Guinevere, Queen of the Summer Stars

The second volume of Woolley's Arthurian trilogy ( Child of the Northern Spring ) follows Guinevere from the second to the 10th year of her marriage to King Arthur. In this vivid, colorful and homey retelling, Guinevere is a caring and faithful wife and queen, deeply in love with her husband and despairing of her childlessness. As Arthur and his men strive to unify Britain and preserve it from invading Saxons, the various Companions are shown as courageous but all-too-human warriors and courtiers. Lancelot, the king's chief advisor, is cold to the queen, but when he serves as her champion after she is accused of attempted murder, this hostility is dispelled. Loyalty and their mutual love for Arthur keeps them from succumbing to desire. Morgan le Fay, Arthur's half sister, lusts for the crown; her machinations lie behind many of the troubles that afflict the royal couple, a fact Arthur is slow to accept. Other figures of legend, limned with clearly defined personalities, work out their destinies--Gawain and Ragnell, Merlin and Nimue, the two Elaines, Tristan, Isolde and King Mark. Faintly intimated in this volume is the tragedy that will finally strike.