The High King
First edition cover
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| Author | Lloyd Alexander |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Evaline Ness |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Chronicles of Prydain |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Published | October 27, 1968 (Holt, Rinehart and Winston) |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | (first edition, hard) |
| OCLC | 23225498 |
| LC Class | PZ7.A3774 Hi |
| Preceded by | Taran Wanderer |
The High King (1968) is a high fantasy novel by Lloyd Alexander, the fifth and last of The Chronicles of Prydain. It was awarded the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1969.
The series follows the adventures of Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, as he nears manhood while helping to resist the forces of Arawn Death-Lord. In the concluding volume Taran and companions join the rest of Prydain in a great effort to defeat Arawn directly. Finally Taran must decide whether to be High King.
Thirty years later, Alexander explained to Scholastic students: "The High King was the final logical development of the first four books in the Prydain Chronicles. It was not an easy book to write, but at least I was building on a foundation that I had already made. I never considered a different ending ...". He did cry afterward, as the exchange implies many readers have done. After seven years "the characters were as close to me as my own family. ... I wept at the end – to see Taran confronted with such a brutally difficult decision."
"The final choice is never offered to us in the real world ... In another sense we face this kind of choice again and again because for us it is never final."
The series was inspired by Welsh mythology and by the castles, scenery, and language of Wales, which the author experienced during World War II intelligence training. At one stage it would conclude with a fourth book entitled The High King of Prydain, approximately following the first three as published.
"While it grew from Welsh legend, it has broadened into my attempt to make a land of fantasy relevant to the world of reality."
The story begins only days after the conclusion of Taran Wanderer. It is nearly winter, less than two years after events of The Castle of Llyr.
Taran and his companion Gurgi return from wandering to Caer Dallben, in haste after getting news from Kaw the crow that Princess Eilonwy has returned from the Isle of Mona. Indeed, they find her at home, along with her escort King Rhun of Mona and the former giant Glew who had been magically restored to human size by a potion from Dallben. Taran knows himself now and he is determined to marry Eilonwy.
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Wikipedia