I hope it's okay to leap into this thread with recs, days later, but if you like more Guinevere with less Lancelot, have you tried Jo Walton's Tir Tanagiri Saga? It's an alternative version of the Arthurian cycle (alternative in the sense that names have been changed and it draws very heavily on Welsh Arthurian material and early medieval poetry in general, while keeping a lot of the events from Malory in place).
However, in Walton's version of Britain, there is (essentially) complete gender equality, and it's told from the point of view of a woman who is the Arthur figure's war leader. Weirdly, it's as if she's the Lancelot figure, but without the love triangle stuff (in part because she's asexual). The series also emphasises the crucial importance of non-military work, particularly quartermasters, networks of messengers, and women who maintain castles and act as diplomats. Although there's a lot of supernatural stuff going on, it also celebrates the work of ordinary people who make the land safe for ordinary, day to day activities, and the more elevated political and military leaders who recognise the crucial importance of this work.
There is one spoiler in the first chapter that I'd probably want to warn you about if you did intend to read the series, so let me know if it sounds interesting to you and I'll explain what I mean.
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Date: 2015-09-16 12:39 pm (UTC)However, in Walton's version of Britain, there is (essentially) complete gender equality, and it's told from the point of view of a woman who is the Arthur figure's war leader. Weirdly, it's as if she's the Lancelot figure, but without the love triangle stuff (in part because she's asexual). The series also emphasises the crucial importance of non-military work, particularly quartermasters, networks of messengers, and women who maintain castles and act as diplomats. Although there's a lot of supernatural stuff going on, it also celebrates the work of ordinary people who make the land safe for ordinary, day to day activities, and the more elevated political and military leaders who recognise the crucial importance of this work.
There is one spoiler in the first chapter that I'd probably want to warn you about if you did intend to read the series, so let me know if it sounds interesting to you and I'll explain what I mean.