Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady - Hardcover

Juan Wijngaard lives in Santa Monica, California.

Grade 4 Up This version of the old romance, balladand the tale Chaucer had the Wife of Bath tell to good effectis charmingly retold and gloriously illustrated. To save his life, King Arthur must answer in three days' time a riddle: "What is it that women most desire?" In despair, he accepts an offer of the answer ("Their own way") from a loathsome-looking lady who claims as reward a knight in marriage. To the horror of the court, Gawain marries the lady to save his king's honor; but when he yields to her judgment, he further releases her from a spell and is rewarded with a beautiful wife. Troughton's Sir Gawain and the Loathly Damsel (Dutton, 1972; o.p.) follows the ballad, and the colorfully stylized pictures recall leaded stained-glass windows. Wijngaard combines the illuminator's precision with a modern miniaturist's detailed perspective; each page of text is framed with manuscript-inspired designs of lacy leaves in scarlet, blue and gold, inset with wonderful, naturalistic paintings. These are full of details for readers to discover: horses' breath pluming out in frosty air; shadowy reflections on damp cobbles; and a cameo of Arthur, foot in stirrup, sleeve being pulled off-scene by the Loathly Lady. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
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