The Real Classics

[ursangnome]

I just looked at a bookshelf, and reminded myself of something - there's classic literature, and then there's classic stories. My Lady, for example, takes a fancy to retellings of fairy tales. I personally, lean towards refashionings of mythology and legend. Arthurian especially, though I'm not all that picky.

The shelf has upon it the following examples:
Le Morte D'Arthur - Sir Thomas Malory
The Once and Future King and The Book of Merlyn - T.H. White
Firelord and Beloved Exile - Parke Godwin
The Camulod Chronicles - Jack Whyte
Merlin's Bones - Fred Saberhagen
Knight Life and One Knight Only - Peter David
The Pendragon Cycle - Stephen Lawhead
The Pendragon Chronicles - edited by Mike Ashley
Issac Asimov's Camelot - edited by Gardner Dozois and Sheila Williams
Camelot Fantastic - edited by Lawrence Schimel & Martin H. Greenberg
Grails: Quests of the Dawn - edited by Richard Gilliam, Edward Kramer, Martin H. Greenberg

And that's just the Arthurian. It goes on with...
Changer and Legends Walking - Jane Lindskold
The White Bull - Fred Saberhagen
The Tower of Beowulf - Parke Godwin
American Gods and Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
Sherwood and Robin and the King - Parke Godwin
Outlaws of Sherwood - Robin McKinley

Now, I'm not all that surprised that the Arthurian overwhelms all the rest combined, but still, I ought to go looking for more Robin Hood retellings, I think.

Comments

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I can think of more Arthur, more Robin Hood is trickier... hmmm...

[laurion]

I do like some of the Godwin books. Looks like your library and mine tend to overlap here (Dodwin, McKinley, Saberhagen, White, Malory, Lawhead and Ashley all jump to me as overlaps, haven't checked the others).

There's always the classic Howard Pyle Robin Hood, and I have one by Sara Sterling as well. Both of those are older, and are less of a refashioning than something like Godwin or McKinley.