LEGEND - HOW ARTHUR BECAME KING AND WON FAIR GUINEVERE
THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK IS A MODERN EDITION OF THE 1903 FIRST VOLUME OF American writer and illustrator Howard Pyle's four-volume set of his retelling of the Arthurian legends. Pyle is probably best-remembered for his novel about Robin Hood and his Merry Men, but his books about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have helped to cement the general image that most of us have of the fictitious first King of Britain and the exploits of the folks at Camelot.
This volume covers the earlier parts of the familiar Arthur myth - how he drew the sword from the anvil, how he became king, how he won fair Guinevere. Other elements came in later volumes - such as the exploits of Sir Lancelot and the search for the Holy Grail. Pyle embellished the original stories, adding details that are now firmly embedded in the legends.
IN ADDITION TO HIS WRITING FOR YOUNG READERS, HOWARD PYLE (1853-1911) WAS a first-rate artist and book illustrator. Among his students was N. C. Wyeth who is considered today to have been the finest of all during what is called the Golden Age of Book Illustrating in the early 20th Century. The Howard Pyle studio still exists in Wilmington, Delaware, and it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.