T. H. White

T. H. White is the author of 1958's The Once and Future King, a "novel" (actually a collection of four of his earlier books) that begins with the education of the young King Arthur and ends with his final battle against Mordred. The first and best known part of The Once and Future King is 1938's The Sword in the Stone, and I strongly suggest that unless you are a hardcore fan of Arthurian legends, you should just skip buying The Once and Future King and hunt around until you can find an UNABRIDGED(!!!) version of The Sword in the Stone.

The Sword in the Stone is the story of a good-natured young orphan named Wart and his tutor, an absent-minded magician who lives backwards through time and has some very unusual ideas about the proper approach to education. If you take the time to find the unabridged version of The Sword in the Stone, it's a rousing adventure story that's chock-full of surreal British humor, equally evocative of Alice in Wonderland and Monty Python. If you buy the abridged version, it's amusing but considerably tamer, with most of the weirdest bits removed. And if you just watch the Disney movie... well, then it's pretty much just a waste of time.


Aftertaste:
None.

Availability:
Everywhere, but I mean it about buying the unabridged version.

Other Recommendations:
The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

Any of the Arthurian stories by Mary Stewart

Website:
http://www2.netdoor.com/~moulder/thwhite/ -