The du Lac Chronicles by Mary Anne Yarde

Amazon UK £2.99 £9.99

Amazon US $3.81 £14.99

Romance / Arthurian / Fictional Saga

c. 500AD

The Du Lac Chronicles, by Mary Anne Yard, is set in a post-Roman, post-Arthurian Britain, in which waves of Saxon invaders are well on the way towards overrunning the remaining British regions. Arthur is dead, along with most of his followers, and the remaining few are scattered, lurking in separate pockets to avoid discovery. It is time for a new generation to see what sort of land they can fashion. This is the first in a series of novels and shorter pieces of writing, but it reaches a clear and logical end as a work in itself. The book, and the series as a whole, blends historical insight together with the poetry and legend surrounding Arthur and his followers.

The story circles around the children of Launcelot, and the ambivalent legacy he has left them. Their lands in Cornwall have just been lost to the Saxons of Wessex, and the survival of their line is in doubt. Alliances are uncertain and shifting, and old loyalties cannot necessarily be relied upon. The new Saxon invaders are eager to enforce their rule on the existing leaders, but are themselves split by rivalry. The book opens with the formation of an unexpected alliance, blending mutual support, political astuteness, and genuine affection. This central love affair is threatened by ally and enemy alike, and its progress from cautious overture through consummation to commitment drives the plot.

I would have liked a map to help orient myself in the presumed Arthurian locations. As a Brit, it is easy to place the various Saxon kingdoms. Of course, the exact geography of key regions and castles in the tales of Arthur remains obscure. However, Mary Anne has obviously made some suppositions in order to plan out the journeys of her characters, and it would have been helpful to see this laid out visually as well as in a brief author's note at the end.

Personally I am more swayed now by arguments for Arthurian settings in the north of England than the south, whereas this book is solidly southern in perspective. However, the choices here are well laid out and consistent. Along with that, the diversity of language and culture of the age is compellingly presented, with all its opportunities for both cross-fertilisation and misunderstanding.

All in all a vivid and readable imagining of this stage of British history, with a blend of remembered grandeur and the cruel oppression of invasion. Now that I have discovered it, this is a series that I shall continue to dip into.