The Hollow Hills

The countryside of England and Wales in the Dark Ages forms an almost tangible background to this wonderfully and powerfully realised picture of an ancestral hero coming to manhood. The Hollow Hills is the brilliant portrayal of the young Arthur from his birth to accession to the throne of Britain. And behind and around him is the strong, yet vulnerable figure of Merlin who sees and knows so much but is powerless to prevent the strife and violence of his turbulent times.

“Superb and lyrical.”

A real spell-binder - Sunday Telegraph

Compulsive reading . . . chases, battles, thrills and entertainment all the way - Daily Mirror

A fascinating re-creation of the King Arthur legend - Newsweek

It goes without saying that Mrs Stewart tells a marvellous story. - The Times

- Washington Times

Mary Stewart is one of our most successful novelists. Her first novel, MADAM WILL YOU TALK, was published in 1955. It was an immediate success and marked the beginning of a long and acclaimed writing career. All her novels have been bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic. She was made a Doctor of Literature by Durham University in 2009.

In the castle Tintagel a child will be born who will clear Britain of her enemies and make her whole. I, Merlin, whom men fear as a prophet and a visionary, have seen this in the stars and heard it in the wind. The child will be called Arthur, and he will be king. I have brought this to pass . Born on Christmas Eve, Arthur Pendragon is the illegitimate son of the married duchess Ygraine and Uther Pendragon, brother of a great king: a union Merlin arranged. But Arthur's birth is not welcomed by everyone: his father demands he be hidden until a legitmate son can be born, and Merlin is forced to give the babe to his own childhood nurse for safekeeping and go into hiding. In a dream, Merlin learns of a sword of unparalleled beauty and extraordinary craftsmanship, hidden in a long-deserted Roman temple. Merlin retrieves the sword and hides it in a cave on an island in the centre of a lake, where it remains for years. But what is hidden must be revealed. For it is foretold that the irrepressible young man named Arthur will find a sword and claim his birthright: as heir to Uther Pendragon and king of the Britons. A gloriously imagined tale' The Sunday Times

The countryside of England and Wales in the Dark Ages forms an almost tangible background to this wonderfully and powerfully realised picture of an ancestral hero coming to manhood. The Hollow Hills is the brilliant portrayal of the young Arthur from his birth to accession to the throne of Britain. And behind and around him is the strong, yet vulnerable figure of Merlin who sees and knows so much but is powerless to prevent the strife and violence of his turbulent times.

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