The Seeing Stone

The Seeing Stone

Industry	Publishing
Founded	2000
Founder	Kevin Crossley-Holland
Products	Historical novel
Parent	Orion Publishing Group

The Seeing Stone, also known as Arthur: The Seeing Stone, is a historical novel aimed at young audiences, authored by Kevin Crossley-Holland and released by Orion in 2000 as the inaugural installment of the Arthur trilogy (2000–2003). Primarily set in the Welsh Marches around A.D. 1199–1200, it narrates the story of Arthur de Caldicot, a youth who observes the formative years of the legendary King Arthur via a mystical "Seeing Stone". Both the book and its author have been honored with the Guardian Prize and Tir na n-Og Award.

The trilogy presents a modern retelling of Arthurian myths through the first-person perspective of Arthur de Caldicot, intertwining main and secondary narratives.

Narrative in The Real World

Taking place in 1199, shortly before the Fourth Crusade, the plot follows thirteen-year-old Arthur de Caldicot, the younger son of a knight residing at Caldicot manor within the Welsh Marches. As a second-born son, Arthur is unable to inherit land directly and must pursue becoming a squire and eventually a knight to secure his own holdings. He faces typical medieval trials such as jousting and swordsmanship, further challenged by his left-handedness—a notable hindrance in that era. His father prefers he train as a scribe due to his reading and writing abilities.

Arthur's circumstances shift considerably on his fourteenth birthday when he discovers that his supposed "uncle," Sir William de Gortanore, is in fact his biological father, positioning him as heir to an extensive manor. This revelation also exposes that Sir William killed Arthur's mother's husband out of envy, which terminates Arthur’s engagement to Grace, Sir William’s daughter and Arthur’s half-sister. The story closes with Arthur becoming squire to Stephen de Holt, Lord of the Middle Marches.

Narrative in The Seeing Stone

The wizard Merlin entrusts Arthur de Caldicot with the "Seeing Stone," cautioning that its magic will cease if its secrets are disclosed to others. Through this stone, Arthur witnesses the legendary King Arthur’s life up until his ascent as King of Britain. The tale begins with King Uther’s marriage to Ygerna and the birth of Arthur, who is then raised away from court under Merlin’s guardianship. Upon Uther’s death, Arthur assumes kingship. Figures within Arthur’s real life bear resemblance to those seen through the stone, particularly Arthur himself, implying parallel realities where events reflect one another.

Awards

Crossley-Holland received the esteemed Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, an annual accolade judged by British authors specializing in children’s literature and reserved for first-time recipients. The 2001 award encompassed books published between 2000 and 2001 due to scheduling adjustments.

The Welsh Tir na n-Og Award recognized The Seeing Stone as the best English-language book authentically rooted in Welsh heritage. It earned bronze placement for the Smarties Prize (ages 9–11) and was shortlisted for the 2000 Whitbread Awards in the children's book category. Additionally, it was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature in 2001.

Series

The Arthur trilogy comprises The Seeing Stone along with two follow-up novels, collectively amounting to approximately 1100 pages in their original hardcover editions:

• The Seeing Stone (August 2000, Orion)
• At the Crossing-Places (August 2001, Orion)
• King of the Middle March (October 2003, Orion)

In the United Kingdom, the debut volume was made available in both print and audio formats; paperback versions were issued in June 2001 and again in September 2006 (the latter featuring updated cover artwork), alongside an audio CD released in July 2003.

The first American edition was published by Scholastic in 2001 under its imprint Arthur A. Levine Books. That same year saw translations into Danish, Finnish, German, Spanish, and Norwegian; subsequent translations into Catalan, French, and Italian appeared in 2002; Hebrew followed in 2004; Serbian in 2006; and Romanian in 2008.

External links

• — initial US publication