Who wrote the fantasy novel The Once and Future King?

T. H. White wrote the fantasy novel The Once and Future King. The work is a retelling of the legends of King Arthur, drawing especially on Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur while adding White’s own modern humor, psychology, and political ideas.

The book was published in four parts between 1938 and 1958. The sections are The Sword in the Stone, The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind. A collected edition appeared in 1958 under the title The Once and Future King.

The first section follows Arthur’s childhood under the guidance of Merlyn, who teaches him through transformations into different animals. These episodes turn education and empathy into central themes rather than treating magic as decoration alone.

White’s treatment of Arthurian material influenced later fantasy and popular adaptations. Disney’s 1963 animated film The Sword in the Stone was based on the first part, while the stage musical Camelot drew on the later sections.