The Lioness and Her Knight
Ah! These books are so good and it's so much fun to re-read this series. I've always called them the "Terence and Gawain Books" in my mind, but the series is actually called "The Squire's Tales" and this is Book 7. Th
e first few books in the series heavily feature Terence, squire to Gawain, and his adventures questing with Gawain, who comes to be known as the Maiden's Knight. All of the books are retellings of the King Arthur tales. The author, Gerald Morris, is an excellent scholar of these tales and at the end of each book he discusses the original tale or inspiration that he has rewritten and what he changed in his version. Most of the characters are based on people described in the original tales, but Terence is Morris' own invention. All of the tales feature memorable characters and the plot generally involves the growth of the characters as their personalities evolve and change over the course of the book as they learn lessons from their adventures. And there are so many funny lines, likeable characters, unlikeable villains, tender love stories, and epic battles. And magic and sorceresses and a lot of fun!
e first few books in the series heavily feature Terence, squire to Gawain, and his adventures questing with Gawain, who comes to be known as the Maiden's Knight. All of the books are retellings of the King Arthur tales. The author, Gerald Morris, is an excellent scholar of these tales and at the end of each book he discusses the original tale or inspiration that he has rewritten and what he changed in his version. Most of the characters are based on people described in the original tales, but Terence is Morris' own invention. All of the tales feature memorable characters and the plot generally involves the growth of the characters as their personalities evolve and change over the course of the book as they learn lessons from their adventures. And there are so many funny lines, likeable characters, unlikeable villains, tender love stories, and epic battles. And magic and sorceresses and a lot of fun!In "The Lioness and Her Knight" Luneta travels to Camelot with her cousin Ywain and a court jester, or fool, named Rhience. She's been fighting with her mother quite a bit recently, like any teenager, and jumps at the chance to leave home. Camelot is just a stop (her uncle is Gawain, The Maiden's Knight and she is introduced to Terence and even the intimidating Morgan Le Fay, among other well-known Camelot characters) as Luneta's true destination is the castle of her mother's friend Lady Laudine. On the way to meet Laudine, Ywain hopes to earn a reputation as an excellent knight and ends up involving Luneta and Rhience in adventures they weren't expecting, while Luneta, upon meeting Laudine, can't help but interfere to help Laudine grow a backbone and ends up an apprentice to none other than Morgan Le Fay. And that's just the beginning of all the adventures! I haven't even mentioned the Lioness! Or the Storm Stone!
This book is an excellent part of the series and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. It was long enough ago that I read this series for the first that I'm rediscovering them again and enjoying every minute. Boys or girls will love these stories and Morris features a lot of great female characters in all of his books. These books are written for a middle-grade audience and Morris also writes a series of King Arthur tales for elementary readers called The Knights' Tales. I can't recommend his writing enough.
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