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Friday, 23 August 2013

Fantasy and Mythical Stories in Mary Stewart 5 Books Collection

 Mary Stewart 5 Books Collection
Titles

The Crystal Cave

The Hollow Hills

The Last Enchantment

The Prince and The Pilgrim

The Wicked Day


Descriptions

The Crystal Cave

Fifth century Britain is a country of chaos and division after the Roman withdrawal. This is the world of young Merlin, the illegitimate child of a South Wales princess who will not reveal to her son his father’s true identity. Yet Merlin is an extraordinary child, aware at the earliest age that he possesses a great natural gift – the Sight. Against a background of invasion and imprisonment, wars and conquest, Merlin emerges into manhood, and accepts his dramatic role in the New Beginning – the coming of King Arthur.

 The Hollow Hills

The countryside of England and Wales in the Dark Ages forms an almost tangible background to this wonderfully and powerfully realized picture of an ancestral hero coming to manhood. The Hollow Hills is the brilliant portrayal of the young Arthur from his birth to accession to the throne of Britain. And behind and around him is the strong, yet vulnerable figure of Merlin who sees and knows so much but is powerless to prevent the strife and violence of his turbulent times.

 The Last Enchantment

With the great sword Caliburn in his hand and Merlin the enchanter at his side, Arthur comes out of hiding to claim the crown he was born to wear. Merlin, Arthur’s protector, sees the glories and horrors that await the new king . . . and to save him Merlin musters all his power to weave one last enchantment. He is showing signs of age and he gradually realizes he is losing his powers of prophecy and clairvoyance to a younger generation. But he is able to accept this because he knows that they will be at the service of his beloved monarch whose fabled victories, marriage and the building of Camelot shine through these pages.

 The Prince and The Pilgrim

The Prince Eager, burning, and young, Alexander has come of age to take vengeance on the treacherous King March of Cornwall who murdered his father. He sets off toward Camelot to seek justice from King Arthur, only to be diverted by the beautiful and sensual Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s sister. Using her wiles and her enchantments, Morgan persuades the young prince to attempt a theft of the Holy Grail. He is unaware her motives are of the darkest nature. Motherless daughter of a royal duke, Alice has lived a life of adventure, accompanying her father on his yearly pilgrimages. Now, on her father’s final visit to Jerusalem, she comes under the protection of a young prince whose brothers were murdered, a prince who is in possession of an enchanted silver cup believed to be the mysterious Holy Grail itself. Thus the stage is set for two young seekers to meet – and to find not what they are searching for but, instead, the greatest treasure of all love.

The Wicked Day

Far from being the scourge of Arthur, his bastard son Mordred actually strives to resist Merlin’s prophecy of doom. But he is thwarted by the schemes of his sorceress mother, Queen Morgause, who has brought him up to be her revenge incarnate, and by misunderstandings beyond his control. Prophecy triumphs and the confrontation that is as fatal as it is inevitable is played out against the darkened walls of the city of Camelot.