title: Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur
author:  Jane Yolen 
description: Bestselling author Jane Yolen does not retell the tale of King Arthur in this imaginative novel for young readers so much as re-invent it. There are familiar characters such as Arthur, Gawaine, and Merlin (here called Merlinnus), and elements from the traditional story, including the famed sword in the stone. But <I>The Sword of the Rightful King</I> treats these as ingredients to cook up an entirely new story. In Yolen's version, Arthur is a young king. He wears the crown but sits perhaps a bit uneasily upon the throne. It has been reported to the king that there are some who will betray or even kill him in order to rise to power. To assure the subjects, the magician Merlinnus places a sword in a stone and announces that whosoever pulls it out, will be the rightful ruler of England. The fact that someone else pulls the sword out of the stone first is just one of numerous intriguing twists. Yolen manages to update the legend and make it fresh for a modern younger audience without resorting to gimmickry and incongruous references (no one says "dude", Lancelot does not ride a skateboard). Instead, she recasts the characters as real people: flawed, troubled, and altogether human. And while they still exist in long-ago England, the people we meet and the situations they find themselves in are accessible to readers of any age. (All ages) <I>--John Moe</I>
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  # SWORD OF KINGS
  
  
  ## Bernard Cornwell
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [Copyright](part0003.html#copyright)
  
  
  HarperCollins _Publishers_ Ltd
  
  
  1 London Bridge Street
  
  
  London SE1 9GF
  
  
  [www.harpercollins.co.uk](http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
  
  
  First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins _Publishers_ 2019
  
  
  Copyright © Bernard Cornwell 2019
  
  
  Map © John Gilkes 2019
  
  
  Cover design by Holly Macdonald © HarperCollins _Publishers_ Ltd 2019
  
  
  Cover photograph © CollaborationJS/Arcangel Images (helmet/foreground and
  horse detail in background) and [Shutterstock.com](http://shutterstock.com)
  (all other images)
  
  
  Bernard Cornwell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of
  this work.
  
  
  A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
  
  
  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents
  portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
  actual persons, living or dead, events or localit