I believe I have read nearly every book written by Mary Stewart.  I discovered her while still in high school.  I was taken by her novels for different reasons, one of which was, being a teenage girl I loved the romance of her novels.  Along with that was generally some mystery and danger.  I also found her to be a very intelligent author who managed to weave some history into her works while taking me to places I could only dream of, such as Greece and Italy.

The Crystal Cave is very unlike those romantic mysteries of hers that first enthralled me. It is about Merlin and his life story which is told by himself.  Some may categorize it as fantasy, but it reads more like an historic novel. 

The story begins with Merlin, the child, and takes us through his development as a magician.  We learn how he and King Arthur came to have their fates intertwined and how Merlin manipulated the events of Arthur’s life. 

Although it is evident that Merlin has unique abilities and powers, she writes him with very human qualities as well, which make his story believable.  I highly recommend it as I do the three books that follow.  Actually I found the first 3 books to be the best of the 4. 

 My husband loved it as well and it is one of the many books we read aloud together.  More than once.