The Table of Less Valued Knights

Posted on 18 July 2018 by Marie Phillips

Know that there were three tables there The first was the Round Table, with King Arthur as companion and lord The second, the Table of Errant Companions, were those who went seeking adventure and waited to become companions of the Round Table Those of the third table never left court and did not go on quests or in search of adventures, either because of illness or because they lacked courage These knights were called the Less Valued Knights Sir Humphrey du Val of the Table of Less Valued Knights Camelot s least prestigious table, boringly rectangular in shape and with one leg shorter than the other so that it always has to be propped up with a folded napkin to stop it from rocking has been banned by King Arthur from going on quests, and hasn t left the castle in fifteen years He s tempted out of his imposed retirement by Elaine, who is looking for her kidnapped fianc She appears to be the classic damsel in distress, but turns out to have a big secret to hide.Across the border in Puddock, the new young queen, Martha, is appalled to be married off against her will to the odious Prince Edwin of Tuft She disguises herself as a boy and runs away, but doesn t get very far before the Locum of the Lake standing in for the full time Lady intercepts her with some startling news Martha s brother, the true heir to the throne of Puddock, is not dead as she has always thought, and Martha must go on her own quest to find him.The two quests collide, entangling Humphrey, Elaine and Martha s lives, and introducing a host of Arthurian misfits, including a twelve year old crone, a magic sword with a mind of her own, a freakishly short giant, and not one but three men in iron masks.With Gods Behaving Badly Marie Phillips showed that she has a rare gift for comedy, taking familiar characters from legend and giving them an ingenious contemporary twist In The Table of Less Valued Knights it s Thomas Malory s turn, and I m afraid you ll never read him in quite the same way again. Read The Table of Less Valued Knights Author Marie Phillips – kino-fada.fr Fantastic, Funny, and Unforgettable I highly recommend this comedic tale to fans of Monty Python and The Princess Bride.I wasn t sure how I d feel about this one when I requested it On the one hand, I love Arthuriana and I have enjoyed several loose interpretations of it, even humorous light hearted ones On the other hand, I m not very good at humour myself, and can be a bit snooty about anything that messes too much with my views on Arthuriana.It turns out, I really enjoyed it, and read it in pretty much one go I love that while there is humour, it s pretty gentle it doesn t single out any character as a lau I wasn t sure how I d feel about this one when I requested it On th...4.5 stars.A very pleasant surprise Not quite Arthurian, not quite Monty Python, but elements of both.Modern language sometimes quite ripe make this an easy read, and the dual story of knights, princesses and quests is plundered fully for comic potential, is also well characterised and lots of fun.You know about Arthur s famous Round Table of course Bet you ve never heard of the other table, to be found in the draughtiest corner furthest away from the fire which had one leg shorter tha 4.5 stars.A very pleasant surprise Not quite Arthurian, not quite Monty Python, but elements of both.Modern language sometimes quite ripe make this an easy read, and the dual story of knights, princesses and quests is plundered fully for comic potential, is also well characterised and lots of fun.You know about Arthur s famous Round Table of course Bet you ve never heard of the other table, to be found in the draughtiest corner furthest away from the fire which had one leg shorter than the other so that it always had to be propped up with a folded napkin to stop it from rocking Thought not.On Camelot s bottom table see title , Sir Humphrey du Val is content enough to live with his demotion until the chance comes to prove himself by volunteering for a quest to ...I m always down for some historical mythological fiction in a comedic style, so The Table of Less Valued Knights seemed like a good proposition Marie Phillips delivers an Arthurian quest beset with archetypes, allusions, and anachronisms Her characters quip like they re in a Christopher Moore novel albeit slightly less self aware and her vision of Knights of Camelot is every bit as decadently absurd as Monty Python s.There Have I name dropped enough comparisons yet Good Let s get on with I m always down ...I got this book because I loved the cover and it turned out to be the perfect read for this week A fun read that makes you grin as you follow along this Pythonish Camelot quest I hope she comes out with a sequel.Sir Humphrey is one of the less valued knights at Camelot and he d really like to get back on the Round Table but it doesn t look as though he will ever redeem himself At Pentecost the Lady Elaine arrives at Camelot asking for help to find her fianc Sir Alistair who has been kidnapped by a knight wearing black armour Sir Humphrey offers his services without telling her he is one of the less valued knights Meanwhile Queen Martha of Puddock is on the run from an unwelcome arranged marriage t Sir Humphrey...An amusing fairy tale for adults, with some real LOL moments and a pleasing approach to sexuality and gender Highly enjoyable.Eric Idle of Monty Python fame has told a story of walking into a pitch meeting with a new sketch idea Without acting it out, he simply handed out the script to those in the room, and while he thought it was one of the funniest things he d ever written, they simply read it and stared at him with confused looks How was this funny It was all click click grin grin and made no sense Later, when he got the sketch onto an episode of Monty Python s Flying Circus, the bit about two men in a pub Eric Idle of Monty Python fame has told a story of walking into a pitch meeting with a new sketch idea Without acting it out, he simply handed out the script to those in the room, and while he thought it was one of the funniest things he d ever written, they simply read it and stared at him with confused looks How was this funny It was all ...I was excited to read The Table Of Less Valued Knights because compared to the other nominations for the 2015 Baileys Women s Prize, this book is very different It is an adult fairy tale telling what is supposed to be a hilarious continuation to the story of Arthur and the Knights of The Round Table The story follows Sir Humphrey who sits at the Table of Less Valued Knights made up of the knights out of King Arthur s favour Against the King s rules he takes on a quest to save a maiden s long I was excited to read The Table Of Less Valued Knights because compared to the other nominations for the 2015 Baileys Women s Prize, this book is very different It is an adult fairy tale telling what is supposed to be a hilarious continuation to the story ...Everybody knows the famous stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table What is less known is that in fact, there are three tables in Camelot, the least of which is the Table of Less Valued Knights that s the wobbly one in the far corner, the one where the losers, the idiots and those generally deemed incapable sit Among them is Sir Humphrey, once a proper Round Table Knight, but sadly long since demoted to Less Valued status after a quest gone wrong Now here s his chance to re Everybody knows the famous stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table What is less known is that in fact, there are three tables in ...

English
18 July 2018

Marie Phillips