What do You think about The Prince And The Pilgrim (1997)?
Prince Alexander is born into a dangerous world, since his father is brother to the volatile, unpopular March, King of Cornwall. March murders his brother, leaving widowed Princess Anna and young Alexander vulnerable and fleeing for their lives. Years pass and just before Alexander turns 18 his mother shares the truth of his past with him and taxes him with the quest to avenge his father. Alexander falls into the hands of Morgan, who of course enchants and seduces him, before he at last finds his feet again. Running parallel to Alexander's story is Alice's, as she accompanies her father on his many pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and grows into a very beautiful young woman. The two meet near the end of the story. Stewart bases her tale on both history and legend and does a fine job merging fact and conjecture. Alexander himself never seems to come alive, however, and as a character does not seem to rise above a stereotypical shallow young man. Unusual for Stewart to have this sort of weak link. For readers who enjoy Arthurian tales and in particular Stewart's versions.
—Phoebe
Rather a light weight story after the initial four books in the Merlin series, but it definitely belongs in the series. Definitely would recommend reading the others before this one because of the occasional references to events in them, although she does give you a quick overview of the reference.As usual, I stand in awe of Lady Stewart's breadth and use of vocabulary, her blending of her take on the "historical" readings (i.e. La Morte d'Arthur), and her skill in descriptive prose.Although not my favorite of the series, it's a worthwhile read for the pure pleasure of immersing oneself in her gorgeous prose if for no other reason.
—Walter Conner
I really enjoyed this novel. It's rather shorter and lighter than Stewart's other Arthurian novels, but that's no bad thing in itself. It also takes place elsewhere in Arthurian Britain (as well as on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Tours), so is somewhat tangential to the core legends.The novel tells the tales of Alice the Pretty Pilgrim and Alexander the Fatherless. The two characters and their stories can be found in Malory, but Stewart has woven a full novel from such brief allusive origins. It is a light lovely read, and a perfect choice for my first book while on holiday!ETA: This might seem a fairly random comment to add to the review, but as a m-m romance author perhaps it's relevant to my interests... Not that any of the romances in this novel are m-m! But I wanted to say that I appreciated how sex was handled in this novel. While we always 'faded to black' and there were no actual sex scenes, neither was there any coyness about the matter. The characters wanted sex, had sex (both appropriate and inappropriate), and enjoyed it. Hurrah for such a matter-of-fact approach!
—Julie Bozza
