This King Arthur is not the wonderful, romantic hero you have heard about and loved in movies like Camelot -- he is a mean tyrant not above burning a village down for its treasures or tossing the head of his enemy into a river for dramatic effect.
In Here Lies Arthur by master storyteller , we meet Gwynna, a poor girl from the village that was burnt to the ground. Found in the forest by Myrddin (Merlin), Gwynna becomes his servant and accompanies the wizard as he travels with Arthur's war band as they loot and strong-arm towns and villages in order to gain control of Britain's feuding armies.
Myrddin is the mastermind behind the plot to have Arthur take control of the warring tribes of 500 A.D. Britain so that, as one strong, united fighting force, they can defeat the encroaching Saxons.
Myrddin's skillful telling of the bear-like Arthur's adventures makes for thrilling stories, even though a good number of the tales are exaggerations, and in many cases, lies. Gwynna observes all of this, first dressed as a boy for protection, then as a girl trapped in the house of Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere) with a life reduced to creating embroidery and drinking tea.
Throughout the novel, Philip Reeve uses evocative, descriptive language to re-create the tension and drama of this oft-told story. Was Arthur good or bad? Hero or villain? Here Lies Arthur may change the way you answer that question!
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Gwynna is just a girl who is forced to run when her village is attacked and burns to the ground. To her horror, she is discovered in the wood. But it is Myrddin the bard who has found her...
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