cover image THE LADY OF THE SEA: The Third of the Tristan and Isolde Novels

THE LADY OF THE SEA: The Third of the Tristan and Isolde Novels

Rosalind Miles, . . Crown, $23.95 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-609-60962-0

Women reign supreme in British feminist scholar Miles's richly textured rendering of the tale of Tristan and Isolde. In this vibrant trilogy finale, Ireland's fiery-haired Queen Isolde longs to end her loveless marriage to Mark, King of Cornwall, whom she wed only to save her beloved homeland from war. Isolde's true soul mate is Mark's noble nephew, Tristan of Lyonesse. (For readers rusty on Arthurian legend, the pair's romantic fate was sealed with a potion.) When Isolde learns that the Western Isle will soon be under siege by the savage Picts—so named for their colorful face and body tattoos—she sails home to confront their charismatic leader, King Darath, who plans to take the comely queen as his bride. Meanwhile, Tristan is torn between his love for Isolde and duty to cowardly King Mark, who, without offspring of his own, must name a successor to the Cornwall throne. Miles (I, Elizabeth ; the Guenevere trilogy) writes flowery prose that borders on the florid ("Swollen clouds raced screaming through the air and peal after peal of thunder came rolling in from the edge of doom"), mingling Arthurian lords and ladies, red-robed papal envoys, sword-wielding madmen and crooning truth-tellers. Despite the author's occasional verbal excesses, fans of historical romance are sure to embrace this paean to the power of the female sex. Agent, Philippa Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic. (Dec.)