''Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy'' is an omnibus edition of the first three novels in Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga: ''

The Crystal Cave ''The Crystal Cave'' is a 1970 fantasy novel by Mary Stewart. The first in a quintet of novels covering the Arthurian legend, it is followed by '' The Hollow Hills''. Plot introduction The protagonist of this story is a boy named Myrddin Emrys ...

'' (1970), '' The Hollow Hills'' (1973), and ''

The Last Enchantment ''The Last Enchantment'' is a 1979 fantasy novel by Mary Stewart. It is the third in a quintet of novels covering the Arthurian legend, preceded by '' The Hollow Hills'' and succeeded by ''The Wicked Day''. Plot introduction The protagonist of ...

'' (1979). The omnibus was published in 1980 by

William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation News Corporation (abbrev ...

. In 1983, Stewart published a fourth instalment in the series: ''

The Wicked Day ''The Wicked Day'' is the fourth novel in Mary Stewart's treatment of Arthurian legend. It was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1983. It is preceded in the pentalogy by '' The Last Enchantment'' (1979), and succeeded by '' The Prince and the ...

''.

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

republished the omnibus as ''The Merlin Trilogy'' in 2004.

Synopsis

'' (1970) is a first-person retelling of

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

's life and the reign of

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur. A few m ...

until the conception of Uther's son,

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

. In '' The Hollow Hills'' (1973), Merlin recounts Arthur's birth and boyhood until he is made king. ''

'' (1979) is the story of Arthur's kingship as told by Merlin.

Reception

In Stewart's obituary, Anita Gates of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described her as an "author of romantic thrillers who jumped genres in her 50s to create an internationally best-selling trilogy of Merlin books, reimagining the

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

from a sorcerer’s point of view. … Reading

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiograph ...

's ''

History of the Kings of Britain ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...

'', tewartwas inspired to retell the story of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

as seen by Merlin, the king's adviser and house magician. The trilogy introduced her work to a new generation and, in many cases, to male readers for the first time. … The books, set in the fifth century, were praised for their unusual blend of fantasy and historical detail."

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References

Further reading