The Sword in the Stone
- 288
- Pages
- about 5 h
- Reading time
- Film 1963
- On screen
- Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
“The Sword in the Stone” is a playful novel of King Arthur’s boyhood that weaves legend and history together with comedy. Much of its charm lies in the lessons the young Arthur receives from the wizard Merlyn. Some readers find the opening slow until Merlyn appears, while the quiet sadness of the ending stays with others. Readers who like their legends with humour have much to enjoy.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Sword in the Stone is a 1938 novel by British writer T. H. White. First published by Collins in the United Kingdom as a stand-alone work, it later became the first part of a tetralogy, The Once and Future King. A fantasy of the boyhood of King Arthur, it combines elements of legend, history, fantasy, and comedy. Walt Disney adapted the story to an animated film, and the BBC adapted it to radio.
Reading order · The Once and Future King
Full order & progress →- The Sword in the StoneThis book
7.97.9 / 10 - The Ill-Made KnightThe Ill-Made Knight–Not ranked yet
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- FilmThe Sword in the StoneIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 92 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 38% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 7.9 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 9 | 10% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 83 | 90% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Sword in the Stone?
It has 288 pages — shorter than 94% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 7.9, the closest to this book.
