A review by lindseysparks
The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth

4.0

I don't know why we still debate how Stonehenge was formed because Geoffrey clearly explains that giants brought stones from Africa to Ireland and built it, then Merlin magicked them over to England because of their healing powers when you bathe under them with water that runs over the stones. Obviously. I had wanted to read this for years because Shakespeare uses it as a source for story ideas (King Lear, Cymbeline) and it has the first written King Arthur story. I thought it would be kind of dry but it was so hilarious I kept having to read bits to my husband the world history teacher. It was full of stories like how the Britons sacked Rome, how Merlin discovered that the reason a fortress kept sinking was due to dragons, King Lear's dad tried to make like Icarus and fly, etc. Also, I'm not sure when Arthur had time to find the holy grail because he was busy conquering Ireland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway! There were a few bits that read like an actual history and weren't nearly as fun. I'm glad I finally took the time to read this!