The year is 1199, and on the borders of England and Wales young Arthur de Caldicot practises his tilting and archery, learns to be a dutiful page to his father, and waits impatiently to grow up and become a knight.

One day his father's friend Merlin gives Arthur a shining black stone. When Arthur starts to see stories in the stone, his own life at the manor quickly becomes entwined with that of his namesake, the boy who pulls the sword from the stone.

The Seeing Stone is a pageant of the past, crowded with characters. Their individual dramas create an eye-opening picture of life in a medieval manor. But they are shot through with the legends of King Arthur in a narrative that builds to a thrilling and mysterious climax as the stories of the two Arthurs intertwine.

The Seeing Stone is a brilliant new take on the legends of King Arthur. It is like the seeing stone Arthur is given. Use it to look into the past, and through the past into the future.

Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2001 and Silver award winner in the Children: Over 7 category in the Spoken Word Awards 2001 .

Samuel West has appeared in films ranging from Carrington to Notting Hill , done much television work, such as Persuasion and C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, and performed on stage with the Royal National Theatre and at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. Radio work includes The Merchant of Venice, Poetry Please , and Richard II (as Richard) for the BBC. He has also recorded many audio books.