T. H. White

When Merlyn the magician comes to tutor Sir Ector's sons Kay and the Wart, schoolwork suddenly becomes much more fun. After all, who wouldn't enjoy being turned into a fish, or a badger, or a snake? But Merlyn has very particular plans for the Wart...

The Sword in the Stone

Brandon Eckroth

The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then-to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.

Wart, as young Arthur is called, becomes a wiser, more thoughtful person and a worthy king as a result of Merlin's lessons.

The sword in the stone

Fraser Simons

I’m not sure what I expected, considering I’ve seen the Disney film, but I didn’t realize this would be more wild than even the movie! I found it charming and endearing and was interested to find out how much it differed from my favourite childhood film. 

It contains things I typically dislike a lot, such as breaking the 4th wall, fiction that is self aware and comedic—but because it’s a children’s/YA story, it worked for me. It establishes the tone early on to give the reader a heads up and the humour is clearly to engage a younger audience and satirize cultural elements to make them more critical of society. 

It’s pretty batshit sometimes, and has some casual sexism I could do without, but I came away pleasantly surprised.

The Sword in the Stone

Reviews

Highlights