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Hi Sean,
You obviously did a tremendous amount of research for this novel, and I’m wondering how you started that process, what types of sources you used, and how much of the research you completed before beginning to write. And did you have the characters and story in mind before you dove into the research, or did they emerge later?

Hi Lauren,

Many thanks for your question. To be honest, I probably went about it all wrong: far too much research, and too little writing! A piece I did for the New York Times (Google: "Rapturous Research") captures something of that process.

In the early stages, I read an awful lot of books, supplemented by articles from journals such as Arthuriana; I also followed (and still follow) an excellent scholarly discussion board called Arthurnet. Later, I came to trust online sources, and found an extraordinary wealth of information out there.

There's no short answer to the question about which came first, characters/story or research. Donald Gladstone was there from the beginning, as was Caradoc Bowen, whereas Julia as we know her emerged more slowly from the mists. With respect to the story, what remained constant throughout was my determination to say something that had not been said before about Arthur.

I hope that helps explain a little bit.

All best,

Sean

Hi, I first became seriously interested in Arthur from a scholarly perspective back in the 1990s, when I read a number of books purporting to have discovered the "real" King Arthur. Their Arthurian archetypes were all different, of course, which led me to suspect that none of them had it right. That's what first set me on the trail. As to favourite Arthurian books, that's a tough question, and I shall have to ponder it. More later!
Sean

To answer Flotsamjeffsam's question about favorite Arthur-related books: top of my list would be A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys. This is quite an investment to read, but very much repays the time spent. I also like Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian books; and in earlier years I was a big fan of Mary Stewart and the series that begins with The Crystal Cave.

Just following along the Q and A and enjoying the discussion. Nancy Smith

BTW, I read " Rapturous Research" and enjoyed the article a lot! I recommend it to your followers. NS

Hi Sean,

I really enjoyed the novel, finding myself completely immersed in the beautifully intertwined threads of history and mythology and language. I was impressed not only by the tremendous amount of historical research involved but also by the vivid descriptions of those British landscapes that are clearly so close to your heart; I truly felt transported by the lively imagery. Could you comment on the inspiration behind this timeless sense of place that is so central to your story and to Arthurian legend?

Thanks for a fantastic journey.

Hi Sandy,

I think it's fair to say that much of my inspiration has come from solitary wandering. I've done a lot of that, taking in all the locations in the book, and many more: walking the Iron Age earthworks at Cadbury Castle, ascending to St. Michael's Tower on top of Glastonbury Tor, exploring secret waterfalls in the heart of Wales; and yes, climbing up on Solsbury Hill.

I've also been a devotee of those writers who so beautifully capture a spirit of place: Graham Swift in Waterland, Bruce Chatwin in On The Black Hill, Thomas Hardy in The Return of the Native. These are authors who understand the genius loci, the layers of myth and history that combine with nature and with the physical tracings of human occupation to make the thing we call landscape.

This is a topic dear to my heart, and I could continue at some length, if you let me.

Many thanks for your question.

Sean

Nancy wrote: "Just following along the Q and A and enjoying the discussion. Nancy Smith"

Thanks for following!

Thanks for your quick reply. I'm quite inspired by Hardy's work as well; there is something brilliant in his use of landscape as not merely a background against which events transpire but as a narrative device in itself, a sort of landscape-as-language, and I did notice some stylistic similarities in Finding Camlann.

If I could trouble you to elaborate on that, and also this: What do you think makes that British scenery so uniquely worthy of centuries of literary reverence? Having done a bit of traveling around the UK I've been rather bewitched by it myself, so I always love to read things that capture that visual poetry so profoundly.

You can still go wandering on Hardy's Egdon Heath, which was inspired by the wild tract of heather and gorse and dense scrubby thickets adjoining the cottage where he was born. Go there at dusk, and you can catch the essence of Hardy's description: "The sombre stretch of rounds and hollows seemed to rise and meet the evening gloom in pure sympathy, the heath exhaling darkness as rapidly as the heavens precipitated it."

And I do not think the British landscape is uniquely compelling in this regard, though I am tempted to defend its virtues against upstart challengers! I think partly it's a question of tradition, as captured (for example) by the English Romantic movement and its reaction to the hegemony of Enlightenment rationality. But that's another story.

Hi Sean,

Thanks for answering our questions, these have been some very interesting responses. I'm curious about the contrast in your book between the ancient legend of King Arthur and the contemporary setting. What do you think the story of King Arthur has to tell us about the present? Do you think it has some analogue in contemporary politics, for example, or, maybe, is its process of excavation (the legend, its revision, and variance between different texts) relevant to current trends in our society?

Thanks,
Ryan

Hi Ryan,

First just to say that there's a very rich vein of Arthurian scholarship (as captured, for example, in the journal Arthuriana) that addresses questions of this kind from every conceivable angle.

I'm not one of those scholars, but I can try to give a jack-of-all-trades answer. I would say that, yes, the symbolism of Arthur remains highly relevant in an era of British devolution, wherein political and administrative power has increasingly been ceded by Westminster to the regions, and especially to Wales and Scotland. In this context, I think national histories and mythologies matter a great deal.

In my novel, Julia Llewellyn recalls her father once saying to her that Arthur and Llywelyn the Great and Owain Glyn Dwr "started out as pure Welsh heroes, to be spoken of in the same breath, but Arthur’s story was stolen and corrupted by the English. All the talk about round tables and magical swords was a lot of nonsense concocted as a means of legitimising the English monarchy."

All best,

Sean