A knight named Gareth (bratty younger brother of Sir Gawain) comes to Camelot and ends up serving in the kitchen under the name Beaumains. When Lady Lynet comes to Camelot looking for someone to save her castle from a besieging knight, only Beaumains volunteers. Lynet, Beaumains, and a dwarf named Roger set off to rescue the castle—and Lynet's gorgeous and vain sister Lyonesse. But not everyone is as they seem, and sometimes you must learn to love someone as they are on the inside, not on the outside.
Morris's Sir Gareth is not the noble kitchen knight that some retellings would have you believe. He is a vain braggart who is the real world example of what courtly love and speech would look like. Many (hilarious) jokes are set up at his expense.
Prepare to put aside all your preconceived ideas about Arthurian legend. Nothing is safe or sacred in Gerald Morris' stories, with the possible exception of King Arthur himself. The result is an excellent and entertaining look at the stories of the Round Table, stripped of the abject romanticism (and highbrow language) of most serious retellings.
Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews
here.
Did you find this review helpful?