The Witch in the Wood
novel 1939 The Once and Future King
Record
| First published | 1939 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | |
| First-edition ISBN | 9789997409904 |
Synopsis
The second installment of T. H. White's Arthurian saga follows the newly crowned King Arthur as he consolidates power against rebellious barons while being mentored by the wizard Merlyn. Simultaneously, the story introduces the scheming Orkney clan -- four princes and their magical mother Morgause -- whose ambitions will ultimately threaten Arthur's kingdom. The novel explores Arthur's evolving philosophy of "Might vs. Right" and sets in motion events that will shape the kingdom's future.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Once and Future King
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: T.H. White
Notes
- The original standalone 1939 edition. Heavily cut, the 1958 revision (retitled 'The Queen of Air and Darkness') is less than half this version's length, with most of the actual prose rewritten rather than lightly trimmed, a tonal shift toward darker and less comic material, and at least one character's narrative role changed. Registered separately to preserve the historical record without double-counting content against the unified 1958 Core Canon entry.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within The Once and Future King (standalone work): position 2 of 4: previous The Sword in the Stone (1938) · next The Once and Future King (1958)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_of_Air_and_Darkness
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witch_in_the_Wood
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