Yvain: The Knight of the Lion

In his first graphic novel, National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson turns to Arthurian lore, with captivating art by Andrea Offermann bringing the classic legend to life.

Eager for glory and heedless of others, Sir Yvain sets out from King Arthur’s court and defeats a local lord in battle, unknowingly intertwining his future with the lives of two compelling women: Lady Laudine, the beautiful widow of the fallen lord, and her sly maid Lunette. In a stunning visual interpretation of a 12th century epic poem by Chrétien de Troyes, readers are — at first glance — transported into a classic Arthurian romance complete with errant knights, plundering giants, and fire-breathing dragons. A closer look, however, reveals a world rich with unspoken emotion. Striking, evocative art by Andrea Offermann sheds light upon the inner lives of medieval women and the consequences Yvain’s oblivious actions have upon Laudine and Lunette. Renowned author M. T. Anderson embraces a new form with a sophisticated graphic novel that challenges Yvain’s role as hero, delves into the honesty and anguish of love, and asks just how fundamentally the true self can really change.

M. T. Anderson is the author of many books for young adults, including most recently Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Andrea Offermann is a fine artist and the illustrator of many books for children and young adults, including The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett and The Boneshaker by Kate Milford. She attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and now lives in Germany, where she was born.