John Steinbeck’s The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights: A Call for Reappraisal

John Steinbeck had an ambitious lifelong desire to recast the Arthurian chronicles into a modern version of the epic legends. In fact, “John Steinbeck spent months of his life in England exploring Arthurian locations and living in a medieval cottage in Sommerset rewriting Malory with a biro refill stuck into a goose quill” (Hardyment 10). A significant portion of what he accomplished survives as The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights (1976). The book remains almost universally disparaged by the establishment in academe, both medievalist and Steinbeckian. In my opinion, these judgments are wrong. Steinbeck’s 293-page adaptation stands as a noble literary attempt worthy of accolades, since his narrative perfectly satisfies the medieval Arthurian romance traditions and Steinbeck’s own perceptions of contemporary literature with evocative character relationships and courtly interactions— universally adapted for the interests of a new generation. The Acts conveys the distinctive impression of a medieval saga written with a long-established literary voice, but now in Steinbeck’s modern prose.