The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad

I have a very exciting book review in store for you today! This post is going to be about The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad, which was published last year by the Rabbit Room. It’s a beautiful red book with a splendid selection of stories by a variety of writers, and is one of my very favorite books I own!

A Beautiful Book

There is no doubt that this is an absolutely beautiful book. It’s one of those books that will never look as pretty online as it does in person. It’s a shining red hard back with gold lettering, and the imprint of the one and only Sir Galahad on the cover. The pages are those soft, cream colored pages that are so pleasant to your eyes and common among the Rabbit Room’s prints.

The book came with an intriguing slip of paper within its cover that includes the correct table of contents (the one in the books has unmatched page numbers). I used the paper as a book mark as I read through the book, and love the writing written on it, which is so much like that of the book.

All over, this is such a wonderful feeling book that is a joy to hold in your lap. It cost around thirty dollars for me to purchase, making it one of the more expensive books I’ve bought, but I am so glad I did anyway. Having the book in your hands, feeling its smooth cover and savoring the rich colors, is half the experience of the book. If you desire to read this book, I highly suggest buying a copy of your own.

The Authors

The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad is unique in the fact that there is a wide range of authors who wrote stories for it. Because of this, I expected each story to stand alone with story and style, but that was not the case. Each writer’s story fits snugly in its place, only adding to the rich and compelling story. I would love to learn more about how they went about creating this connection so strongly, because it is very impressive. While each writer brought something beautiful and fun to the book, they never took away from the overall theme and feel binding the book together.

The writers who contributed to this work are varied in how well known their names are. Some, like Jonathan Rogers, Jennifer Trafton, and A. S. Peterson have had enough work published through the Rabbit Room for their names to be recognizable and loved. But many others are some you likely haven’t heard of. A lot of the stories were written by members of the adult Habit community, started by Jonathan Rogers.

A few weeks ago I posted about a gathering I got to attend with some friends I’ve made over the past couple years. Because that was the result of the younger Habit community (an absolutely wonderful place), four writers of The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad (and members of the Habit community) were there. I was able to meet them in person, and I now have four signings in my copy of the book!

The first author I got to meet is (of course) Jonathan Rogers. He wrote “Sir Galahad and the Knight of Unmitigated Calamity,” which is one of the very first in the book. I had him sign my copy of The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad as well as a couple other books, and it makes me so happy to have the signature of my wonderful writing teacher in my book.

Andrea Yenne (author of “Sir Galahad and the Bowthorpe Oak”) was also at the gathering. She is the wonderful moderator of our Habit, Student Edition. I’m thankful for her in so many ways, and her story is beautiful. I am very pleased to have her signature in my book.

Besides that, the other two signatures I have in my book are those of Jennifer Cerino and Loren Warnemuende (both members of the Habit). I enjoyed their stories very much, and you can bet I was grinning happily while they signed their names in my book. 🙂

Many Tales and One Story

As I was planning out this blog post in my head a few weeks ago, I envisioned zeroing in on two or three certain chapters from the book, like a series of mini book reviews. I thought that all the stories were going to be set apart from each other; more like a collected works than a story book. But the closer I got to finishing The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad, the more wrong I realized I was. These are not separate tales that are indifferent to each other. And while they could be read in any desired order, I would argue that a lot is to be gained by reading the book from beginning to end.

The book starts out with a light and humorous tone. There are many rambling footnotes discussing every detail from ancient wooden mirrors to quotations that have been misinterpreted for years. They are so well placed and so well chosen that a lot of laughs would be lost if the footnotes never existed. It’s important to read them and let them help tell the story.

As the stories go on, I found that they became richer and richer. They were becoming full of meaning and beauty that I could not have imagined from the first pages. Each tale was using the one before it to tell a deeper story, causing them to all come together in my mind as one. The character that I had seen displayed in Galahad was becoming more vivid, revealed through the tales in the book. It was done so well.

The conclusion to the book is beautiful. I won’t try to summarize it, not so much because I’m afraid of spoilers, but because I think this is something that needs to be experienced through reading it. There is such a sense of satisfaction and wonder when you shut the book at the end of the last chapter. You have gone on a journey with Sir Galahad, and you have come to the end at last.

"Then he turned, and went his way in wonder."
-p. 312, the last sentence of the book. 

Final Thoughts

This book was all that I expected and so much more. It has become one of my most favorite books on my shelf, not just for the gorgeous cover, but because of the story inside. I hope you’ll buy this book yourself and experience the wonderful story told in it. It is a pure, lovely book that will fill your mind with beautiful and good thoughts (Philippians 4:8).

Have you read The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad? What are your thoughts on it? Did you love it as much as I did?