T. H. White

Ten-year-old Maria, an orphaned heiress living with her unpleasant guardians on a crumbling English estate called Malplaquet, finds her life changing in unimagined ways when she explores an overgrown island on the estate's lake and discovers the descendants of Gulliver's Lilliputians.

The English king dies leaving no heir. In the churchyard of a cathedral in London, a sword appears imbedded in a stone. It is inscribed with a prophecy. Although many try, no one can budge the sword from the stone. Deep in the dark woods, Merlin the Magician begins to teach 11-year-old Arthur, who lives in the castle of Sir Ector where he's an apprentice squire to Sir Kay. Arthur learns the basic truths of life, but he also runs into the evil Madam...

A wondrous golden sword embedded in a large stone offers a tempting challenge to the strongest and bravest men in the kingdom. Whoever removes the sword becomes the next king of England.