The Romance of Tristan and Iseult

Here is the original story of romantic love: the one that made all other love stories possible. When the Cornish knight Tristan journeys to Ireland to claim a bride for his uncle King Mark, he never expects to drink a magic potion that will bind him and the princess Iseult together in passion neither of them chose. What follows is a beautiful, devastating exploration of desire versus duty, loyalty versus betrayal, and the terrible question of whether their love is fate or free will, curse or gift. Bédier weaves together fragmented medieval sources into a seamless narrative that feels both ancient and startlingly modern. The love potion does its work in an instant, but the consequences unfold over a lifetime of hiding, hoping, and ultimately, perishing. This is not a romance with a happy ending. It is the romance that taught Western literature what love could cost.