The White Hart is the first novel in the five-volume "The Book of the Isle" series by US fantasy author Nancy Springer

Nancy Springer

Nancy Connor Springer is an American author of fantasy, young adult literature, mystery, and science fiction. Her novel Larque on the Wing won the Tiptree Award, and she has also received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.-Series:Book of the Isle* 1. The White Hart * 2...

. It was first published in the United States by Pocket Books

Pocket Books

Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...

, a division of Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...

 in 1979. It is set in a land much like pre-Roman Britain. It tells the story of a young bethrothed couple, Cuin son of Clarric, and Ellid of Caer Eitha. The story has elements of Arthurian and Celtic legend throughout.

Plot introduction

Cuin, son of Clarric, is heir to his uncle, Pryce Dacaerin, a regional lord who has gained wealth and power by protecting landholders from bandits, dragons, and other threats that haunt the unsettled places. Cuin, as heir, is also engaged to marry Dacerin’s daughter, Ellid. At the beginning of the story, Ellid has been kidnapped in a power grab by one of Dacerin’s resistive landholders and is being held as bait for an ambush. She is freed by a lean, dark haired mysterious stranger who seems to have some power over stone and animals and is sensitive to light. This stranger will come to change all of their lives forever.

Plot summary

It comes to pass that the stranger reveals himself to be Bevan of Eubaricon, the son of an ancient High King of Isle and Celwony, the goddess of the moon. His appearance offers both hope and threat to Cuin and Ellid, and the mortals they represent. The lands would benefit from a High King who would keep the regional lordlings from warring with each other, but at the same time, Bevan’s presence stirs Pel, an ancient evil who begins preying upon the mortals to raise an army of undead using the Coradel Orre.

Ellid falls in love with Bevan and turns away from her engagement to Cuin. Cuin, in turn, finds himself apprenticed to Bevan after Bevan saves him from the Priests of Pel. Bevan decides it is his destiny to return the Coradel Orre to the Gods, so they can refresh their immortality and goes in search of it. On their quest, Cuin discovers he is heir to an ancient kingdom older than Pryce Dacaerin’s holdings. To complete their quest, Cuin must first win an magical sword from those who guard the kingdom, and then Bevan, Cuin, and Dacaerin work together to gather the lords of Isle together to wage war on Pel and his undead army.

Bevan and Cuin together win a great victory, but lose the Coradel Orre, marking the end of immortal gods in the world of men. Bevan is crowned High King and marries Ellid. Cuin is absent from the ceremony on a diplomatic journey, but his escort betrays and nearly kills him. Bevan rides to his rescue before the marriage is complete, and in the process triggers a prophecy which makes him unwilling to continue to dwell in the world of men any longer.

Ellid and Cuin accompany Bevan as he makes his preparations to leave Isle and they discover they have loved each other all along. Bevan entrusts Ellid to Cuin as he leaves, and hopes for them that in time they will wed. He tells them that he will never return to Isle, but prophecies about future kings and protectors of the land.

Characters in "The White Hart"

Ellid: Daughter and only child of Pryce Dacarein.
Cuin son of Clarric: ward and heir of his uncle Pryce Dacaerin, heir also to the ancient seaside kingdom of Lyrdion
Pryce Dacerin: Regional lord whose hand stretches far in the land of isle.
Bevan of Eubaricon: son of Byvn, ancient High King of Isle (mortal) and of Celwony, goddess of the Moon.
Pel: Lord of the undead, of conflict and strife.

Archetypal Elements

The White Hart: an elusive, noble animal, used here to symbolize the restless, strange nature of Bevan.
The Coradel Orre: A golden cauldron used to bestow immortality on the living, and reanimation of the dead. A similar cauldron is the subject of The Black Cauldron (novel)

The Black Cauldron (novel)

The Black Cauldron is a 1965 fantasy novel, the second book in Lloyd Alexander's five-part novel series The Chronicles of Prydain . The story centers on the adventures of Taran, an Assistant Pig-Keeper in the magical land of Prydain, as he joins in a quest to capture the eponymous vessel, a...

.
Hau Ferddas: a magical sword which will keep the bearer from harm, once won from those who guard it. Similar swords are Excalibur

Excalibur

Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...

 of Arthurian legend, and Narsil

Narsil

Narsil is a fictional sword featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is introduced in The Lord of the Rings as having once belonged to King Elendil of the Dúnedain...

, the sword carried by Aragorn

Aragorn

Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...

 in The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...

.
The High King: Bevan temporarily unites the regional lords under one purpose and the united kingdom experiences peace and prosperity. In this it is similar to the legend of King Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

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The Betrayed King: Like King Arthur, Bevan is betrayed by those he trusted.
Elwestrand: After his betrayal, Bevan begins to long for an otherworldly haven called Elwestrand. He crafts a magical boat which takes him there beyond the cares of the mortal world. Similar lands are Avalon

Avalon

Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...

 or Fairie for the Arthurian legends, The Grey Havens in the Lord of the Rings and the end of the world in CS Lewis's Narnia book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...

.

Literary significance and criticism

The third book of the series, the Sable Moon, was nominated for the 1982 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature Best Novel

Publication history

• 1979, USA, Pocket Books (ISBN NA), pub date December 1979, paperback (first edition)
• 1985, USA, Pocket Books (ISBN 0671606832), pub date October 1985, hardback
• 2004, USA, eReads (ASIN: B000FC19BW), pub date February 2004, electronic book