I am so very fond of White's series on King Arthur that when I came across this, another of his books, in the local library I had to read it. It was not nearly so good - I had to force myself to keep going at some points, and luckily the thing is only about 150 pages long.

Look, in all fairness I have to admit that the blame for this lukewarm reaction is entirely on me. Mistress Masham's Repose is well-written and clever and charming in places, but it is also a deliberate response to the most painfully boring novel ever written: Gulliver's Travels. I hate that book. I really, really hate it, and it is absolutely not Mr. White's fault that the resentment regarding the hours I spent reading that dreadful "classic" has attached itself to this.

Alas, the well has been thoroughly poisoned.