days of the
Arthurian kingdom initially through focused, precise vignettes of the
well-known secondary characters from the days of Uther and Ygraine to a
look into the youthful days of Arthur, Gwenhwyfar, and Galahad, a man
who will later become widely known as Lance for a valiant
deed. Combining meticulous historical detail and an
intimate knowledge of the medieval Arthurian source material with a
brilliant imagination, Cynthia Breeding brings well-known characters to
life in ways that reveal their personalities, loyalties and conflicts
with a freshness that will appeal to Arthurian junkies as well as those
less familiar with the medieval source material. The often
troubling Uther-Ygraine story finally makes more sense in Cynthia
Breeding's account as she allows the reader to see through Ygraine's
perspective. Drawing on her experience in the romance genre,
Cynthia Breeding sheds light on the female characters of Arthurian
romance in ways many previous accounts have not. Each and every
one has a unique personality and history. Even Elaine,
a character who often appears rather dull to modern women readers now
in PRELUDE TO CAMELOT leaps
off the page with a new vibrancy. In Cynthia
Breeding's
narrative, Gwenhwyfar's early days show a woman who is strong, daring
and not afraid to make her own way in a world where women's roles are
often narrowly circumscribed. The wicked characters
are delightfully wicked, revealing the personalities and motivations
behind the characters whose later actions have familiar
consequences.
In PRELUDE TO CAMELOT,
Cynthia Breeding takes a step back from the romance genre while also
incorporating certain aspects of the romance genre, such as her
treatment of the female characters, to give her narrative a flavor that
will appeal to women readers looking for a richer glimpse into the
Arthurian world. As the women characters become more fleshed out
with their own individuality, so do the men characters and the
alliances between characters. The youthful days of Arthur and
Galahad, later called Lance, not only show their development as
warriors but as two men with individual talents and self-knowledge.
In PRELUDE TO CAMELOT,
Cynthia Breeding tells the story of the happier days of the Arthurian
world, when optimism and hope prevail and yet she interweaves an
ominous thread that gives the story more power and emotion. As
readers who know what will come to pass both in the Arthurian story
itself, and in Cynthia Breeding's particular story of Arthur,
Gwenhwyfar and Lancelot, Cynthia Breeding does an excellent job of
framing this story to build up to a breathtaking conclusion.
As a lover of Arthurian fiction, this reader has tremendously enjoyed
the past works by this author. PRELUDE
TO CAMELOT, however, stands out as her best work to date in
technical skill as well as imagination. Quite simply, this work
is special and truly inspired. As the source material for the
early days is more limited, the author incorporates more of her unique
imaginative voice to the story and the characters. The vignette
style works well with an effortless transition to a more linear
narrative as the story unfolds. As she moves more from romance
into the realm of fiction, this work exhibits an even more fine-tuned
freedom and precision. In PRELUDE
TO CAMELOT, Cynthia Breeding fans will discover that the author
has truly found her niche --- and undoubtedly she will gain new fans
with her latest Arthurian tale. Arthurian lovers new to this
author are advised to start with this work, not so much because of
Arthurian chronology, but because this work exhibits a new exciting
direction in the author's vision. Brava!
Publisher: Highland Press
(May 2009)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Medieval Book Reviews
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