Horned King
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Front covers, unknown edition
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| Author | Lloyd Alexander |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Evaline Ness (maps) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | High fantasy, Children's literature |
| Publisher | Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
| Published | 1964–1968 |
| Media type | |
| No. of books | 5 |
| Followed by | The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain (1973) |
The Chronicles of Prydain is a pentalogy of children's high fantasy Bildungsroman novels by Lloyd Alexander. Henry Holt published one annually from 1964 to 1968; the second earned a 1966 Newbery Honor and the last won the 1969 Newbery Medal.
The five novels follow the protagonist Taran from youth to maturity, most overtly in the fourth book, Taran Wanderer. Taran has the title Assistant Pig-Keeper at Caer Dallben but initially dreams of being a grand hero. His most important companions in adventure are Princess Eilonwy, a girl his age; Fflewddur Fflam, a wandering bard and minor king; Gurgi, a wild man-beast; and Doli, a dwarf.
Thematically the novels draw upon Welsh mythology, particularly the Mabinogion. The novels are not, however, retellings of those myths, a point Alexander himself makes in an author's note for The Book of Three: stories have been conflated, and characters have been changed in both role and motive, so a student of Welsh culture should be prepared as Arawn becomes the books' dark arch enemy and Gwydion's negative traits are replaced with unclouded heroism.
Appropriately, the author's note also reveals the geography is ultimately derived from Wales, though Alexander notes that Prydain is separate from Wales both in physical geography and history.
"Always interested in mythology", Alexander received army combat intelligence training in Wales during World War II. That exposed him to its castles, scenery, and language, which became "part of the raw material for the Prydain books". Originally he "planned to write one or two – three at the very most".
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Wikipedia