9 h 31 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 31 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a king builds a just world, but cannot make the people he loves live by its vows?
In Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, Arthur unites a broken land and calls his Round Table to service and honor. Yet Camelot’s greatest threats come from within. Lancelot’s hidden love for Queen Guinevere divides his loyalty, while pride, jealousy and doubt begin to weaken the court’s trust.
This long poem unfolds in twelve parts, moving through young knights’ hopes, troubled marriages and the quest for the Holy Grail. The Coming of Arthur, Gareth and Lynette, and Lancelot and Elaine bring different lives into focus. Through flowing, unrhymed verse, Tennyson explores the strain between high ideals and the desires that test them.
What you’ll discover
- A kingdom built on vows Enter Arthur’s court, where a strict code asks more than courage from every knight.
- Honor divided by love Follow Lancelot as loyalty to Arthur strains against his secret bond with Guinevere.
- Service before glory Meet Gareth, who hides his rank and works in the kitchen to prove his worth.
- Trust under pressure See how Geraint’s jealousy clouds his love for Enid and turns devotion toward suspicion.
- Verse with a rolling rhythm Settle into musical lines that carry tales of duty, longing and the struggle for self-command.
Who will love it
Readers who love King Arthur, knights, quests and tragic love will find a rich retelling here. It also suits anyone who enjoys vivid storytelling in verse and moral questions about promises and loyalty.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Arthur builds his kingdom on promises
- A doubted king asks for faith
- Gareth earns honour through humble service
- Suspicion blinds Geraint to loyal love
- Vivien presses against Merlin’s weary defences
- Elaine mistakes kindness for possible love
- The Grail draws knights from duty
- Promises depend on the people keeping them
- Private desires test a shared ideal
Who’s who
- ArthurThe young king who founds the Round Table and hopes to bind his knights to purity, honest speech and the righting of wrongs.
- GuinevereArthur's queen, married in May, who is drawn to warmth and colour and is torn between loyalty to her husband and love for Lancelot.
- LancelotArthur's greatest knight, who loves the Queen in secret and is troubled by the clash between that love and his loyalty to the King.
- GarethA prince who serves in the kitchen to win a place at the Round Table and rides out to rescue Lyonors.
- EnidA gentle, loyal wife who rides in silence ahead of her suspicious husband Geraint and still tries to save him from danger.
- MerlinThe old wizard who helped Arthur to the throne and is worn down by a clever young woman who wants his secret charm.
- VivienA sharp, spiteful young woman who believes no one is truly pure and sets out to prove it by ensnaring the wise.
- ElaineThe lily maid of Astolat, who loves Lancelot after one meeting and keeps his shield in her tower.
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Idylls of the King
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1859
A kitchen boy rides out to rescue a lady, while Arthur's dream of a pure Round Table starts to crack.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What do you do when the king you serve says a man's word is God within him, and then the people around you begin to break theirs? That question runs through Idylls of the King, the poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Idylls of the King at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 55 min4 h 40 min fast, 7 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 84,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1859by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A doubted king wins a bride and a realm
The poem opens before Arthur is fully accepted as king. Britain is torn by petty rulers and raided by heathen armies. In the land of Cameliard wolves even carry off children, and King Leodogran sends a cry for help to the newly crowned Arthur.
Arthur comes, though many lords say he is no son of Uther. He rides past Guinevere, Leodogran's daughter, as she watches from the wall. She does not notice him, but he feels her glance strike into his life. He clears the forest, then rides off to fight rebel barons, certain that without her he is only half a ruler.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1859
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Tennyson, Alfred. Idylls of the King. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/idylls-of-the-king.
Tennyson, A. (2026). Idylls of the King. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/idylls-of-the-king (Original work published 1859)
Tennyson, Alfred. Idylls of the King. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/idylls-of-the-king.
@book{tennyson2026idylls,
author = {Tennyson, Alfred},
title = {Idylls of the King},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/idylls-of-the-king},
note = {First published 1859}
}
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What is Idylls of the King about?
It retells the legend of King Arthur in twelve linked poems. Arthur founds the Round Table, his knights go on quests and fall in love, and the fellowship slowly weakens through jealousy, secret passion and betrayal.
Who are the main characters in Idylls of the King?
The main figures are Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and Vivien, along with knights such as Gareth, Geraint, Balin, Percivale and Pelleas, and women such as Enid and Elaine.
Is Idylls of the King based on a true story?
No. It draws on old Arthurian legend, including the medieval writings of Malory and others, and Tennyson shaped it as a moral poem. He published the tales over many years in the nineteenth century.
The author
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1809–1892 · English Victorian poet
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) was an English poet born in Somersby, Lincolnshire. He later lived on the Isle of Wight and in Surrey. He wrote The Princess (1847), In Memoriam (1850), and Enoch Arden (1864). Idylls of the King appeared between 1859 and 1885. He became Poet Laureate in 1850.
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