The Fragile Land
An Arthurian Allegory
Published on 26. May 2023
352 pages
978-1-80447-082-4 (ISBN)
Description
Stories surrounding the legendary King Arthur have been told since time immemorial, and every generation has a new take on the tale. The Fragile Land approaches the legend from a radical angle, setting it firmly in the post-Roman world of late fifth-century Europe, when the language of Britannia was still Brythonic and the Saxons had not yet superimposed their own place names.
The Fragile Land chronicles the crucial years of Arthur's life, from the age of fifteen into his early thirties, as he comes to the fore as elected Overlord, empowered to confront the Barbarian threat and to keep the factious leaders of the island's kingdoms in some sort of political alliance. Enhanced by a beautifully illustrated map by the artist Kate Milsom, Simon Mundy's cunningly woven tale of an island in unrest draws subtle parallels with contemporary cultural disputes and casts the legend in a whole new light.
The Fragile Land chronicles the crucial years of Arthur's life, from the age of fifteen into his early thirties, as he comes to the fore as elected Overlord, empowered to confront the Barbarian threat and to keep the factious leaders of the island's kingdoms in some sort of political alliance. Enhanced by a beautifully illustrated map by the artist Kate Milsom, Simon Mundy's cunningly woven tale of an island in unrest draws subtle parallels with contemporary cultural disputes and casts the legend in a whole new light.
Reviews / Votes
'Mundy can be cheeky, he can be rueful, but he is always passionate.' -- Daljit Nagra (on By Fax to Alice Springs)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Black and white map illustration
File size
2,48 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-80447-082-4 (9781804470824)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Simon Mundy studied drama at university, but soon veered towards writing poetry and reviews, and at 23 he found himself a music critic and arts journalist. A champion of the arts, he has served as Director of the National Campaign for the Arts and Vice-President of PEN International's Writers for Peace Committee, and he co-founded the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage; he remains an adviser to the European Festivals Association. His writing includes biographies, novels, non-fiction, playscripts and poetry. Kate studied Fine Art at Oxford Brookes University and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Graduating in 1992, she moved back to her native London, where for a time she slipped into the world of graphic design and illustration, working for Raymond Loewy International, and subsequently becoming Course Tutor in Graphic Design at Lambeth College, and later a lecturer at Worcester University. In recent years Kate has developed her Fine Art practice, winning both the Princess Michael of Kent Award and the Society of Women Artists Special Fine Art Award in 2020. Working in series, her paintings often investigate socio-political themes using historical comparisons to highlight contemporary issues. Employing the form of narrative portraiture the images are intended to ask of the viewer 'Where do I fit in?' and subsequently 'Where do you?' and ultimately 'Are we all fitting comfortably?'.
