Yvain The Knight of the Lion A Graphic Novel [Hardcover]

In his first graphic novel, National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson turns to Arthurian lore, with captivating art by Andrea Offermann bringing the classic legend to life.

Eager for glory and heedless of others, Sir Yvain sets out from King Arthur’s court and defeats a local lord in battle, unknowingly intertwining his future with the lives of two compelling women: Lady Laudine, the beautiful widow of the fallen lord, and her sly maid Lunette. In a stunning visual interpretation of a 12th century epic poem by Chrétien de Troyes, readers are — at first glance — transported into a classic Arthurian romance complete with errant knights, plundering giants, and fire-breathing dragons. A closer look, however, reveals a world rich with unspoken emotion. Striking, evocative art by Andrea Offermann sheds light upon the inner lives of medieval women and the consequences Yvain’s oblivious actions have upon Laudine and Lunette. Renowned author M. T. Anderson embraces a new form with a sophisticated graphic novel that challenges Yvain’s role as hero, delves into the honesty and anguish of love, and asks just how fundamentally the true self can really change."Yvain The Knight Of The Lion," by M.T. Anderson, illustrated by Andrea Offerman, is based on a 12th century epic poem by Chretien de Troyes, the original source of the King Arthur stories…The result is a sharp critique of medieval social strictures, with stunning battle scenes, monsters, and blood.
—The New York Times Book Review

Anderson’s (Symphony for the City of the Dead) clever, nuanced recasting of Chrétien de Troyes’s Arthurian legend blends archaic courtliness (“May God hear you”) with modern clarity (“Oh, dry up”)...Offermann’s (the Thickety series) sequential artwork provides a thrilling, nonstop barrage of swordplay, gallantry, and magic; her battle scenes pulse with life, esplD