The Book of Romance

Scottish poet, novelist, and anthropologist Andrew Lang is well-known for his volumes collecting the world’s legends, fairy, and folk tales. Lang compiled and edited famous and immortal stories from many genres, including those of romance and adventure. Collected together here in “The Book of Romance” are Andrew Lang’s retellings of some of the most important English, Irish, French, German, and Icelandic legends. Chief among this volume are Lang’s depictions of Arthurian Legend. Drawing upon the “Historia Britonum” and Thomas Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur” Lang depicts the legend’s most important details including the finding of Excalibur, Arthur’s encounter with the Lady of the Lake, the adventures of Arthur’s knights, Merlin’s story, the search for the Holy Grail, the tragic love story of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot, and finally the end of King Arthur’s life. Also included in this volume are classic retellings of “The Song of Roland”, the story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, the Icelandic saga of Grettir the Strong, and several other German and Irish legends. This edition includes the original illustrations by H. J. Ford. This edition includes a biographical afterword.