The Crystal Cave Resources

Mary Stewart's work is so awesome that it inspired a fan-run blog.

This blog covers Stewart's whole writing career and includes interviews, articles, and obituaries from around the globe.

Want the info on the relationship between Merlin and Nimue? Check out this 18th-century poem (it's pretty short) to get the bitter end of it in a nutshell.

Check out Shmoop's awesome Medieval Lit timeline to get a hold on the actual stuff happening around the events in Stewart's book.

Though the legendary king hasn't exactly made his entrance by the end of this book, he's kind a big deal, anyway. Take a look at some of the traditions and stories that inspired Mary Stewart's famous trilogy.

So if you've read The Crystal Cave, there's no way you should miss out on T. H. White's The Once and Future King. In fact, we think Stewart would rap your knuckles if you did. We've got you covered, natch.

Why stop with 20th-century Arthurian adaptations? Take the plunge and get medieval with Thomas Malory's 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur. Don't freak: it's in English.

Okay, we know that this BBC production looks pretty old school and super cheesy these days, but hey, don't judge. It's also pretty faithful to Stewart's storyline.

Sure, this is an obituary, but it's a New York Times obituary, which means it's got everything you need to know about Mary Stewart's life and work.

Stewart talks about genre change, the perils of writing a four-book series when you think each book is your last, and how she handled the legends surrounding King Arthur.

Here's a solid bio and discussion of Stewart's written works, including a list of first lines from her novels.

Check out this CGI recreation of what the Roman fort at Segontium in North Wales looked like back in the day.

Morgan Freeman narrates (yay) this NatGeo special on the cult of Mithras and its importance in Roman religion.

Remember those creepy standing stones that Merlin runs into when he first lands in Brittany? Yeah, those are a real thing. If you ever get a chance to visit Carnac in France, you can see the fields of giant stones that likely inspired Mary Stewart's descriptions. This link includes a nifty little History Channel video about the stones at the bottom of the page.

This site's got links to images of Merlin—and his lady-love-slash-nemesis Nimue—in art through the centuries.