Written by Satima Flavell | 27 November 2011

Scholastic Australia 2011: ISBN 1862919194, 9781862919198

Horses for King Arthur is LS Lawrence’s third historical novel for young readers. It is aimed junior secondary market, and like his earlier works, Eagle of the East (2007) and Escape by Sea (2008) it is soundly grounded in historical research, even though it involves legendary characters, this time including the young King Arthur. And, also like Lawrence’s earlier works, it is worthy of a wider readership than its intended market.

Horses for King Arthur is about Alexa, an adventurous girl, half-Roman, half-British, who dreams of breeding horses that can carry men onto the battlefield. Arthur makes only a brief appearance and remains purely a cipher: the hero of Alexa’s dreams who will rescue Britain from the Saxons. He is simply a frame on which Lawrence has hung a tapestry of life in fifth century Britain, and in the process given a very convincing explanation of how the legendary warlord was able to hold back the Saxon tide for a generation or more.

With help from her father’s old groom Syragus, and a mysterious sea captain, Grecca, Alexa runs away to fulfil her dream of buying horses for King Arthur. En route, she has many adventures and even finds romance. The book may well, therefore, appeal to girls more than boys, although I suspect more than one young man will be just as enthralled by the tale as his sisters. However, it will be a winner with girls in their early to mid-teens who love horses, dream of adventure and long for romance, or any of the foregoing!

I had occasion earlier this year to mention Lawrence’s books to a school librarian from one of Perth’s leading boys schools. To my surprise, she was dismissive of historical novels. “Today’s young people can’t relate to European history,” she said.

What a tragedy! There is something terribly wrong when children in a country whose culture is essentially European have not studied enough European history, let alone folklore, to appreciate a new twist on the Arthurian legend! Yet these same young people no doubt embraced the Lord of the Rings movies. If they cannot appreciate a good historical or fantasy novel, it’s because they haven’t been taught how, and that reflects badly on our education system. Fortunately, the popularity of LS Lawrence’s books with school libraries shows that all is not lost. Thee must still be a goodly number of teenagers who love and appreciate history, and they will love Horses for King Arthur.

Scholastic has many books on offer for children and teenagers. Check them out at www.scholastic.com.au.