Lancelot himself was most likely an invention of Chrétien de Troyes in the late twelfth century (there are scholars who have different ideas about this), though his character is much developed in the later Old French prose-romance Vulgate cycle. Either way, Chrétien, or someone else, decided that what the tale was lacking was a brave and brilliant knight, a sidekick for the story’s hero. A man whose love for his best friend’s wife would ultimately lead to tragedy.
Or take Gawain, one of Arthur’s most famous knights. Early French romance considered him the epitome of the chivalrous warrior. But in the Vulgate and post-Vulgate cycles Gawain is a thug who murders other knights during the Grail quest. And then there’s Morgan le Fay (Morgana in Lancelot and this book), who is so very inconsistent throughout the Arthurian saga. In some versions she’s evil, in others compassionate and generous. In some, beautiful, in others ugly. Sometimes a real woman, other times an enchantress, and even, on occasion, a metaphorical figure.
My point is that the Arthurian stories are always changing, evolving, and that’s good. That’s as it should be. Nothing, after all, stays the same, and it’s only to be expected that writers will reflect their own times and their own experiences in their tales, and seek to create something different from what’s gone before. You will, if you were looking carefully, have found my versions of some familiar themes. There’s Gawain and the Green Knight in here. There’s the raid to the otherworld in search of the Cauldron, too. And, of course, it is in the poem The Spoils of Annwn that Taliesin first appears, hence his inclusion in my own story. The inspiration for my cauldron, by the way, was the magnificent Gundestrup cauldron, which held me utterly spellbound when I saw it with my own eyes at the British Museum’s Celts exhibition in 2016.
As for Arthur having a daughter … Well, why not? If my Galahad wasn’t going to be the sinless virgin in this brutal, divided land, then the famous and charismatic warlord Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, was ever likely to sire several offspring, both in and out of wedlock. And if we’re allowing that any of this might really have happened, is it not possible, even likely, that, being a woman, she was written out of the texts? But, of course, anything is possible, because it’s all stories. And, so with Camelot, as with Lancelot, I’ve reimagined the myth and the man in a way that made sense to me, from my perspective, informed by my own experiences, my own heart, my own soul.
It is, of course, the quest for the Holy Grail with which Galahad is inextricably linked. So where is my grail, you may wonder? Is it the Cauldron of Annwn, whose discovery sets in motion Merlin’s schemes and leads to his ultimate realization about the destiny of Britain, as laid out before him by the gods? Or is the Grail in this story not an object at all, but a person, namely Iselle, who brings purpose to Galahad’s life through his love for her? Or, perhaps the Grail here is purposefully absent, its shadow glimpsed only in metaphor, in Galahad’s journey of self-discovery, as he seeks to unburden himself of the past, find direction and meaning in the present, and hope in the future. Is his ultimate attainment of the non-featuring Grail, in essence, his acceptance, at last, that he is, for better or worse, his father’s son, but that he is also his own man and free to take his own path?
I’ll leave that for you to decide.
Giles Kristian
21 January 2020
Dramatis Personae
Galahad – The narrator of the story. Son of Lancelot
Iselle – A young woman of the Avalon marshes
The man in the marsh
Merlin – Druid and former adviser to Uther Pendragon and Lord Arthur
Oswine – Merlin’s Saxon slave
Guinevere – Wife of Arthur. Lover of Lancelot
Taliesin – A boy
Lady Morgana – Ruler of Camelot. Arthur’s half-sister
Lady Triamour – Daughter of Mordred, sister of Melehan and Ambrosius
Melehan – Son of Mordred, brother of Ambrosius and Lady Triamour
Ambrosius – Son of Mordred, brother of Melehan and Lady Triamour
King Cerdic – A Saxon king
Prince Cynric – Son of King Cerdic
Father Yvain – A monk of the Holy Thorn
Father Brice – A monk of the Holy Thorn
Father Judoc – A monk of the Holy Thorn
Lord Constantine – A warlord of Dumnonia. Nephew of King Uther and son of Ambrosius
Lord Geldrin – Ruler of Tintagel
Gawain – One of Arthur’s warriors
Gediens – One of Arthur’s warriors
Hanguis – One of Arthur’s warriors
Endalan – One of Arthur’s warriors
Lord Cai – One of Arthur’s warriors
Parcefal – One of Arthur’s warriors
King Pelles – King of Ynys Môn, called ‘the Fisher King’
King Bivitas – King of Cynwidion
King Catigern – King of Powys
King Cuel – King of Caer Gloui
King Menadoc – King of Cornubia
Acknowledgements
There are many levels to finishing the writing of a novel before one has no choice but to let it go, to send it out into the world like a message in a bottle, hoping it will find its way to someone, somewhere. These endings are, in a way, false dawns, because, of course, the final incarnation is the only one which really matters. Nevertheless, each ‘finishing’ marks the end of a challenge and is, in my opinion, worth celebrating. The rush of emotion when you type ‘End’ on the first draft can be quite something. But as someone, somewhere once said, the first draft is really just the author telling the story to him- or herself. After this, you need to get some perspective, which is hard when you’re so close to the story. What seems obvious to you turns out to be invisible to the reader. Those subtle touches of character, theme and symbolism are, well, too subtle. You know your protagonists so intimately that you forget that they haven’t also been living in the reader’s head for the last year or more.
This is when eyes other than your own become invaluable, and where the editor, that too often unsung hero, must call upon all his skills to help you shape the manuscript. They must use their experience of the craft, of the business, of the market and the intended audience (and of the author!), as well as oversee the whole publishing process, in order to give the book the best chance of connecting with readers.
When music artists release records, the producer is always credited. It seems to me that editors should appear in the credits on books. And so, the first person whom it is my great pleasure to acknowledge here is my long-suffering editor, Simon Taylor, whose sage advice, as ever, helped me whip this tale into shape.
I also want to acknowledge some of the other brilliant people whose talents and skills have helped create this story and this book, in whatever format you have consumed it.
My thanks to the eagle-eyed Elizabeth Dobson, whose meticulous and astute copy-edit has saved me countless blushes. Any mistakes that remain are entirely my own. Thanks also to Nancy Webber and Anna Hervé for their proof-reading prowess. I’m indebted to you! Thanks also to the production editor, Vivien Thompson, for coordinating all this work on the script and collating the many corrections and tweaks to the final pages. To Dredheza Maloku, for ensuring the words and metadata earn their keep. To Phil Lord, for the book’s interior design, and to Liane Payne, who created the splendid map, thank you very much indeed. I’m grateful also to Phil Evans in production for organizing the typesetting, the page proofs, getting the book off to print and no doubt more besides. As ever, I think Stephen Mulcahey has done an inspired job with the cover, and I must thank Anthony Maddock for his artwork and his labours on the book proof.
To Philip ‘the voice’ Stephens, I’m thrilled and honoured to have you narrating the audiobooks, and thank you, Alice Twomey, for making the audiobook happen. My heartfelt thanks to Lilly Cox for marketing this book and to Hayley Barnes for striving to get it noticed. I appreciate your efforts enormously.
Thanks to Anthony Hewson fo
r reading Camelot in its first draft form, which must have been like trying on a hessian sack, and thanks, as always, to my astonishing wife, Sally, and my ever-patient agent, Bill Hamilton, for putting up with me.
Lastly, I feel I must mention the book which has been a constant feature on my desk (partly because it’s too heavy to move) throughout the writing of Lancelot and Camelot. The Arthurian Name Dictionary by Christopher W. Bruce (Taylor & Francis, 1999) presents a comprehensive dictionary of characters, places, objects and themes found in the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It’s a mighty tome and a staggeringly prodigious piece of work by Christopher W. Bruce, for which I’m very grateful.
If this were one of those Arthurian tales with a great round table in it, you would all be seated around it with the wine flowing and the bards singing. As it’s not quite one of those tales, I hope you’ll be happy with a muddy stool in the Avalon marshlands, as the sun sinks below the reedbeds and the darkness closes in.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
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Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Bantam Press an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Giles Kristian 2020
Cover images: Stephen Mulcahey © Arcangelimages
Cover design by www.mulcaheydesign.com
Giles Kristian has asserted his right under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781473543034
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Table of Contents
Title Page
About the Author
By the Same Author
Dedication
Map
Epigraph
Prologue
1: Voices for the Lost
2: A Wolf in the Reeds
3: Warriors from the Storm
4: Into the Earth
5: Ghosts from the Past
6: Shadow and Bronze
7: The Riven Land
8: Tintagel
9: Lord of the Heights
10: Yvain
11: Camelot
12: Merlin
13: A Warrior Born
14: Old Enemies
15: The Druid
16: The Fisher King
17: The Isle of the Dead
18: The Cauldron of Anwnn
19: Spirit Walkers
20: Guinevere
21: Iselle
22: Swords of Britain
23: A Flame in the Dark
Author’s Note
Dramatis Personae
Acknowledgements
Copyright
Camelot Page 53