I am incredibly fortunate to be exposed to so many good books. Rounding out my commentary on books for 2020 is this fresh take on Arthurian legends: Queen of None by Natania Barron. Forget what you think you know about Camelot, she recreates it from an entirely different perspective with new twists on the familiar characters. This review was originally published in the November 1, 2020 issue of Booklist.
In Queen of None, Natania Barron delves into Arthurian legend from the perspective of Anna Pendragon, Arthur’s younger sister. Prophesied by Merlin to be forgotten, Anna was barely a woman when she was married off to an older man to forge an alliance for her brother. Years later, she returns as a widow to Arthur’s court, where her eldest son, Gawain, is already training as a knight. She finds herself a pawn once again, caught between her brother, half-sisters, and Merlin’s plans while searching for her own happiness. Her lingering affection for Bedevere, illicit father to her twin boys, may be ignored again in favor of another alliance that will further her brother’s needs. Surprises come from within as well, as Anna discovers that she too has magical abilities, inherited from her mother’s side of the family, shared to some extent with her half-sisters Morgen, Morgase, and Elaine. Barron’s take on Arthurian legend gets readers exactly where they expect to be in the end, with entirely new insight on how to reach that point.