Paperback(Reprint)
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Overview
Sir Humphrey du Val has had enough. Relegated to the Table of Less Valued Knights—Camelot's least prestigious spot, boringly rectangular in shape and with one leg shorter than the other so that it has to be propped up with a folded napkin to stop it from rocking—he has been banned by King Arthur from going on quests, and hasn't left the castle in 15 years. After a chance meeting with Elaine, a young maiden in search of her kidnapped fiancé, Sir Humphrey, along with his squire Conrad (an undersized giant) and Jemima (Conrad's elephant), sets off on a journey to find the distressed damsel's betrothed, hoping to restore himself to a place of honour at the Round Table. Meanwhile, Martha, an errant queen on the run from her new power-hungry husband, is in disguise and on a quest of her own to find her long-lost brother, the true ruler of her realm. Martha soon runs—literally—into Humphrey's eccentric group, who take the incognito queen captive, believing her to be a boy. As they journey through countryside, castles and villages, they gather unlikely friends and enemies along the way. While each member of the party secretly harbours their own ambitions for the quest, their collective success, and the fate of the realm, rests on their grudging cooperation and unexpectedly interconnected lives. The Princess Bride meets Monty Python and the Holy Grail in this funny, charming, and delightful tale about lesser-known heroes in Arthurian England.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780307359957 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Random House of Canada, Limited |
| Publication date: | 08/04/2015 |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Reading Group Guide
1. The rollicking narrative in The Table of Less Valued Knights is cinematic and witty and clever and would make a fantastic film. Who would you cast as the ensemble crew of outcasts?
2. Who is your favourite character and why?
3. On page 46, Conrad the undersized giant comments that no one is ever frightened of him. Why do you think that is?
4. Consider Martha and her assumed masculinity: on page 112 she muses that she is better at being a man then men themselves, but she doesn’t know how to pitch a tent or make a fire, and she is still perplexed with how men behave (page 148). How do our modern ideas of gender roles differ? In what ways do her interactions with Elaine offer interesting (and often hilarious) insight into the era’s social status quos and how they differ across gender lines?
5. Why do you think they keep on asking everyone what Martha’s favourite colour is to verify her identity? What of brown and blue?
6. When Humphrey confronts Elaine about her pregnancy (page 185) she responds with a rather astute, not-so-medieval rant about sexuality, shame and dishonour. Examine the complexities of being a woman—and feminism—and the ways that Phillips addressed it.
7. Take a moment to discuss and deconstruct the plethora of relationships in the novel: Humphrey and Elaine; Elaine and Lord and Lady du Mont; Humphrey and Conrad; Martha and Edwin; Edwin and Leo; Martha and Jasper; Jasper and Alistair; Marcus and Humphrey; Marcus and Karim . . . to name a few. Which did you find the most compelling?
8. Edwin has strong thoughts and ideas on all sorts of things: he thinks first impressions count, doesn’t care for music but likes fanfare, and he enjoys sneaking around. That being said he comes off as a bit of an airhead. Were you surprised by his blatant bloodthirstiness when he murdered Sir Dorian, Silas and Keith?
9. Had you ever heard of The Table of Less Valued Knights before reading this novel? If you were a knight in Camelot where would you sit and why?
10. Who do you think comes off as the most heroic character and why?
11. What do you think Martha has learned from her experience of living in the world as male? How will this affect her reign as queen?
12. How are family relationships depicted in The Table of Less Valued Knights? Is blood always thicker than water?
13. Who exactly are the "Less Valued Knights" of the title? How does a character's race, gender, class or sexuality affect whether they are seen as more or less of value?