Tangled Web UK: New Audio - Historical Titles
2002
Kevin Crossley-Holland
Arthur: King of the Middle March
Published October 2003 by Orion Audio at £9.99
ISBN: 0-75286 028 3
Read by Samuel West Venice, 1201. Thousands of soldiers are mustering in readiness for what will be the Fourth Crusade. Young Arthur de Caldicot, squire to Lord Stephen, is among them. It is thrilling to be part of this great gathering; but his eyes are soon opened to the realities of warfare and politics. The Arthur who returns home two years later has looked in his seeing stone and realized that the exploits of King Arthur and his knights are no more glorious than those of the crusaders, and that the Holy Grail is elusive. But he has other things on his mind, too - he wrestles with difficult relationships with his father, the violent Sir William, and his churlish elder brother, he dreams of finding his mother, he worries about his impending betrothal and looks forward to being lord of his own manor of Catmole.
This is a vivid and enchanting picture of daily life in medieval times, shot through with the magic of the Arthurian legends. Samuel West has three generations of actors on both his paternal and maternal sides. After reading English at Oxford he went straight into acting. He has appeared in films ranging from Carrington to Notting Hill, done much television work, such as Persuasion and C. S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian, and performed on stage with the Royal National Theatre and at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. Radio work includes The Merchant of Venice, Poetry Please, and Richard II (as Richard) for the BBC. He has also recorded many audio books.
2 Cassettes Running Time: approx. 3 hrs 45 Mins
Abridged by Katie Nicholl
Produced by Peter Rinne About The Author Kevin Crossley-Holland won the Carnegie Medal in 1985 for Storm (Heinemann). He is a poet, reteller of classic tales, and anthologist whose many books for adults and children include The Norse Myths (Penguin), Beowulf (OUP), and for Orion The King Who Was and Will Be, The Old Stories, Tales from the Old World and Enchantment. He has written and presented for BBC Radio and given many talks and workshops in schools and libraries. For some years he held a university post in Minnesota; he now lives on the North Norfolk coast, where he spent much of his childhood. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
New Books by Kevin Crossley-Holland at Amazon.co.uk
Kevin Crossley-Holland
Arthur: King of the Middle March
