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The Once and Future King
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 33 hrs
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The Once and Future King
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Summary
The complete "box set" of T. H. White's epic fantasy novel of the Arthurian legend. The novel is made up of five parts: "The Sword in the Stone", "The Witch in the Wood", "The Ill-Made Knight", "The Candle in the Wind", and "The Book of Merlyn".
Merlyn instructs the Wart (Arthur) and his brother, Sir Kay, in the ways of the world. One of them will need it: the king has died, leaving no heir, and a rightful one must be found by pulling a sword from an anvil resting on a stone. In the second and third parts of the novel, Arthur has become king and the kingdom is threatened from the north. In the final two books, the ageing king faces his greatest challenge, when his own son threatens to overthrow him. In "The Book of Merlyn", Arthur's tutor Merlyn reappears and teaches him that, even in the face of apparent ruin, there is hope.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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Critic reviews
AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009
"For those who have never read these five books, prepare to be surprised by their adultness, their laugh-out-loud humor and tongue-in-cheek commentary on modern life; for those who know them well, prepare to be delighted with Neville Jason's transcendent reading. The lovely timbre of his narrative voice, his rhythmic, easy pacing and host of individual characterizations transport listeners into White's weird and wonderful otherworld as quickly as Alice slipped through the looking glass. This long production is so entrancing that one wishes it would never end." (AudioFile)
What listeners say about The Once and Future King
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anthony De Bellis
- 11-06-20
A very good and interesting read
This book starts off juvenile, as Arthur is still the wort, it really hits it's stride in the middle, and for about 80% of the time, this book is great! the last few hours of listening get very political, annoying and sloggy to get through (many of the last chapters are about King Arthur as a goose, skip these entirely) but as I said before, 80% outstanding.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gemma
- 16-10-19
Not entirely suitable for children
it's a lovely story but references rape and incest which might not be suitable for younger readers however jolly and sweet the beginning sounds. They do only reference theses things. No nasty details except the boiling of a cat alive
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Solveig Taylor
- 09-09-18
Good start, heavy towards the end
Full of anachronism, humour and deep tragedy, this ought to have been a great read, and most of it is. The first book especially is entertaining, more like a childrens book (It is also the pattern for Disney's "The Sword in the Stone".) The next book was also an interesting read. However, I did not have the patience to listen to the seemingly endless reflections and political discussions that became more and more frequent towards the end of the books. If it had been on paper, I would have skimmed through it, but as an audiobook it became too much, even though it was both thought provoking and relevant for our age, as this book was written during world war two.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- julia
- 15-09-20
Interesting
This book has shown me a whole new view of the legend of King Arthur,my personal favourite character is Merlin the wizard or his owl Archimedes who both are wise and witty characters
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- W. Reid
- 05-07-11
Magical
Though I liked all the books, the first was my favourite. Captivated from the first words and the narration is excellent; as good as Stephen Fry in the Potter books. Neville Jason manages all the parts beautifully and with enthusiasm. Well worth the money.
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32 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- rachelle
- 12-08-17
Amazing story.
Absolutely loved it, wept when it was finished.
Would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Difficult to follow up.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr Image
- 24-03-21
Exquisite
A must for all. Perfect narration, it may seem laboured at first but very quickly your hooked. I think Disney in a way got their adaptations right. These are timeless.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SH
- 18-05-22
Loved it
So well written and narrated. A gem. Well worth the investment of time. Thank you Neville. And TH White in absentia
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve
- 03-02-17
One of the best books of my life.
Great book, brilliantly read. incredibly funny, tragic, thoughtful, poignant, relevant, beautiful and vulnerable. Just superb!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs L.
- 17-06-22
Still splendid
Firstly, do not be put off by the performance of the first book. This is the much popularised Sworf in the Stone story, and it is indeed performed as if at a childrens' storytime. Be entertained, and persist.
The rest of the long tale is beautifully read. As well as being an excellent retelling of the legend of Arthur, it is an examination of our humanity in its various aspects. Latterly (it was written as the world was inexorably involved in war) there is a political discussion also.
It is as I remembered, funny, touching and, often, desperately sad. From time to time, recalling what was about to come, I felt I couldn't listen... but I couldn't stop, of course.
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