First published in 1982 and now reissued by Sourcebooks Landmark, Gillian Bradshaw’s In Winter's Shadow is the concluding volume of the Down the Long Wind trilogy. An Arthurian tale, this series focuses greatly on those surrounding the legendary High King and Emperor. In Book 1, Hawk of May, the story’s emphasis is on Arthur’s emissary Gwalchmai and his ascendancy from childhood to royal servitude and respected combatant. Book 2, Kingdom of Summer still has Gwalchmai as the main character, but it’s told from the perspective of his manservant, Rhys. Summer chronicles the rising tide that began to swell against Arthur, as well as the personal relationships of Gwalchmai, Rhys, and their love interests.Book 3, In Winter’s Shadow varies in that it’s told from the perspective of a woman, Emperor Arthur’s wife Gwynhwyfar. Through Queen Gwynhwyfar’s eyes, we watch the continued struggle of Arthur and his Family against the forces of evil, brought on predominantly by his bastard son, Medraut. The Queen is very much a part of this struggle herself, as she is not only a leader within her community but is incredibly affected by events without and within. While her loyalty ultimately is always with Arthur, her heart is frequently torn between what is right and what is desired. This leads to trouble both within her marriage and throughout the entire kingdom. The longest of the three volumes, In Winter’s Shadow took the shortest amount of time for me to read. I found every chapter to be quite interesting, and not bogged down in unnecessary set dressing and descriptive language. Bradshaw’s writing is such that we are easily transported to this Arthurian world, but without excessive baggage. There are battles without ridiculous amounts of gory details, passionate anger without cheap vulgarities and adulterous love scenes with just enough information to get the point across. It’s decidedly less spiritual than the first two thirds of the trilogy, and I missed having more of that element within the plot, but the political intrigue and relational dramas more than made up for that change in composition.Down the Long Wind is different from other Arthurian tales in that there is no “Round Table” per se and no mystical Merlin character (although there is a briefly mentioned, mysterious bard named Taliesin). The fortress of Camelot is the more traditionally named Camlann. However, much of the original legend is retained, with a moderate amount of magic and spirituality within the first two thirds of the trilogy. This last portion, In Winter’s Shadow follows the travails and struggles of Arthur, his Queen and the forces swirling around them. There is adventure, betrayal, loyalty, passion, victory and defeat. It’s a sweeping tale that spans decades and easily transports the reader to another time and place. I can say that I wish the final chapters had turned out somewhat differently than they did. Without offering any revealing details, the conclusion is not tied up perfectly in a tidy bow, with all parties happy and gratified. That being said, I felt that matters were handled in a highly realistic and possibly more historic fashion, if there is any truth to the Arthurian legends. In Winter’s Shadow is a fine conclusion to a very satisfying trilogy. I enjoyed hearing the story from the perspective of a woman, and Bradshaw always made her narrative interesting and worth my time. I frequently read this volume during my morning and afternoon walks by a lake, on the way to or from dropping my sons off from school. I always looked forward to that time, as it was a delightful escape from the duties and responsibilities of my day. I certainly recommend Down the Long Wind, especially if you’re a fan of Arthurian novels, but also if you enjoy a captivating, sweeping tale of adventure, magic, love and political intrigue. Gillian Bradshaw produced a fine work 30 years ago, and it is certainly worth its current re-emergence in the marketplace today. Hopefully it will acquire a new audience and continue to be enjoyed for years to come.
3.5 stars, Originally posted at Fantasy Literature. http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...In Winter’s Shadow is the final book in Gillian Bradshaw’s DOWN THE LONG WIND trilogy, an elegantly written historical fantasy about King Arthur that’s inspired by the Welsh legends. While the first two books, Hawk of May and Kingdom of Summer, have focused on Gwalchmai (Sir Gawain), this last novel is written from Gwynhwyfar’s perspective. You certainly don’t need to read the previous books to fully appreciate In Winter’s Shadow, but if you’re a fan of the time period or the legends, you’ll probably want to read Hawk of May and Kingdom of Summer at some point. They are lovely historical stories.In In Winter’s Shadow, Gwynhwyfar gives us some of the history of the Roman Empire and its relationship to Britain. She tells of how when Rome left, the petty kings of Britain squabbled amongst themselves and were in danger of being overrun by the Saxons until Arthur declared himself emperor and forced them to unite. She also gives some of her own backstory — how she hates women’s work, prefers to study, and was her father’s pet. She spends her days working tirelessly to advance Arthur’s kingdom while he’s away on campaign. She runs her household, manages supplies for Arthur and his soldiers, and extracts taxes from the petty kings and the church. It is hard to deal with a war-torn country, plotting kings, and resentful clergy.Gwynhwyfar desperately wants a child who will be Arthur’s heir. So far she has miscarried the children she’s conceived. She fears that Arthur will divorce her, but he refuses. She is jealous of Medraut, Arthur’s bastard son whose mother was the evil Morgawse. Medraut’s presence at Camelot reminds Gwynhwyfar of her barrenness. It frustrates her that Arthur has a son out of that hateful relationship with his stepsister, but can’t get one out of love with Gwynhwyfar. Medraut is still disrupting the unity of Arthur’s band and Morgawse haunts Arthur and Gwynhwyfar’s relationship. Thus, Morgawse, even though she’s dead, still threatens to bring Arthur — and all of Britain — down.All of this is a lot of stress for Gwynhwyfar, which explains why she makes a couple of REALLY BIG mistakes, and why we, the readers, feel empathetic toward her even as we realize she’s being REALLY STUPID. The consequences of Gwynhwyfar’s sins are severe and instead of making Arthur’s reign more secure, she ends up destroying everything.Though the story is slow and repetitive at first, In Winter’s Shadow eventually takes off and becomes quite compelling. Gwynhwyfar faces several moral dilemmas that are just as relevant today as they were back then. Is murder ever justifiable? What about adultery? When our leaders fail to act, when is it okay to take matters into our own hands?In Winter’s Shadow is tragic and painful. It’s a disaster story. It’s the story about how well-meaning people can royally screw things up. It’s about the end of personal relationships and the end of an empire. Gillian Bradshaw succeeds in making both seem equally tragic.Once again, I listened to Nicole Quinn’s narration of the audio version. She has such a beautiful voice and I especially liked her in this book because it’s told from a woman’s perspective.
What do You think about In Winter's Shadow (1992)?
Gosh I have adored it. It seems like forever since the last time I've enjoyed an Arthurian novel so much... Not that I do not enjoy the genre, I do. But after you read many books with the same subject, you're bound to be disappointed by many of them. Anyway, that's not the case.I even liked this book better than its prequel, that was pretty, but not exactly my favourite around (its Gawain was a tid bit too far from canon to be my favourite).Let's go with some order.This is an account of the Fall of Camelot, told by Guinevere herself.The story opens with Mordred wrecking havoc in Camelot, planning to overthrow Arthur and to seize power for himself. His strategy is a slow paced but clear one. Unable to put an end to Mordred's troublemaking, Guinevere tries to poison him during a feast. This leads to a massive rift between Guinevere and Arthur, which contributes, together with the overall unbereable situation, to bring Guinevere close to Bedwyr. The two of them start an adulterous relationship, to be then caught by Mordred and condemned to exile by Arthur.Guinevere is to go north to her family, when Bedwyr attempts to kidnap her (in good faith actually, since he knows Guinevere's family won't be kind to her once she returns to them) and kills Gawain's son meanwhile. Guinevere and Bedwyr then excape in Less Britain, and from now on the story resembles really much the Story as we know it (war with Less Britain, Mordred staying behind and taking power, war with Mordred, Camlann, Guinevere goes north to become an abbess).What I liked about this book:-The characters. Guinevere is absolute perfection. She's the closest to my PERFECT Ideal Guinevere EVER. She's a queen, a powerful and capable queen. She's a bookworm, a very learned woman, and very apt at organizing and coordinating. Plus, there's no trace of a past as a tomboy, of a marriage of interest with Arthur (she actually marries him because she's captivated both by him and his project, just as I think she should be!), and of extraordinary abilities as a horse-rider.Besides, her relationship with Bedwyr is one of the most believable ever. I mean, even in the most loving couple a rift can be created so tha one betrays the partner with someone else. Guinevere never ceases to love Arthur and, in the end, it is Arthur she chooses.I was not too fond of Bedwyr actually... but he's a good Lancelot in all aspects. He's very selfish, and it was sorta irritating how he pretended to pass for the "Holier than thou" man when he was clearly unable to sort things right (for the others). He seemed only to be after his own desires... Irritating character, but after all, Lancelot's not supposed to be a good man in my head xDMordred was a venomous beautiful insect, just as I figure him. Clever, golden-tongued... perfect. Gawain's not my favourite version of Gawain. A tid bit too far from canon and almost unrecognizable as Gawain anyway. I have ADORED Gwyn.. and I've adored how he's supposed to be Galahad all the way xD-The athnosphere. Gosh it was thrilling. The impending disaster, the rushed struggle to save everything from ruin.. sheer perfectiom-The accuracy. It was a very believable novel in its historical aspects.Anyway: it was definitely a good book, worth reading. I highly suggest it as the best Guinevere Book I've ever read till now.
—Annette
Great book, sad towards the end, I loved the first two and the last one just ripped me apart I haven't had a book do that in a long time.The story was paced slower than the first two but it made the final chapters that much more real because of the way the book started.I have not read many books about king Arthur or any Arthurian tales, but now I seriously continuing to follow this type of story and would gladly accept any book the comes close to the caliber or exceeds it.now i have to take my leave, this story has no happy end which is my favorite kind of tale, but they always leave me wishing they didn't end that way, and I'm slightly depressed yet excited at the same time.If you are to pick up this series I'm sure you'll love it if not then to each their own.If you do Hawk of May where you begin your journey, enjoy!
—Cody Cramer
Narrada en primera persona por la reina Guinevere la historia sufre de una etapa romántica casi insoportable. Hay espacios donde las reflexiones sobre la infidelidad con Bedwyr hacen pensar que Bradshaw quiere que tengamos lástima por los pobrecitos amantes, con su apogeo en el discurso de Gwalchmai sobre qué no era maldad pues lo hicieron sin intención. Que manera de casi arruinar una historia! Al final, lo mismo: buenos y malos, honores resumidos y la rehabilitación a través del sufrimiento. Excepto el millar de muertos y un imperio perdido. Menos mal es una novela! Pero que leyenda de la que hablamos, tan mágica y arquetípica que sobrevive a un intento de plagio a lo Corin Tellado o Twilight. El pesar que causa el final de Arturo no cede, eso sí, creo que no por esta novela sino por la leyenda en sí: intemporal, potente y mágica. Hago trampa, no puedo darle menos de cuatro estrellas a nada artúrico. Me quedo con el corazón encogido y un lamento.
—Francisco
