Image: The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White, Delacorte Press, 2019. All rights reserved. Cover design by Regina Flath. Cover art by Alex Dos Diaz. Photograph of book taken by me. Image used on this blog under the “Fair dealing for criticism or review” provision of the Commonwealth Copyright Act, 1968. Background image: “File:The Four Orders of Chivalry on the Fore Entrance to Linlithgow Palace.JPG” by Stefan Schäfer, Lich is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Guinevere is the new queen of Camelot. But there’s a lot people don’t know about her: why she’s afraid of water. Why she is so unused to luxury. Who she really is. And Guinevere doesn’t know all of the answers either… she has large, troubling gaps in her memory. Why? All she really knows is that she’s not in Camelot just to play queen: she’s there on Merlin’s behalf, to protect King Arthur and the new kingdom against an unknown magical threat. But magic is easier to understand than the politics of the royal court and her complicated feelings for Arthur and his cynical, ever-watchful nephew, Mordred. And Guinevere has to ask herself: just how powerful is she?
This was a very entertaining novel – a page-turner, though I was listening to it on audiobook, so again, more housework took place that otherwise wouldn’t have, thanks to the magic of the spoken word! There was plenty of historical fantasy detail and description to create a vivid, believable world, and lots of mystery, suspense and narrative twists. I also enjoyed the romantic touches, with two (or more…?) potential love interests for Guinevere. Although the novel is set in medieval times, the reader is positioned in line with contemporary, progressive views about women, sexuality, egalitarianism and the environment. This makes it a potentially useful related text for the NSW 11 English Extension 1 Related Project, as a reimagining of Le Morte d’Arthur or Arthurian legends and tropes. But also a fun wide reading text for lovers of historical fantasy.
Recommend.
Title: The Guinevere Deception
Author: Kiersten White
Art & design: Cover design by Regina Flath. Cover art by Alex Dos Dias
First published: Delacorte Press, 2019
Audio: narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden, Listening Library
Genre: historical fantasy, reimagined classic
Representation: narrative recentred on female characters; LGBTQIA+ (supporting characters)
Suitability: years 7-12
Fyi: minor non-graphic violence, non-graphic recounted historical rape
Themes: identity, relationships, memory, role of women, change, the environment
Literary features: reimagined classic, third person narrator, free indirect style
NSW syllabus: potential contemporary manifestation of a key text (Le Morte d’Arthur) for the Related Project (11 English Extension 1); wide reading
If you like this, try: Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory or Graceling by Kristin Cashore
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE LIBRARY... 
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