I have had a passion for Arthurian stories since I was a kid, and I still have a book case crammed full of books -- fiction and nonfiction -- on the subject. Every now and then I pick one I haven't yet read or, as in the case of Sharan Newman's Guinevere, choose an old favorite to read again.

The book is set primarily in a gritty post-Rome Britain, where the former ruling class has mostly fled to mainland Europe and those who remain are fighting to survive against the encroaching Saxons to the east and the raiding Irish in the west.

Newman's setting is not a world of obvious magic, like so many Arthurian stories are, but there are subtler signs that magic is real. Merlin is a big part of the story, and although rumored to be a sorcerer he mostly plays the role of Arthur's closest adviser. The young knight Gawain is the son of the witch Morgan Le Fay -- Arthur's notorious half-sister -- and he has his legendary superhuman strength in the middle of the day but becomes weak as a kitten as twilight falls. There is a wandering singer, Geraldus, who is surrounded at all times by an invisible choir of cheerfully singing but woefully off-key beings.

And then of course there is Guinevere herself, who holds the affection of the only living unicorn. (This example is less obvious than others, although only Guinevere sees the unicorn.) The legendary creature has a psychic connection with the young woman, but is beset by loneliness as the only one of his kind and his uncertainty of his place in the world.

This is very much Guinevere's story, as the title suggests, with Arthur appearing only on rare occasions. The book begins with the future queen as a young girl just on the cusp of womanhood. She is the spoiled youngest child of the noble Leodegrance and his wife Guenlian, who still remember and mourn the glories of Roman Britain. Guinevere is innocent, cosseted and fairly self-centered, for the primary reason that she has been exposed to little of the outside world.

Soon, however, she is thrust further into the realities of war, with personal sacrifices and losses that change her deeply. And, of course, she meets Arthur, the young warlord who is leading Britain's forces against the invaders, and who is instantly smitten by the beautiful young woman.

Merlin fears the worst.

Guinevere is the first book in a trilogy, and I look forward to re-reading the remaining two books. Newman's tone in this book is mostly light, as befits the carefree innocence of the main character, although she knows how to handle darker, more serious matters as they arise. It ends simply, happily. Certainly I anticipate that things will get grimmer as Arthur and Guinevere's story develops.