The Book of Three
core novel 1964 The Chronicles of Prydain
Record
| First published | 1964 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.98 (84,809 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 224 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780805080483 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The Book of Three, the first novel of the Chronicles of Prydain, introduces Taran, an adolescent Assistant Pig-Keeper in the land of Prydain who longs for adventure beyond his quiet life. When Hen Wen, an oracular pig in his care, flees her enclosure in fright, Taran's pursuit of her leads him into the wider world, where he meets the noble warrior Prince Gwydion and is drawn into the search for the sword Dyrnwyn. Along the way he gathers companions, including the strong-willed Princess Eilonwy, the boastful bard Fflewddur Fflam, and the shaggy, loyal creature Gurgi, and the group finds itself standing against the schemes of the fearsome Horned King and the undead Cauldron-Born who serve the dark lord Arawn.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Chronicles of Prydain
- Series: The Chronicles of Prydain core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Lloyd Alexander
Notes
- From the series record (The Chronicles of Prydain): First-edition publisher Holt, Rinehart and Winston (New York) for all 5 novels.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Chronicles of Prydain: position 1 of 5: next The Black Cauldron (1965)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Prydain
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Three
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