The Coming of Arthur, the second of four volumes in renowned British poet and priest Malcolm Guite’s masterwork, Merlin’s Isle: An Arthuriad, will be available November 9 from Rabbit Room Press. Generating record-breaking presales for its Nashville-based publisher, The Coming of Arthur follows series debut Galahad and the Grail, which reached the Top 50 on Amazon’s “Best Sellers in Books” chart and has sold over 50,000 copies since its April release.
A 372-page hardcover volume showcasing more than 25 original illustrations from award-winning artist Stephen Crotts, The Coming of Arthur also features a foreword by New York Times bestselling author and mythographer Martin Shaw. Chronicling the destiny of the heroic King Arthur, one of the most beloved characters in all of literature, Guite’s mastery of the ballad form is evident as he brings fresh clarity and thought-provoking relevance to this timeless coming-of-age tale.
The Coming of Arthur takes readers back to craggy Tintagel to discover how it all began. Raised by Sir Ector and tutored by the wizard Merlin, young Arthur must grow into his destiny as the foretold king. He will need the aid of the perilous elves, wisdom beyond his years, and a host of virtuous knights to weather the storms to come.
“I was well aware as I wrote this that we are living through a crisis of ‘masculinity’ for contemporary young men,” Guite shares. “How does one become a man? Who can you trust and follow? We hear so much, sometimes unhelpfully, of ’toxic masculinity.’ But what about healthy, vibrant, life-giving masculinity? The kind of manhood that not only leads but also serves. I hope the story of The Coming of Arthur, and his journey from youth to manhood, and especially his founding of the Round Table with its essential oath of chivalry and courtesy, will fill a gap and meet a need for positive examples of true manhood.”
Newly minted bestseller Galahad and the Grail, now in its fourth printing, and November’s The Coming of Arthur will be followed by 2027’s Days of the Round Table and Merlin’s Isle series finale The Passing of Arthur in 2028. Of the unfolding epic poem cycle—the first undertaking of its kind in nearly two centuries—Guite says, “My deepest hope is that Merlin’s Isle may be part of a cultural shift, a turning way from AI slop and the disconnected episodes and reels of the online world, and a return to the deep myths and stories that bind us to life and to one another and make better sense of the world we live in. But I also hope that this will happen not in some dull classroom but in the midst of families and friends discovering and enjoying a really exciting story.”
