Song of the Sparrow is a young adult novel by Lisa Ann Sandell; it was published in 2007. The narrative is written entirely in lyrical form. The story is set during the Dark Ages in Britain and is a reimagining of the story of The Lady of Shalott, a character from Arthurian legend. The novel tells the story of eight-year-old Elaine Ascalot who has already been witness to so much tragedy at her young age. After her mother is murdered by a yellow hair warrior and her family home on the island of Shalott is burned to the ground, Elaine goes to live with her two brothers, Lavain and Tirry, and her father in a British army encampment. Elaine meets a lot of new people, and quickly befriends Arthur, Lancelot, Tristan, and Gawain, who are also residents of the encampment. The years pass by, and Elaine grows to be a beautiful 16-year-old girl. She is responsible for all of the menial work and household tasks, and also helps to heal the camp’s soldiers. She soon falls in love with her childhood friend Lancelot, who has become Arthur's right-hand man—a position made even more important after Arthur is forced to assume leadership after the camp's leader Aurelius is poisoned. Some of the older leaders resent Arthur’s youth in spite of his hard-earned experience, and they refuse to follow him, deciding instead to leave the camp. The same night that Arthur is proclaimed leader, Lancelot tells Elaine that he will be sent to recruit Lodengrance, as he will be an essential figure at Arthur’s round table. Elaine is one of only two women who live in the camp, and this sometimes makes her feel awkward. However, when Lancelot remarks on the fact that she is a grown woman, she is flattered by his comment. Lancelot sets out on his journey to recruit Lodengrance, and Tristan enters, and he and Elaine discuss how he came to be part of the army. The next day, Elaine is sewing clothes for one of the soldiers when she accidentally pricks her finger with the sewing needle. She interprets this to be a bad omen, and is sure that something terrible is about to befall one of the soldiers. She becomes so upset that she runs crying from the tent and is comforted by Morgan, the only other woman living in the camp. Arthur then enters the tent and explains to the women his plans to attack the Saxons. While he doesn't want to murder anyone, he feels that it is the only way to ensure the safety of his people. A few days later, Elaine is relieved when Lancelot returns from his mission with Lodengrance. They have brought with them Lodengrance’s beautiful daughter, Gwynivere, who is to be wed to Arthur, much to her chagrin. Elaine is crushed to learn that, in Lancelot’s eyes, she is still a child, and that he is in love with Gwynivere. To make matters worse Gwynivere treats Elaine cruelly and views herself as superior to Elaine. To get back at her, Elaine and Tristan place a frog in Gwynivere's embroidery pouch. Tristan urges Elaine not to follow the men to the attack on the Saxons, but Elaine refuses to heed the warning. She almost dies crossing a river and is eventually caught by Saxon soldiers. Gwynivere appears and the two try to fight off the attackers, but the women are overpowered and are taken back to the Saxon camp as prisoners. Later on, Elaine is woken by the sound of Arthur's army fighting the Saxons. As the two women spend more time in the camp they overhear the Saxons planning a surprise attack on Arthur, and they sense an opportunity to escape. They dig their way out of their prison and Elaine distracts the Saxon guards while Gywnivere runs off to warn Arthur. Elaine manages to make her way to the river, but just as she is about to climb inside a boat and escape, a Saxon arrow pierces her chest. She then crawls into the boat and floats downstream, where she blacks out and is found by Arthur's men. At the end of the novel, Elaine is approached by Lancelot, and the two are able to reconcile and restore their friendship. Shortly thereafter, Tristan approaches Elaine and confesses that he has been jealous of Lancelot because he has been in love with Elaine. This shocks Elaine, who realizes that she's in love with him as well. Upon returning to camp they all gather at the round table where Arthur invites everyone to start a new life and city with him in that very location. Elaine and Tristan, Elaine's family, and many of Elaine's friends stand with their consent to build their new city and establish their freedom in Camelot.

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Lisa Ann Sandell

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