Skip to Main Content

The Sword in the Stone: Home

T.H. White

The Once and Future King by T.H. White, book of a lifetime: The ...

Terence Hanbury White, (born May 29, 1906, Bombay, India—died Jan. 17, 1964, Piraeus, Greece), English novelist, social historian, and satirist who was best known for his brilliant adaptation of Sir Thomas Malory’s 15th-century romance, Morte Darthur, into a quartet of novels called The Once and Future King.
 

White was educated at Cheltenham College and at Cambridge. He taught at Stowe School (1930–36), and while there he attained his first real critical success with an autobiographical volume, England Have My Bones (1936). He afterward devoted himself exclusively to writing and to studying such recondite subjects as the Arthurian legends, which were to provide the material for his books. White was by nature a recluse, for long periods isolating himself from human society and spending his time hunting, fishing, and looking after his strange collection of pets.

Watch the movie

Please note, the movie has many differences from the book and takes a much more comic tone. It's a bit of fun to watch it, but don't rely on it to tell you about the book.

Who was King Arthur?

Read the other books in the series

Did you know The Once and Future King is Ms Keen's all time favourite book!

The Once and Future King (1958) comprises 

  • The Sword in the Stone (1939), 
  • The Queen of Air and Darkness—first published as The Witch in the Wood (1940)
  • The Ill-Made Knight (1941), and 
  • The Candle in the Wind

A fifth book, The Book of Merlyn was discovered after T.H. White had died and was published in 1977.

somewhere between rage and serenity — X-Men Meme: [3/8 quotes] The ...

Ms Keen

Profile Photo
Nell Keen
Contact:
5436 7347