Yvain: The Knight of the Lion

Yvain: The Knight of the Lion by M.T. Anderson

I honestly wish I had this book when I was in my British lit survey in college, not because I didn't enjoy reading the epic poems out of my Norton Anthology, but because the illustrations are terrific, and really gave this old poem some new context. (And because this graphic novel includes some pretty great commentary on the poem at the end of the volume.)

As I said, the illustrations really made this book stand out, to the point that it caught my eye from the shelf at the local library, which is why I ended up reading it. Andrea Offermann is the illustrator, and she does a wonderful job at pairing the medieval origins of this poem with the comic book panel style illustration. I especially enjoyed the images on the couple pages that read like a tapestry, the opening and closing with the eagle, and the time Yvain spends lost and half-crazy in the wilderness.

Another thing that this format does is allows the story to convey more than the words themselves. We get to see how characters around Yvain might have felt about his choices, one that was particularly striking to me is at the end, when Yvain has won his way back into his lady's life, and she does not look terribly pleased about it, but has given her word and so that's the way it is.

I'd probably recommend this book for students in high school or college, not because younger children couldn't read it or anything is too mature, but because the themes explored will be more meaningful and those ages, AND readers will be approaching the age where having some familiarity with Old English writings will be an asset. But I think all former English majors would also enjoy it.

This image belongs to the author, publisher, and illustrator.