I believe this was merely part of an enchantment.The Sword in the Stone (1938) 'I have been on that quest you said for a tutor, and I have found him. Sex may be alluded to but not in any vulgar or explicit way. Whatever happens serves to advance the tale. There are no gratuitous acts of violence or sex in this book. Wodehouse books (mostly those that featured Jeeves).) (As a point of reference, I also enjoyed all of the Sherlock Holmes books and the P.G. I highly recommend this book as thought-provoking and entertaining. When I read these books, the Once and Future King came in a single volume comprising the first four books, and the Book of Merlin was separate, but that may have changed in the interim. The fifth book, the Book of Merlin, was actually suppressed or banned in wartime England. I found it very moving then and now, in recalling it. The succeeding books tell of Arthur's reign, the tragedy of the love affair between Arthur's closest friend Lancelot and Arthur's wife Guinevere, the scheming Mordred, the quest for the holy Grail, and various tragic characters. The book includes a lot of humor, deriving largely from Merlin, who lives backwards in time and thus can foresee the future but also has difficulty remembering whether something has happened or not yet. It stimulates one's imagination with unusual events such as Merlin turning Arthur into a hawk as an educational experience. It is a great tale that includes magic and adventure as well as day-to-day life.

White's 'The Once and Future King.' Book 1 tells of Arthur's childhood and his ascension to the throne. The Sword in the Stone is the first book of T.H. This is a good book to challenge an adolescent reader and while some of the scenes might be a little morbid, this is a book that a preteen could read by themselves without need of parental guidance or post-reading discussion. There are hints of gruesome endings that, in themselves, might be a little shocking, but are no worse than the old Grimm's fairy tales. It is also a suspenseful book where Arthur and others around him face the real prospect of death. There is little doubt as to whom one is supposed to (and can happily) cheer for, feel empathy for, or jeer against. Generally, the 'good' characters are clearly and genuinely good, the compromised characters have clear strengths and weaknesses, and the 'bad' characters are clearly evil.

There were just a few expletives and one bawdy song (which took me some time to explain to my 9 year old daughter). This was a mostly wholesome tale that includes some history (medieval England), a lot of fantasy (magic and mythological creatures) some difficult-to-understand weirdness (the anachronisms with Merlin's moving backward through time) and a lot of tutorials (delivered in dry Middle English). I am writing this review at some remove from the reading experience, thus it will lack the detail I typically try to include.

Once and future king sword in the stone