The Prince and the Pilgrim

From School Library Journal YA?Returning to the era of Arthur and his Camelot, Stewart has given life to two lesser-known characters from Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. She enlarges upon and gives wonderful detail to Alexander, a young prince who sets off on a quest to avenge his father's assassination and to Alice, a gentle young lass who accompanies her father on pilgrimages to Holy shrines. Their stories are told in five alternating chapters until they meet, fall in love, and vanquish the foe in the exciting climax. Interwoven within the plot are background details on other characters and the complex legends of the period, especially evil Queen Morgan Le Fay, who detains Alexander for her own greedy purposes. A British map (same one several times) appears frequently to identify various locales, and one family tree assists readers, but there is no preliminary list of characters to help keep the participants in mind. The appended author's notes and the legend itself are interesting and help pull everything together once the story has concluded. A light fantasy for fans of this period.?Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review Praise for THE CRYSTAL CAVE: 'Vivid, enthralling, absolutely first-class' Daily Mail Mary Stewart brilliantly recreates the Britain of the fifth century Books And Bookmen Her style is simple yet vivid, displaying a love of words and the sounds they make, and her story is poetically imaginative Daily Telegraph A deft colourful ... re-creation of Merlin's early life Sunday Times A fascinating story which lays a firm hold on the imagination The Scotsman 'Mary Stewart lightens the Dark Ages with legend, pure invention and a lively sense of history. New York Times --This text refers to the