The Book of Three

Did You Know?

• The series was inspired by Welsh mythology and by the castles, scenery, and language of Wales, which the author experienced during World War II army combat intelligence training.
• The planned title of the first book was originally The Battle of the Trees.
• Gross receipts for The Black Cauldron did not match its production costs, commercially a great failure.

Plot

Taran, a youth living at Caer Dallben with the enchanter Dallben and the retired soldier Coll, longs to become a great hero like High Prince Gwydion. Because of the threat from the Horned King, a servant of Arawn Death-Lord, Taran is forbidden to leave the farm and is tasked with caring for Hen Wen, the oracular white pig. When Hen Wen panics and escapes, Taran follows her into the Forbidden Forest. After a chase, he is attacked by horsemen led by the Horned King; wounded, he is found and treated by Gwydion, who is traveling to consult Hen Wen. Gwydion takes Taran along to find the pig. Guided by the hairy humanoid Gurgi, they reach the Horned King's camp and learn his target is Caer Dathyl. The group is attacked by undead Cauldron-Born soldiers; Gwydion and Taran are captured and taken to Queen Achren at Spiral Castle. Achren asks Gwydion to help her overthrow Arawn, but he refuses and is imprisoned separately from Taran. Princess Eilonwy, a young girl learning enchantment from Achren, frees Taran and then, misunderstanding his request, frees another prisoner: Fflewddur Fflam, a king by birth but a wandering bard. Taran and Eilonwy steal weapons from a tomb, including the legendary sword Dyrnwyn, and escape as Spiral Castle collapses.

Reception

A 2012 School Library Journal survey placed The Book of Three at number 18 on its list of the best children's novels ever. Ruth Hill Viguers of The Horn Book Magazine predicted the story would endure and that readers would want more tales of Taran discovering heroism. The Junior Bookshelf found fault with the secondary characters, the forced and overdone comedy, and the frequent moralizing. Margery Fisher in Growing Point argued the novel borrowed too heavily from Tolkien, Garner, Masefield, and T. H. White, suggesting it might have worked better with just one influence. The Times Literary Supplement praised it as a strong fantasy-adventure with its own unique charm, even if it didn't match Tolkien. School Library Journal called it a landmark, influential work of twentieth-century middle-grade fiction that opened the door for many fantasy stories.