The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights is the final, unfinished work of Pulitzer-Prize winning author John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is most famous for The Grapes of Wrath (1939), East of Eden (1952), and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights is Steinbeck’s only fantasy novel. He began writing it in 1958 but abandoned the project in late 1959 after completing seven chapters. Steinbeck died nine years later, but the book wasn’t published until 1976.

Steinbeck based most of the novel on Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, first published in 1485. Malory’s publisher used the title of the final chapter, “The Death of Arthur,” for the entire book, even though the narrative covers Arthur’s full reign. Because Malory’s Middle English text is difficult for most contemporary readers to understand, Steinbeck initially began the project with the intention of translating Malory’s book into modern English. Although he sticks closely to the source material in the first five chapters of the novel, the final two chapters incorporate new scenes and dialogue that convey Steinbeck’s own vision of Arthur’s world.