The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick

 

Everyone knows the legend of King Arthur.  But what most people know is the later legend, once Arthur is king and has his knights of the Round Table.  In this first book of a trilogy about his life, Helen Hollick gives the reader what came before that time.  It follows Arthur from the time he was fifteen until he eventually becomes king.

Arthur is the unacknowledged son of Uthr Pendragon, treated as the child of an unmarried maid.  This was done to protect him but it left him feeling less than those around him and unworthy.  When Uthr dies in battle, the secret comes out and Arthur becomes Pendragon but is not ready to rule.  He has met Gwenhwyfar as a child when they played together all one summer and pledged themselves to marry.  But reality and politics intrude.  Arthur makes a political match, marrying the current king's daughter, Winifred, although he detests her.

As Arthur grows older and stronger, he starts to make moves towards becoming king of all England.  He has never forgotten Gwenhwyfar and returns to her home after a battle injury, spending a summer with her and taking her as his wife by the old customs.  But there is still the king and Winifred, who both scheme and fight against him.  

Helen Hollick is known as a historical author specializing in English history.  This first book sets the stage for the later ones, establishing the love between Arthur and Gwenhwyfar and the political and military environments.  Hollick says in an afterward that there is no historical proof that any of these people existed but the legend of Arthur is one of the most enduring in English history.  This book is recommended for historical fiction readers.