Arthur de Caldicot arrives at Holt to be squire to Lord Stephen and accompany him on crusade. It is an exciting and bewildering time for him as he finds a warhorse, is fitted with armour, and improves his fighting skills. He dreads a confrontation with his blood-father, the violent Sir William, and dreams of finding his true mother; he discovers girls ? including the vivacious Winnie de Verdon whom he rescues from burning to death; he has to deal with the aftermath of a murder; he sees the sea for the first time, sails to France and finally takes the Cross. And meanwhile these events are reflected in his seeing stone, in stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Packed with incident, wonderful characters, and fascinating historical detail, and interwoven with brilliant retellings of Arthurian legends, this is a glorious follow-up to THE SEEING STONE.

This book features in the following series: Arthur, Arthur Trilogy .

This book has been graded for interest at 12-16 years.

There are 384 pages in this book. This book was published 2013 by Hachette Children's Group .

Kevin Crossley-Holland is well-known as a poet, broadcaster, and writer for children. He won the Carnegie Medal in 1985. For Oxford, he has written The Green Children and adapted Beowulf for children.