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Rating: 
Summary: As Only A Selection Of Stories, Limited In Its Appeal
Review: Eugene Vinaver is the editor of the standard version of Mallory, "Works." Here he has selected a few of the author's tales, largely the stories leading up to Arthur's death. However, this remains essentially a skimming of Mallory's work, somewhat akin to a condensed version, collected I suspect for academics wishing to teach the Arthurian romances without having to delve too long or deeply into Mallory's entire narrative. As such it provides a glimpse into Mallory's version of the legend, yet remains in part fragmentary---especially the story of Pellas and Ettard---thus limiting its impact. Also, Vinaver continues his practice from "Works" of footnoting certain words he has chosen not to translate. I found this annoying as I could perceive no apparent reason in his choice not to complete the translation, and though in most cases I was able to interpret their meaning within their context, their footnoting continued to drag my eye to the translation provided at the bottom of the page, interrupting the flow of the narrative. If a credible reason for this practice can be provided, I would love to hear it. Those who wish to read only what the editor has chosen to highlight in Mallory's tale may be satisfied. For all others, I would direct you to Vinaver's complete edition, "Works."
Rating:
Summary: As Only A Selection Of Stories, Limited In Its Appeal
Review: Eugene Vinaver is the editor of the standard version of Mallory, "Works." Here he has selected a few of the author's tales, largely the stories leading up to Arthur's death. However, this remains essentially a skimming of Mallory's work, somewhat akin to a condensed version, collected I suspect for academics wishing to teach the Arthurian romances without having to delve too long or deeply into Mallory's entire narrative. As such it provides a glimpse into Mallory's version of the legend, yet remains in part fragmentary---especially the story of Pellas and Ettard---thus limiting its impact. Also, Vinaver continues his practice from "Works" of footnoting certain words he has chosen not to translate. I found this annoying as I could perceive no apparent reason in his choice not to complete the translation, and though in most cases I was able to interpret their meaning within their context, their footnoting continued to drag my eye to the translation provided at the bottom of the page, interrupting the flow of the narrative. If a credible reason for this practice can be provided, I would love to hear it. Those who wish to read only what the editor has chosen to highlight in Mallory's tale may be satisfied. For all others, I would direct you to Vinaver's complete edition, "Works."
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Introduction to Malory
Review: I've used this text to teach upper-division college classes on the Arthurian legend, and I'd say that this is the best text for that purpose. First, although there are some useful and interesting tales missing (such as the tale of Sir Lancelot, and the tale of Sir Gareth), most the the truly vital ones are there -- and the death of Arthur is presented in its entirety. Second, Vinaver DOES modernize the spelling. But you can't modernize the spelling of an archaic word and, since he is NOT writing a translation but providing a modern-spelling edition, he simply standardizes the spelling of the archaic words and provides a gloss on each one. This is much more useful than the banal translations by Keith Barnes and Richard Barber (Legends of Arthur, from Boydell and Brewer). This edition is the best way to get used to Malory's beautiful style without having to figure out Middle English spellings (which isn't really very difficult in Malory's case). It's a well organized book, and makes Malory appealing without compromising on the language -- which is one of Malory's greatest facets. The only problem I have with this text is Vinaver's insistence on re-ordering the tales according to Malory's French originals. "The Knight of the Cart" should be presented AFTER "The Poisoned Apple," and certainly not before the Quest of the Holy Grail. It makes much better sense where Malory put it, where it shows Lanbcelot's deteriorating morals as his relationship with Guenever intensifies. Also, I'd like to see either more from the Quest for the Holy Grail, or nothing at all. The tiny fragment of the story presented here is almost incomprehensible to first-time readers.
Rating: 
Summary: There are better versions of Le Morte D'Arthur available
Review: There must be hundreds of translations, retellings, and reinventions of Thomas Mallory's works available. Unfortunately, this one is not high on my list of recommendations. Only nine stories are presented here, and many essential tales, such as the "Death of Merlin" and "Tristram and Isode", are omitted completely. Vinaver's translation is cumbersome because, although he claims to modernize spellings and standardize names, there are still many words and phrases he chooses not to translate, so the reader has to constantly refer to footnotes at the bottom of the page. If I wanted to do all this work, I would have read the original version with no modernization at all! The only redeeming addition to this book is the preface which discusses the difference between Mallory's version of the Arthurian romance and the French Vulgate Cycle upon which he drew his material. Instead of this edition, I would refer readers to Keith Baines' modern prose edition (ISBN: 0451625676). It contains all the stories and is much easier to read.
Rating:
Summary: There are better versions of Le Morte D'Arthur available
Review: There must be hundreds of translations, retellings, and reinventions of Thomas Mallory's works available. Unfortunately, this one is not high on my list of recommendations. Only nine stories are presented here, and many essential tales, such as the "Death of Merlin" and "Tristram and Isode", are omitted completely. Vinaver's translation is cumbersome because, although he claims to modernize spellings and standardize names, there are still many words and phrases he chooses not to translate, so the reader has to constantly refer to footnotes at the bottom of the page. If I wanted to do all this work, I would have read the original version with no modernization at all! The only redeeming addition to this book is the preface which discusses the difference between Mallory's version of the Arthurian romance and the French Vulgate Cycle upon which he drew his material. Instead of this edition, I would refer readers to Keith Baines' modern prose edition (ISBN: 0451625676). It contains all the stories and is much easier to read.
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