The Prince & the Pilgrim

The Prince and the Pilgrim by Mary Stewart

Publisher: Ivy Books (March 2, 1997)
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0449224430

From School Library Journal

YA?Returning to the era of Arthur and his Camelot, Stewart has given life to two lesser-known characters from Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. She enlarges upon and gives wonderful detail to Alexander, a young prince who sets off on a quest to avenge his father's assassination and to Alice, a gentle young lass who accompanies her father on pilgrimages to Holy shrines. Their stories are told in five alternating chapters until they meet, fall in love, and vanquish the foe in the exciting climax. Interwoven within the plot are background details on other characters and the complex legends of the period, especially evil Queen Morgan Le Fay, who detains Alexander for her own greedy purposes. A British map (same one several times) appears frequently to identify various locales, and one family tree assists readers, but there is no preliminary list of characters to help keep the participants in mind. The appended author's notes and the legend itself are interesting and help pull everything together once the story has concluded.

Well, I finally read a book in a decent amount of time!  Of course it wasn't a very large book, and that helped lol..

I liked this story. I have to admit I have read Mary Stewarts Merlin Trilogy (long ago) and like it and more recently read her story of Rose Cottage.  She must have had a thing for Roses, since in the Prince & the Pilgrim the castle was called Castle Rose.

I found the book quite interesting.. like the review above states it is about some lesser characters in the time of King Arthur but by doing so Arthur , Merlin, and Morgan Le Fay are all mentioned and Morgan is one of the characters in the book.

It is two stories in one.  One of Alexander and one of Alice.  Toss in some castles and a bit of Cornwall and a little love and you have a book by Mary Stewart!

So far all I have read of her's I've enjoyed and this was no different. If you want a book with a bit of the times surrounding Arthur this is a good book to read.  It's not overly heavy with history and yet you get the feel of where and when you are.

I don't think it's a book for everyone.  I would call it light reading, yet just enough in it to keep you involved.

It was a good book, and I'd recommend it to those who maybe want something a little different but not heavy duty or 600 pages long!