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Idylls of the King

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

First published 1952
Publisher The Limited Editions Club
Format Hardcover
Type Collection
Pages xviii+284

A cycle of twelve narrative poems published between 1859 and 1885. Editions of this should, properly, be varianted depending on how many of the poems are included, but often we do not know that. Apparent chronology (from Wikipedia):

  • The first set of Idylls, "Enid", "Vivien", "Elaine", and "Guinevere", was published in 1859.
  • The Dedication was published in 1862, a year after the Prince Consort had died.
  • "Enid" was later divided into "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid", and "Guinevere" was expanded (date unknown).
  • The Holy Grail and Other Poems appeared in 1869.
  • "The Last Tournament" was published in Contemporary Review in 1871.
  • "Gareth and Lynette" was published in 1872.
  • The final idyll, "Balin and Balan", was published in Tiresias and Other Poems in 1885.
  • The epilogue, "To the Queen," was published in 1873.

  • Issued in slipcase. Limited edition of 1,500 copies, signed by the illustrator
  • Data from Heritage Auctions and OCLC/WorldCat

Year Reviewer Publication
1998 Jonathan Rowe Valkyrie, Issue 16

Title Year Publisher Format Type Catalog ID Cover Artist Pages
Idylls of the King 1996 Project Gutenberg eBook Collection 610