1890 Rare Routledge Edition - La Mort d’Arthure: The History of King Arthur

Author: Sir Thomas Malory. Edited with introduction and notes by Thomas Wright.
Title: La Mort d’Arthure: The History of King Arthur and of the Knights of the Round Table.
Publisher: London and New York, George Routledge and Sons Limited. no date (1890).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5 x 5 inches.
Pages: 540 pages.
Binding: Very good publisher’s green cloth binding with gilt-lettered title label on the spine (hinges fine, overall scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Solid and well-preserved binding.
Content: Good content (tight, pages generally clean with foxing primarily visible on the outer edges and on some preliminary and final leaves - as shown). Text remains clear and fully legible throughout.

Estimate: (USD 150–200).

The book: La Mort d’Arthure is the great medieval compilation of Arthurian romance, bringing together the legends of King Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, and the Knights of the Round Table into one sweeping narrative. First printed by William Caxton in 1485, Malory’s work became the definitive English account of the Arthurian cycle and remains one of the foundational texts of medieval literature.

This Routledge edition forms part of Sir John Lubbock’s “Hundred Books” series, a celebrated Victorian program designed to promote a canon of essential reading. Edited by antiquarian and scholar Thomas Wright, the text is presented from the early seventeenth-century edition of 1634, accompanied by scholarly notes and an introduction that contextualizes the historical development of Arthurian romance. The result is a readable yet historically grounded presentation of one of the most influential legends of European literature.

The author: Sir Thomas Malory (c.1415–1471) was an English writer best known for compiling and adapting the Arthurian legends into the monumental Le Morte d’Arthur. Drawing from French and English romances, Malory shaped the scattered medieval tales into a unified narrative centered on chivalry, loyalty, love, and the tragic fall of Camelot. His work has inspired centuries of writers and artists, from Tennyson to modern fantasy literature, and remains the cornerstone of Arthurian tradition in the English-speaking world.

The editor: Thomas Wright (1810–1877) was a distinguished English antiquarian, historian, and scholar of medieval literature. A prolific editor and commentator, Wright devoted much of his career to making early English texts accessible to modern readers. His scholarly introductions and notes helped revive interest in medieval romance and folklore during the nineteenth century, a period marked by renewed fascination with chivalric and Arthurian traditions.