About This Book

Welcome to the dark side of Camelot.

Everyone's heard of King Arthur, but no one's ever heard the truth.  Gwynna is just a girl who is forced to run when her village is attacked.  She is discovered in the woods by Myrddin the bard, a traveler and spinner of tales.  He agrees to protect Gwynna if she will agree to be bound in service to him.  Gwynna is frightened but intrigued - and says yes - for this Myrddin serves the young, rough, and influential Arthur.  In the course of their travels, Myrddin transforms Gwynna into a lady goddess, a boy warrior, and a spy. It is part of a plot to turn Arthur from the leader of a rag-tag war band into King Arthur, the greatest hero of all time.

Praise for Here Lies Arthur

"Powerfully inventive, yet less romanticized than most stories set in the medieval Britain, this novel retells the story of King Arthur from a fresh perspective. Arthurian lore has inspired many novels for young people, but few as arresting or compelling as this one." — Booklist, * starred review

"Is there room for yet another reworking of the Arthur legend? If it’s this one, yes. Absorbing, thought-provoking and unexpectedly timely." — Kirkus Reviews, * starred review

"Reeve, like Myrddin, turns hallowed myth and supple prose to political purposes, neatly skewering the modern-day cult of spin and the age-old trickery behind it. Smart teens will love this. " — Publishers Weekly,  * starred review.

"Reeve’s brilliant, brutal re-creation of Arthurian myth is a study in balance and contradiction: it is bleak yet tender; impeccably historical, yet distinctly timely in its driving sense of disillusionment. The relationship between story and history, myth and reality, is richly explored by a narrator whose very self is a conscious creation; gender is just one of many concepts Reeve subverts here with a deft hand." — Horn Book, * starred review

An ALA Notable Children's Book 
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults