The Matter of Britain stories, focusing on King Arthur, are one of the most popular literary subjects of all time, and have been adapted numerous times in every form of media. This list enumerates some of the notable works.

Modern literature

Adam Ardrey: Finding Merlin (2007) A. A. Attanasio: The Dragon and the Unicorn (1994), The Eagle and the Sword (1997), The Wolf and the Crown (1998), and The Serpent and the Grail (1999) T. A. Barron: The Merlin Saga, about the life of Merlin (1996–2011) Donald Barthelme: The King (1990), in which Arthurian characters fight in WWII and the atomic bomb has characteristics of the Holy Grail Derek Benz and J. S. Lewis: The Revenge of the Shadow King (2006) reveals an alternate history of Arthur who was betrayed and murdered by his half-sister Morgan le Fay, who is portrayed as an evil immortal being known as the Black Witch, for possession of a sacred book which had been passed down father-to-son for thousands of years. In this case, Arthur was betrayed when he refused to pass the book on to his illegitimate son. The book was passed to Arthur's true son, and from Arthur's son came the Knights Templar. Thomas Berger: Arthur Rex (1978) is a tragicomic retelling of the Arthurian legend. Marion Zimmer Bradley: The Mists of Avalon (1983) is the classic of modern reinterpretations of the Arthurian legend through the points of view of powerful women behind Camelot, namely Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, and Morgause. Gillian Bradshaw: The Down the Long Wind trilogy Hawk of May (1980), Kingdom of Summer (1982), and In Winter's Shadow (also 1982) looks at the King Arthur legend through the eyes of a classical scholar. James Herbert Brennan: The GrailQuest (1984–87) gamebooks center on the kingdom of King Arthur. Sallie Bridges (1830–1910): Marble Isle (1864) is a collection of poems based on episodes in Malory. Bryher: Ruan (1960) is a historical novel in Britain immediately after Arthur's death. Meg Cabot: Avalon High (2005) is a novel in which high school students find themselves to be reincarnations of characters from the Arthurian cycle. Mark Chadbourn: The Age of Misrule, The Dark Age and Kingdom of the Serpent trilogies (2000–09) take a modern twist of Arthurian legend and Celtic mythology, using them as a basis for a dark series of novels set in modern Britain, in which the Celtic gods return to take back the land. Douglas Clegg: Mordred, Bastard Son (2006) centers on a sympathetic Mordred, who enters into a romance with Lancelot. Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy: The Forever King (1992) is a trilogy of books set in modern-day about a boy who is King Arthur reincarnated and his protector Hal, a former police officer who is the reincarnation of Galahad. Susan Cooper: The Dark Is Rising Sequence is a five volume young adult fantasy collection (1965–77). Bernard Cornwell: The Warlord Chronicles (1995–97) consist of three novels, Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur, and reintroduce many old characters into the tale. Kevin Crossley-Holland: The Seeing Stone (2000), At the Crossing-Places (2001), and King of the Middle-March (2003). Peter David: Knight trilogy depicts Arthur reappearing in the modern-day world. In the first novel, Knight Life (1987), Arthur emerges from his thousand-year convalescence that followed the wound he sustained from Mordred to run for mayor of New York City. In One Knight Only (2003), he faces another epic hero for possession of the Holy Grail. In Fall of Knight (2006), the villain Arthur encounters is a person from actual history, who possesses the Spear of Destiny, and wants to use it to destroy the Earth. Tracy Deonn: Legendborn (2020) and its subsequent sequels Bloodmarked (2022) and Oathbound (2025). Called "a modern-day twist on Arthurian legend", it follows a black teenage girl who discovers a secret and historically white magic society. Bryan Davis: Dragons in Our Midst series (2004–05) & its sequels, Oracles Of Fire (2006–09), and Children of the Bard (2011–15) David Drake: The Dragon Lord (1979), a somewhat unconventional story involving a "King Arthur" who is more great military general than quasi-enchanted king; it takes place shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire and long before the Age of Chivalry. Robert W. Fuller: The Rowan Tree (2013), a political novel that casts the Arthurian legend in a modern historical setting. David Gemmell: Ghost King (1988), Last Sword of Power (1988), The entire series deals with the Stones of Power, also known as the Sipstrassi. The first two books contain a re-imaging of the Arthurian legend. Parke Godwin: Firelord (1980), Beloved Exile (1984), and The Last Rainbow (1985) Roger Lancelyn Green: King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (1953) Lev Grossman: The Bright Sword (2024) follows the aftermath of King Arthur's death at the Battle of Camlann, and focuses on giving depth to traditionally minor knights. Robert Holdstock: The Merlin Codex series (2001–07) is a trilogy of mythic fiction novels which trace Merlin's adventures in Europe before the time of King Arthur, placing him alongside Jason and the Argonauts and Uther Pendragon. Helen Hollick: Pendragon's Banner trilogy (1994–97) Kazuo Ishiguro: The Buried Giant (2015), set in Britain after Arthur's death. Phyllis Ann Karr: The Idylls of the Queen (1982) Guy Gavriel Kay: The Fionavar Tapestry (1984–86) is the continuation of the Camelot story in the framework of a wider epic. J. Robert King: Mad Merlin (2000), Lancelot Du Lethe (2001), and Le Morte D'Avalon (2003) is the retelling of the Arthurian legend from the perspectives of Merlin and Lancelot rather than on the usual Arthur. King weaves his tale by combining bits of folklore and mythology with both sheer invention and historical fact. Merlin is actually the god Jupiter. Stephen King: The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) reveals that the hero of King's spaghetti-western/fantasy/sci-fi magnum opus adventure series, Roland, is one of only two of King Arthur's surviving descendants. The version of Arthur in Roland's world is known as Arthur Eld, and was the founder of the order of Gunslingers, knightly warriors who wield revolver pistols in the name of justice; Eld's own guns were reportedly forged from the metal of Excalibur itself. James Knowles: The Legends of King Arthur and his Knights (1860) Giles Kristian: Lancelot (2018) and its sequel, Camelot (2020) are historical re-imagining of the Arthur myths, told from the perspective of Lancelot. Sidney Lanier: The Boy's King Arthur (1880) is a work based on Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, written in such a way to appeal to the boys of the 19th century. Stephen R. Lawhead: The Pendragon Cycle (1987–1999), a more thorough examination of the myths, especially concerning Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and the Grail. C.S. Lewis: That Hideous Strength (1945) makes reference to Arthur and aspects of Arthurian legend, albeit with his own twist, in the final installment of his Space Trilogy. Bernard Malamud: The Natural (1952), a modern reinterpretation of the Fisher King story, centered around a baseball team known as the New York Knights. Also a 1984 film. John Masefield: A cycle of poetry concerning the Arthurian legend. (Edwardian-Post WWII) Nancy McKenzie: Queen of Camelot (2002), where Guinevere gives a first-hand account of her life, Grail Prince (2003), set directly after Arthur's death at Camlann, and Prince of Dreams (2004) Rosalind Miles: Guenevere Trilogy is a fictional trilogy that follows Guenevere and King Arthur through their reign as High King and Queen. Michael Morpurgo: Arthur, High King of Britain (1994) Gerald Morris: The Squire's Tales and The Knight's Tales are collections for teen readers based in the Middle Ages. Garth Nix: Contained in Nix's collection Across the Wall are two stories that present a different take on the Arthurian legends: "Under the Lake", a short story that portrays the Lady of the Lake as a parasitic, monstrous creature, and "Heart's Desire", which tells of Merlin and his apprentice Nimue, and the ultimately doomed relationship between them. Robert Nye: Merlin, which gives a paganistic view of Merlin's intrigues to make Arthur king. Sean Poage: The Retreat to Avalon (2018), The Strife of Camlann (2021), Hengist (2023) Tim Powers: The Drawing of the Dark depicts an eternal King Arthur reincarnated to participate in the Siege of Vienna. John Cowper Powys: Porius (A Romance of the Dark Ages) (1951). Howard Pyle: King Arthur and His Knights of The Round Table (1903) Mary Reed and Eric Mayer: The historical mystery One for Sorrow has the protagonist John, the Lord Chamberlain meeting with a Knight of the Round Table who comes to Constantinople in search of the Holy Grail. Philip Reeve: Here Lies Arthur tells of a more tyrannical Arthur in the time of the Dark Ages. Lisa Ann Sandell: Song of the Sparrow, a retelling of the story of Elaine of Ascolat, the Lady of Shalott. Jack Spicer: The Holy Grail, a series of poems spoken by various Arthurian characters (1962). Nancy Springer: I am Mordred and I am Morgan le Fay are two young adult novels about the two often misunderstood characters of Camelot. John Steinbeck: The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights is a traditional take in modern language. Steinbeck also compared the adventures of the paisanos in his early novel Tortilla Flat to the exploits of Arthur's knights. Sara Hawks Sterling: A Lady of King Arthur's Court Mary Stewart: The Crystal Cave sets up the background for the Arthurian legend. The Hollow Hills encompasses most of Arthur's lifespan, including his childhood with Merlin as his tutor. The Last Enchantment deals with Merlin's later life, against the continued background of Arthur's rule. A later book, The Wicked Day, was written from the point of view of Mordred in the latter period of Arthur's rule, and provides an interesting counterpoint to the original three novels. Rosemary Sutcliff: The Lantern Bearers (1959), Sword at Sunset (1963), Tristan and Iseult (1971); The King Arthur Trilogy (2007), an omnibus edition of Sutclff's Arthurian Trilogy: The Light Beyond the Forest (1979), The Sword and the Circle (1981), and The Road to Camlann (1981); The Shining Company (1990), a retelling of the Y Gododdin, which contains the earliest mention of Arthur's name. In Taliesin's Successors: Interviews with authors of modern Arthurian literature, The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester (August 1986), Raymond H. Thompson described these seven works by Sutcliff as "some of the finest contemporary recreations of the Arthurian story". Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Idylls of the King Lavie Tidhar: By Force Alone (2020) J.R.R. Tolkien: The Fall of Arthur is an unfinished poem, posthumously published in 2013. Nikolai Tolstoy:The Coming of the King—part one of an unfinished trilogy, dealing with Merlin and various Arthurian characters. Mark Twain: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Jack Vance: The Lyonesse Trilogy, set before Arthur's time on the Elder Isles, a fictional archipelago inspired by the tales of Lyonesse, Ys, and other lost lands associated with Arthurian legend. Kiersten White: The Camelot Rising trilogy, which consists of The Guinevere Deception, The Camelot Betrayal and The Excalibur Curse. The story is presented as the real Guinevere having died before reaching Camelot to wed Arthur. Taking her place is a changeling, Merlin's adoptive daughter, who could be exiled should her magic nature be revealed. T. H. White: The Once and Future King cycle Jack Whyte: The Camulod Chronicles, a series of books containing more historical fiction than fantasy beginning with Roman Britain and leading through Arthur's reign. Joan Wolf: The Road to Avalon (1988) Persia Woolley: Child of the Northern Spring, Queen of the Summer Stars, and Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn

Theatre

Musical theatre