Hawk of May

Author:
Gillian Bradshaw
Illustrator:
Published by:
Methuen & C. Ltd.
Suitable for ages:
13
to
100
ISBN:
Reviewer:
Reviewer:
Fotini Hamplová

I will start by saying that this is an excellent book and I strongly recommend it. It is the first book in a trilogy entitled the ‘Down The Long Wind trilogy’. It is a fabulous start to an excellent set of historical fantasy books about king Arthur’s court.

King Arthur and his court have intrigued readers for nearly 1400 years, because they acts as a symbol that attracts something great in the human soul. Many 'Arthurian books' have been written over the years, many writers and countless readers have looked with yearning at this myth. It has just as much to offer people today.

Gillian Bradshaw is 'relaxed' about how she uses the legends. She uses some of the very modern developments of the original stories. However, this is literature and not historiography, so I believe these books will please enthusiasts of Arthurian legends as well as the rest of us.

Bradshaw has taken the legends and has composed works of literary genius out of them. She goes deeply into the characters and brings them to life for us in such a way that when the trilogy ends you will mourn for the loss of your literary companions.

These books leave you with a  ‘yearning for the light’. The reader desires to stay longer in the book's world: where the characters have a purpose. Where the good guys work together to bring light and justice to Britain. Readers are left with a desire to serve God like a great warrior serves a legendary leader. The book allows you to make the parallel between saints and warriors of Christ. It leaves you with a good and healthy yearning. These are excellent books for teenage readers.

This first book of the trilogy is centred around Sir Gawain and his bothers, Sir Agrarian, and the infamous Mordred. 

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