College is where I rediscovered a whole new layer to what has been with me since childhood, when I first watched Jerry Zucker’s film, First Knight (1995). Studying the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites for my A-Levels in 2006 led me to John William Waterhouse’s painting, The Lady of Shalott (1888), and with Tennyson’s accompanying poem (1832), I was in a world of knights and brotherhood, of courtly love and betrayal—the world of Camelot.
In my local bookshop I found Arthurian classics, contemporary Arthurian fiction, and some retellings that were so diabolical I only got through them because they were Arthurian. It was then, in 2006, when the idea of modernising the legends came to me. I missed most of secondary school due to a combination of appendicitis, glandular fever, and aggressive adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. I felt nostalgic for the school years I had absented, and the characters I created—sullen, offbeat Lancelot; troubled, questioning Arthur; idealistic, relentless Gwenhwyfar—fitted perfectly into my old school environment.
But I didn’t just want to write a book about high school, I wanted to write about politics, and the way I felt the world was heading at the time. I followed current affairs closely, and was heavily inspired by films such as Donnie Darko (2001) and Children of Men (2006). My interest in “depressing films” as my family called it, was not so removed from the Arthurian legends into which there are dark themes woven; good versus evil, power and powerlessness; yet also there is love and loyalty, and ideals of justice and equality. Most Arthurian retellings culminate in King Arthur’s death or mortal wounding, but all of them end with hope: that Arthur will rise again when Britain needs him most—the once and future king. This is the premise of The Future King series: it’s Guinevere, Arthur, Lancelot and Merlin “come again” to save a near-future Britain from darkness: standing against a totalitarian regime to fight for a better world—their own Camelot.
In Logres, fifteen-year-old Gwenhwyfar moves from Swansea to begin life at new school Logres. Navigating new friendships and rivalries, Gwenhwyfar quickly falls for the handsome and intelligent Arthur, who—dissatisfied with the school’s censored syllabus—is already questioning his world. Mostly concerned with her own social standing, Gwenhwyfar gradually becomes aware of the unspeakable cruelty behind the government’s facade of prosperity: cruelty that sees the homeless, “illegals”, and people referred to as “lessers” vanished through so-called “Mobilisation Centres”. After meeting characters Bedivere, Morgan, and history-teacher Marvin (self-proclaimed Merlin), Gwenhwyfar joins the after-school club “The Round Table”. Here, alongside her friends, she does what she can to stand up and hold the government to account.
The direction of Logres was pretty clear to me from the start. I wanted to gradually introduce the dystopian elements as the characters become more aware of the power abuses happening around them, and to contrast the typical “high school drama” with wider societal issues—television series The OC (2003-7) has been another inspiration of mine. Though the main characters are teenagers, the book deals with some dark and complex themes: oppression, surveillance, and resistance. Because of this, Logres appeals to a broad audience of young adults and adults who enjoy YA, Arthurian and dystopian fiction.
There are plenty of dystopian books that drop the reader right in the midst of a pre-established dystopian world; I wanted to write the novel that explores the gradual (yet alarmingly rapid) erosion of rights. Gwenhwyfar lives a normal high-school life until she can’t anymore; until her government threatens to take away everything she knows and everyone she loves. She must also face betrayals from friends and family. Her father’s secrets and her own decision to join the anti-government rebel organisation Freee Countries might just bring her life crashing down. With one mistake, prime minister George Milton’s government New National will disappear them all. And to top it off? Once Gwenhwyfar and Arthur are a thing, she falls for Arthur’s rival, the rebellious and unpredictable Lancelot.
With Logres the first book in a planned series, the rest of The Future King series aims to cover Gwenhwyfar and Arthur’s rise to power (under Merlin’s guidance) in an increasingly fractious world—civil war and climate catastrophe, the establishing of Camelot and Gwenhwyfar and Arthur’s rule, all brought down by the series’ Mordred and the famous Guinevere-Lancelot-Arthur love triangle. I believe that freedoms are easily lost and not so easily recovered. In Logres, I attempt to explore this reality and balance it out with hope.
In Logres 2, the second book in The Future King series (self-published in 2020), Gwenhwyfar must discover why the New moral Army has taken her parents and what she can to save them, while Arthur becomes the leader Marvin is moulding him to be.
In the third book, Pendragon (which I hope to self-publish in 2026), Gwenhwyfar is facing mandatory service with New National’s new youth program. Arthur becomes entangled with rebel separatists and prime minister George Milton. Throughout The Future King series I hope to explore ideas of legend, power, and corruption alongside found family, friendship and love. I write flawed, imperfect characters who are relatable and real.
I self-published Logres via Amazon KDP in 2015. In a world of lies, rebellion is the only truth. I hope to bring the hope and myth of the Arthurian legends to life; to make them real and true and relevant to readers today. I also hope to hold up a mirror to our own society and show us where we are lacking. Most of all, I want to tell the tale of Gwenhwyfar, Arthur, and Lancelot; of their friendship, and of all they lose and gain in their fight for a better world.
M. L. Mackworth-Praed 