What is the name of the first book in Lloyd Alexander's 'Chronicles of Prydain'?
Answer
The Book of Three
The first book in Lloyd Alexander’s “Chronicles of Prydain” is The Book of Three. Published in 1964, it introduces Taran, an Assistant Pig-Keeper raised by the enchanter Dallben, who is drawn into a conflict against Arawn, the Death-Lord.
The novel began Alexander’s five-book fantasy sequence, which draws heavily on Welsh mythology, geography, names, and medieval tradition. Alexander encountered Welsh culture while serving in army intelligence during World War II, and those impressions became the foundation for Prydain.
The next volume is The Black Cauldron, not the first book. That title is especially easy to confuse with the series opener because Disney’s 1985 animated film The Black Cauldron combines plot elements from several Prydain books, including The Book of Three.
The Book of Three was originally planned under the title The Battle of the Trees, another detail that sometimes appears in discussions of the novel’s development.