The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady is the sequel to The Squire's Tale. Morris continues to draw from traditional Arthurian tales: the novel revolves mainly around the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Terence and Gawain adventure just like before, but we meet some new characters too, among them Sir Lancelot. The outrageous courtly behavior of Lancelot and the other French courtiers is amusing, and seen through Terence's eyes, is ridiculously over-the-top. When Terence and Gawain finally embark on their quest, they spend a lot more space journeying to the Green Chapel than Gawain does in the poem. Indeed, the bulk of the novel is actually spent traveling.
Stylistically, the novel follows the same pattern established in The Squire's Tale. The banter is witty and humorous, the air is lighthearted, and the pace is comfortable. The novel does contain several serious moments, however - and the rarity of these moments makes them all the more touching. Gawain's final confrontation with the Green Knight and his subsequent fate is rendered very poignantly, even though it is all told from Terence's point of view. Although the novel is relatively short, the prose is done so efficiently that we learn much about a character in a few short lines. Although the material is high fantasy - recreant knights, faery magic, towering castles, damsels-in-distress, and jousting are key elements to the tale - we can still identify with the doomed situation between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot, or with Gawain's struggle between honor and reason.
The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady is a solid follow-up to The Squire's Tale, and retains the same lighthearted, adventurous air as its predecessor. In these Arthurian novels, author Gerald Morris has successfully recreated the shining knights and chivalrous deeds of the source material, while still keeping the book accessible to young contemporary readers.
Rating: (7/10)
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