Why am I sharing this embarrassing story? I suppose to highlight the fact that I always knew that one day I would write a story about King Arthur. It was inevitable. I suppose the major question is why.
When I talk to people about my book a lot of them ask what my thoughts on the legends are, whether I think there’s any truth in them.
It’s a tricky question to answer. I’d love to say yes. Wouldn’t it be amazing if he’d been real? But the historians answer is no. The legend of King Arthur is an amalgamation of a hundred different myths and legends and real people.
But I like to believe there is some fragment of truth behind the legend.
The fact is, however, the legend is eternal. From Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century, to Thomas Malory in the 15th, to the BBC in the 21st, the stories of King Arthur keep being re-written. And I honestly believe that in another few hundred years people will still be telling stories about the Once and Future King. It is a myth that will never die.
Why? Well I can only tell you what I think – others might disagree.
For me the Arthurian legends are eternal because they call to something in us. They give life to an ideal – where the people in power care only about righteousness and justice. A world where any man could rise to greatness – no matter his background – as long as he proved himself. The very concept of the Round Table is breathtaking.
But it is also the pure romanticism of it. It is a legend of heroic good deeds, bravery beyond compare, and true love. Yes, it’s violent in a way, but it’s also beautiful.
Of course, the fact that there are so many stories already told about the legends makes it hard for a writer like me to come along and write something original.
The research involved was pretty extensive. I spent a lot of time reading a whole range of different takes on the myths – and every one is a little different.
But in the end, when it came down to it, I created my own version of the legend. I borrow from a hundred different myths and local histories (particularly a lot of the Welsh myths and legends), pulling together the bits I liked and discarding what I didn’t want to use.
Take the story of Lancelot and Guinevere for example. I took the bits I wanted, the bits I liked, and used them to create a whole new story. A different, fresh take on one of the oldest love stories. Or at least, I hope it’s fresh and different. It definitely won’t be quite the story you’re expecting.
But it wasn’t just the legends of King Arthur I used – it was bit of local folklore – myths about fairies and fairy circles, about the Fair Folk and Avalon.
What’s come out of it at the end will be up to you to decide.
All I know is that I come from a country with a breathtaking history and an even more breathtaking mythology, and I was always going to write about it one day. THE LAST KNIGHT is my tribute to that mythology.
About The Last Knight
Seventeen-year-old Cara Page Knows what mark she's going to get on her English test next week. She knows in three days her history teacher is going to be late because his car broke down. She knows she's going to give the new boy a nose bleed on his first day.
She knows because every night she dreams of the future, and every day those dreams come true.
Now she's dreaming of a boy, and a future that can't be real. Because if it is, then everything she thought was myth and legend is actually true, and there is an evil coming that will tear the country apart.
Lance Filwer is a boy with secrets of his own, and a past full of mistakes he can't undo. Cara is his second chance, his chance to succeed where he failed before - if only she'll trust him enough to let him help her.
Cara needs to know what's happening, but the answer lies in a long forgotten past, and an ancient legend. To find it Cara will have to travel into the depths of Wales, and the heart of ancient Britain.
With Wraiths, creatures from the darkest of myths, dogging her every move, Cara knows it's only a matter of time before they catch up with her. And myth or not, they will kill her.
Her only hope is Lance, and the birth right she must claim, if she is to prevent the future she has foreseen.
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About the author
Nicola S. Dorrington is a 29 year-old writer from England, currently living in the Cayman Islands, where she procrastinates by staring at the ocean. THE LAST KNIGHT is her first novel, set in a wet and mythical version of the country she left behind. She fully expects to one day be a crazy old cat lady - only with dogs.
You can find out more about Nicola on her blog, on Facebook and on Twitter at @NSDorrington.
I love this fresh take on the story!
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