Le Morte d'Arthur

By: Sir Thomas Malory

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

The legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a superb story of adventure, love, honor, and betrayal. Originally published in 1485, Le Morte d'Arthur is filled with dramatic power and deep, tragic irony. This audio adaptation of Malory's epic poem grips the listener with the fateful story of Arthur's ascension to the throne as a boy, his marriage to Guenever, the formation of the Knights of the Round Table, the quest for the Holy Grail, the ill-fated passion between Guenever and Launcelot, the treachery of Arthur's illegitimate son Mordred, and the ultimate destruction of Arthur's realm.(P) and ©1997 HighBridge Company; Cover Illustration Reproduced by Permission of The Granger Collection, New York.

Good but Surprising

I enjoyed the tale but I was surprised with how much focused on Lancelot. I expected it to focus on Arthur more than it did.

Loved it!

Forever a fan of King Artuhur, and of Derrick Jacoby, i was still a little anxious about the early English. Pleasantly surprised to find that some high school French, as well as Jacoby's superb reading, rendered any language barrier null and void. A collection of adventure and mystical stories, with a bit of history... glorious escape reading! thanks so much for offering it. Having whet my apppetitie, i may have to buy the unabridged in text, for occasional perusal.

A Little Tough To Get Through

Being a fan of "Excalibur" and films about King Arthur, I wanted to get the legends from the source. I found this book tough to get through. I had to repeat many parts because my mind would start to wonder. Other times I was engrossed in the story. Overall I enjoyed it but it was a hard journey.

Excellent Reader

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Depends. If you like the high adventure of King Arthur, then this is for you.

What about Derek Jacobi’s performance did you like?

All of it. Jacobi breathes such life into the characters, and really brought the archaic prose to life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Didn't laugh or cry, but I did enjoy it very much.

Any additional comments?

The only thing I could call a problem is that I would have liked to have heard more of Arthur's pre-grail adventures. But such is the way of abridgements.

Deft dancing in the Word Morass

One only has to track down the original text of this book to appreciate the reader's skill in its interpretation of it. I did this,curious to investigate the unabridged version,and found it unfathomable!The text was laid out in the ancient English style,with endless lines running into each other and no paragraphs or punctuation to guide you through it.But Derek Jacobi manages to not only to conquer the text,but to give it life as well.If you can excuse the odd patterning of the result,the book is a very worthwhile investment.