ARTHUR: KING OF THE MIDDLE MARCH

Book ID/图书代码： 1000.0003B1725

English Summary/英文概要： It is 1202, and thousands of knights and footsoldiers are mustering in Venice for the Fourth Crusade. Among them is young Arthur de Caldicot, squire to Lord Stephen. It is thrilling to be part of this huge gathering; but as Christian falls upon Christian and Saracens draw their scimitars, Arthur’s eyes are opened to the realities of war. Looking into his seeing stone for guidance, he realises that the exploits of King Arthur and his knights, like those of the crusaders, are as grim as they are glorious. Meanwhile Arthur has his own concerns: Gatty, his betrothal, his dream of finding his mother, his relationship with his violent father and his churlish foster-brother. When he finally returns to England, all he has lost and all he has won come together. War, romance, murder, family quarrels, power politics, the conflict between Christianity and Islam: all these are elements in a story packed with drama and colour. Its vivid picture of daily life in medieval times is shot through with earthy comedy and the magic of the Arthurian legends. Darker and deeper than the first two books, this is a marvellous ending to a trilogy that has utterly captivated its readers.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 十六歲的卡爾迪科特的亞瑟隨著史蒂芬領主來到威尼斯旁的聖尼可拉斯島，西元1200年，第四次的十字軍東征考驗著他辨別是非的能力，他看到了象徵基督教的十字軍的行為；也看到薩拉森人的智慧與威尼斯人的工於心計。正當他光榮的被冊封為亞瑟爵士之時，黑曜石裡的亞瑟王正經曆著圓桌騎士們的離去，以及蘭斯洛特騎士因愛背叛國王的苦楚。在劄拉城的週邊，失控的十字軍們讓亞瑟心中忐忑不安，是非的普遍判準因宗教激情與日益衝突而蕩然無存，他不得不正視父親無處不在的威脅，染血的刀鋒意外刺向令自己恐懼的陰影，弒父的亞瑟經著最大的危機，意志動搖可能帶來人生的全面崩潰；而王者亞瑟卻必須面對此生唯一的過錯，命運的烏鴉為他帶來摩覺爵士，在眾叛親離的困境中，亞瑟王終得走向人生的盡頭。卡爾迪科特的亞瑟與黑曜石裡的亞瑟王除了必須在殘酷的戰爭殺伐中，看清楚真理與正義的相對性，還得面對自己人生與性格上的陰影，正視恐懼為得就是克服恐懼。最後，亞瑟回到自己出生地，有溫妮相伴、與母親相認，圓滿的結局帶來無窮的餘韻，當卡爾迪科特的亞瑟明瞭「我是我」之時，現在與未來之王就與他同在，王是亞瑟；亞瑟是王。(Sandy)

Awards/获奖情况：《亞瑟王傳奇》三部曲是英國作家凱文•克羅斯利•霍蘭（Kevin Crossley-Holland）由民間傳說改編作品中，最為著名的系列作品。該系列傳奇故事情節曲折離奇，內容精彩絕倫，引人入勝，帶領讀者游走昱虛幻與現實之間，重現了世人心中永遠的英雄-亞瑟王驚險刺激充滿傳奇的一生！

"The trilogy is an ambitious and brilliantly realised work, which informs and astounds."---Joanne Owen, Borders Bookshop Bookseller Buyer’s Guide Highlight, 11 June 2003

"...the multi-layered conclusion to a most original trilogy...The style is distinctive; short, kaleidoscopic chapters marked by uncluttered, precise sentences. Legend and historical fact are subtly intertwined to make an exciting medieval adventure relevant to today’s conflicts and beliefs." ---Lesley Agnew The Bookseller, 25 July 2003

"If you like a good historical saga then you’ve probably already read The Seeing Stone and At the Crossing-Places, the first two-thirds of Kevin Crossley-Holland’s Arthur Trilogy. King of the Middle March weighs in at 432 pages and is a fairly chunky read...At times funny, at times magical and at times dark, King of the Middle March more than repays the effort"---John Crace Guardian Children’s Books Supplement, Autumn 2003

"Crossley-Holland is, of course, a poet, and the simplicity, musicality and laconic directness of his writing reflects this."---The Independent, 31 October 2003

"...a dramatic conlusion to what has been a wonderfully inventive perspective on Arthurian legend...full of contemporary relevance."---Hampstead & Highgate Express, 31 Oct 03

"With King of the Middle March, Kevin Crossley-Holland triumphantly concludes his trilogy about the two Arthurs...Arthur’s breathless diary entries have an immediacy and wonder"---Jan Mark Times Educational Supplement, 14 Nov 03

About the Author/作者介绍： 凱文•克羅斯利•霍蘭的亞瑟三部曲已被翻譯成25種語言，並在世界各地已售出了超過一百萬份。他是一個詩人，兒童歷史和傳統的故事方面具有權威的歷史小說家，他曾在許多BBC電臺節目上出現，經常在學校及圖書館演講。他是學校圖書館協會的當選主席，牛津大學的聖埃德穆學院的榮譽會員，社會故事的贊助人，皇家學會院士。他的童年回憶錄，《The Hidden Roads/隱秘之路》，2009年出版發行。
Kevin Crossley-Holland won the Carnegie Medal in 1985 for Storm. His many notable books for adults and children include poetry, classic retellings and anthologies. He has written and presented many BBC radio programmes and is a frequent speaker at schools and libraries. For some years he held a university post in Minnesota. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. The Seeing Stone won the prestigious Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for 2001 and At The Crossing-Places on a Silver award at the 2001 SWPA Spoken Word Awards. Gatty’s Tale was shortlisted for the 2008 Carnegie Medal.

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Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

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