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The Once and Future King

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The Once and Future King

By: T. H. White
Narrated by: Neville Jason
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About this listen

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.

©1939, 1940, 1958 T. H. White (P)2008 Naxos Audiobooks European Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy World Literature Classics Fantasy Royalty King Funny Arthurian

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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)

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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

Not entirely suitable for children

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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.

A very good and interesting read

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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

Interesting

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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.

Good start, heavy towards the end

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The Once And Future King is a very interesting story, I would suggest listening to it in little stages so you can come back for more of it later - there is a lot of information to take in! The Once and Future King is a story set in the past, but the story is made up. The tutor is a wizard... which is lots of fun.

Jodie age 14

Historical story but with made up events too

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This book has some wonderful parts and brings a fresh take on some of the points in this story of King Arthur.
The first part is good and was adapted for Disney the sword in the stone. The next part was okay but forgetable. Then you get to the ill suited knight. This is White's take on Lancelot and it is a rather wonderul version. Worth getting this story just for this part. The final part I found quite boring and almost a later version of the first part.
Overall I can see why this is a classic and it had obviously been copied to some extent or other every since it first came out.

Great take on a classic

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The book is the perfect mixture of detail and storytelling and is not talking on either as well as this I believe it could be marketed to anyone. It’s a childhood wonder as much as it’s a complex philosophical eye opener for grown-ups.

My favourite book of all time

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This book is a set of books.
Were I to compile it, I'd make it 100% transparent to users looking through the contents to see where one book ended, the next began.
By the simple expedient of naming the chapters appropriately, as per "TheBookOfMerlin ch.1"
That's too tough for the Audible mandarins. Instead we get an anonymous screed of chapters from 1 to 117, as if it were one continuous work. So if you want any title other TSITStone, you need to dit-about listening for the book title you're after.
This is common practice in Audible books. Too bad they have no real competition.... Perhaps that might make them try a little harder.
The book reading is pretty good: maybe not the very best, but more than good enough to let the recordings be thoroughly enjoyable. The reader sounds like a talented voice actor, and gives his characters enough individuality to make listening easily enjoyable.
Also the audio quality is fine. Clear and sharp. Not universally the case in Audible books. It really does pay to listen to samples before making a purchase.

Another lazy Audible production.

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Great book, brilliantly read. incredibly funny, tragic, thoughtful, poignant, relevant, beautiful and vulnerable. Just superb!

One of the best books of my life.

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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.

Still splendid

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