#47 The Once and Future King by T H White

This is the the first real book that I have read about King Arthur.  I  have seen several movies, but no books. The first 1/3 of this book is Disney's The Sword in the Stone.  Almost exactly. Young Arthur, called Wart, is tutored by Merlin and squires for Kay until he pulls the sword from the stone. Classic tale of the orphan kid who is secretly the heir to the throne.. kinda ruined by having seen it before.  I found it a bit hard to get into.
The middle part of the book mainly follows Lancelot and his adventures and his relationship with Guinevere.  There are a few throw away chapters about a really colorful and lovable character called King Pellinore. He is a great character - very Don Quixote like - but his story was a little out of place in this book I thought.
The final part covers the tragic end of the Arthur, Lance, Gwen love triangle.  I felt that was very well done.  It really pushes how great of a king Arthur was ( and will be?).  He did the best he could in his time, but the world was just not quite ready for that much justice.

I think White was going for a collection of stories of the rest of Arthur's life.  He references other authors works directly and says to look there for a recount of the main big conquests of King Arthur and the KORT. Perhaps some of the things that I found odd here (Pellinore) will make more sense once I do read the rest of the stories..
I am reading Mists of Avalon by Bradley next, so we shall see.

p312
It is the tragedy.. of sin coming home to roost... He did not know he was [sinning].. but it seems, in tragedy, that innocence is not enough.

p432
The king sat looking at his fingers, and they waited while the old thoughts ran sideways across his hands like crabs.

p517
An enormous eagle owl... opened his eyes when the bells rang. Before he had opened them he might have been a stuffed owl, a dowdy bundle of feathers. The moment they had dawned, he was a creature form Edgar Alan Poe. You hardly liked to look at him. They were red eyes, homicidal and terrific.  Seeming to actually give out light. They were like rubies filled with flame.  He was called the Grand Duke.