The Cleaving
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3.8 • 6 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Four women, four destinies – the future of King Arthur's court…
A fresh, feminist retelling of the Arthurian legends
The Cleaving is an Arthurian retelling that follows the tangled stories of four women: Nimue, Ygraine, Morgana, and Guinevere, as they fight to control their own destinies amid the wars and rivalries that will determine the destiny of Britain.
The legendary epics of King Arthur and Camelot don’t tell the whole story. Chroniclers say Arthur’s mother Ygraine married the man that killed her husband. They say that Arthur's half-sister Morgana turned to dark magic to defy him and Merlin. They say that the enchantress Nimue challenged Merlin and used her magic to outwit him. And that Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere ended in adultery, rebellion and bloodshed. So why did these women chose such dangerous paths?
As warfare and rivalries constantly challenge the king, Arthur and Merlin believe these women are destined to serve Camelot by doing as they are told. But men forget that women talk. Ygraine, Nimue, Morgana and Guinevere become friends and allies while the decisions that shape their lives are taken out of their hands. This is their untold story. Now these women have a voice.
File Under: Fantasy [ Once and Future | A Woman's Work | Out of the Shadows | Cutting Edge ]
Juliet E McKenna is an expert on medieval history and warfare and brings this expertise as well as her skills as a fantasy writer to this epic standalone novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With this impressive fantasy, McKenna (The Green Man's Challenge) brings a fresh, female perspective to the story of King Arthur while retaining all the magic and grandeur of the original tale. Nimue is Queen Ygraine's maidservant, but there's more to her than meets the eye: like Merlin, Nimue is capable of magic, but unlike him, she refuses to use it to manipulate mortals. As Merlin's meddling with King Uther Pendragon and his son, Arthur, who was born of rape, sets off political upheaval in Camelot, Nimue, Morgana, and Guinevere navigate shifting alliances and fraught positions in court. When Merlin mysteriously disappears, Arthur becomes increasingly unstable and tensions between kingdoms grow. As the land descends into war, the women fight to stop the bloodshed. The near-immortal Nimue makes a fascinating point-of-entry into this familiar tale, and the unusually dark take on Arthur himself is equally refreshing, though readers who idolize the character may be disappointed to see him so flawed. Fans of Arthurian legend and female-centric retellings like Circe and Ariadne will find much to enjoy.
