THE PRINCESS, THE CRONE, AND THE DUNG-CART KNIGHT

In the sixth, and grimmest, of Morris’s Arthurian retellings, while seeking a certain knight who encouraged villagers to burn her mother and Jewish foster-father, young Sarah ultimately discovers that vengeance is an empty motive. But before that, her own quest folds into another as, after witnessing the abduction of Queen Guinevere by brutal Sir Meliagant, she joins Sir Gawain, his eldritch squire Terence, and an unkempt loner—who turns out to be Sir Lancelot—in seeking Meliagant’s ensorcelled castle. Amid a welter of lopped body parts, powerful spells, fabulously heroic feats, pointed observations of the differences between religion and morality, and startling revelations about her own ancestry, Sarah encounters a colorful cast of true friends, villains both implacable and reformed, and women with minds of their own. As usual, Morris uses a mix of droll humor, violence, and easily likable or hateable characters to hook readers, and leaves them with unusual insights into big issues. Still, this outing will appeal more to established fans already familiar with his Round Table crew. (afterword) (Fiction. 11-13)