The Knight of the Sacred Lake

Last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, guardian of the Great Goddess herself . . . a woman whose story has never been told--until now.

As High King and Queen, Arthur and Guenevere reign supreme across the many kingdoms of Great Britain. Still, Guenevere secretly mourns the loss of her beloved Lancelot, who has returned to the Sacred Lake of his boyhood, hoping to restore his faith in chivalry in the place where he learned to be a knight. In a glittering Pentecost ceremony, new knights are sworn to the Round Table, including Arthur's nephews, Agravain and Gawain. After many years of strife, peace is restored to Guenevere's realm.

But betrayal, jealousy, and ancient blood feuds fester unseen. Morgan Le Fay, now the mother of Arthur's only son, Mordred, has become the focus of Merlin's age-old quest to ensure the survival of the house of Pendragon. From the east comes the shattering news that Guenevere may have a rival for Lancelot's love. A bleak shadow falls again across Camelot--and across the sacred isle of Avalon, where Roman priests threaten the life of the Lady herself. At the center of the storm is Guenevere, torn between her love for her husband, her people, and Sir Lancelot of the Lake.

With rare and intuitive magic, Rosalind Miles brings to life a legendary woman's bravery and passion, and all the pageantry, heartbreak, violence, and beauty of an age gone by.

In the epic sequel to Guenevere: Queen of the Summer Country, the kingdom of Camelot is threatened by the dark machinations of King Arthur's devious half-sister, Morgan, and by the love affair between Guenevere and a handsome young knight, Lancelot, as Guenevere is forced to choose between her own heart and her duty to husband and her people. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.

At the end of Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country, Guenevere had banished Sir Lancelot, her knight and lover, from Camelot, for fear their love affair would be discovered. He returns to his native Brittany and his foster mother, the Lady of Broceliande, a lake nymph and sister of the Lady of Avalon. At Camelot, Guenevere and Arthur welcome a new band of knights, including Arthur's nephews, the princes of the Orkneys. The oldest of the Orkney princes is the heroic Gawain, but the ill-fated second son is his bitter, scheming brother Agravain, who nurses a vendetta against Guenevere and Arthur. It is his suspicions and gossip that drive Lancelot away — and into the arms of fair Elaine of Astolat, the doomed Lady of Shalot, whose tragic death scandalizes Camelot. In the background lurks the dark presence of Morgan le Fay, Arthur's sister, who has disappeared, spiriting away Prince Mordred, the son of her incestuous liason with King Arthur. Merlin, mindful of the omens surrounding Mordred's birth, crosses the Is

les in search of the boy, tormented by Morgan every step of the way. With new characters, old grudges, and a fast-paced plot, The Knight of the Sacred Lake will transport readers into the past, and into the magical and decadent world that was Camelot.

Rosalind Miles is a well-known and critically acclaimed English novelist, essayist, and broadcaster. Her novels, including Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country and I, Elizabeth, have been international best-sellers.

From the Hardcover edition.