**A prophecy of a golden age, a magic sword and a chosen one ...

This is the legend of King Arthur ... or is it?**

From the manuscripts of a twelfth-century English cleric to a New York bestseller, tales of King Arthur and his court permeate our world. But where did the stories start and how much is true? Were Guinevere and Lancelot traitors? Was Merlin a wise man or magician? And was King Arthur a great and glorious king or a tragic man doomed from conception?

Sara Douglass, a leading writer of fantasy, pierces the heat of this legend. A scholar and academic in medieval history, she explores the fascination, manipulation and permutations of this captivating myth that has intrigued the western world for centuries.

The Betrayal of Arthur is an enchanting exploration of Arthurian legend, twentieth-century sensibilities and the medieval mind.