The Once and Future King

Ranked #1 in Arthurian, Ranked #4 in Legendsee more rankings.

T.H White′s masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend is an abiding classic. Here all five volumes that make up the story are published in one volume, as White himself always wished. Exquisite comedy offsets the tragedy of Arthur′s personal doom as White brings to life the major British epic of all time with brilliance, grandeur, warmth and charm. less

Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Once and Future King from the world's leading experts.

Lev Grossman TH White’s The Once and Future King. White is less famous than Lewis and Tolkien, but he was a better writer, at least as far as style goes, and his book is a true masterpiece in its own right – a thoroughly modern re-imagining of the great English epic, the story of King Arthur. Like Tolkien, White takes an ancient, mythic landscape and scales it down to human size (or perhaps he scales us up). But White’s world is more brightly lit than Tolkien’s – he dispenses with all those Wagnerian storm clouds. White’s England is all streaming banners and sun-splashed meadows and shining walls, and he... (Source)

Ben Shapiro The best fantasy book of all time. (Source)

Rupert Isaacson It’s about compassion. He doesn’t want to be king, he becomes king, his best friend and his wife fall in love and he is compassionate and understanding. (Source)

Atul Butte @ZachWeiner The Once and Future King. Awesome book, can't forget the lessons 35 years later. (Source)


Rankings by Category

The Once and Future King is ranked in the following categories:


Similar Books

If you like The Once and Future King, check out these similar top-rated books:


Learn: What makes Shortform summaries the best in the world?