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== Literature ==
* In a play called ''[[The Birth of Merlin]]'', written by [[William Rowley]] in 1622, Merlin appears to be a son of the actual Devil, or, at least, a devil. By the end of the play, he becomes an adviser to Uther, the young King of Britain.
*[[Mark Twain]] presents Merlin in his 1889 novel ''[[A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court]]'' as a complete charlatan with no real magical powers. The character seems to stand for (and to satirize) [[superstition]]. However, near the end of the book, Merlin seems to possess real magical powers.
*[[C. S. Lewis|C.S. Lewis]] used the figure of Merlin Ambrosius in his 1946 novel ''[[That Hideous Strength]]'', the third book in ''[[The Space Trilogy]]''. In it, Merlin has supposedly lain asleep for centuries to be awakened for the battle against the materialistic agents of the devil, able to consort with the angelic powers because he came from a time when sorcery was not yet a corrupt art. Lewis'
*In [[John Cowper Powys|John Cowper Powys']] novel ''[[Porius: A Romance of the Dark Ages]]'' (1951), [[Myrddin Wyllt|Myrddin Wyllt,]] or Merlin the Wild, is the Emperor Arthur's counselor, a major character in the story. Powys identifies him with [[Cronus|Cronos]], or [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]], the father of [[Zeus]].<ref>Powys, John Cowper. " 'Preface' or anything you like to Porius"; "The Characters of the Book". ''The Powys Newsletter'' 4, 1974–5, p. 17.</ref> Merlin also plays an important part in Powys's ''[[A Glastonbury Romance]]'' (1934)<ref>''A Glastonbury Romance''. London: Macdonald, 1955, p. 571:</ref> and ''Morwyn'' (1937).<ref>London: Village Press, 1974, p. 87.</ref>
*In the novel ''Merlín e Familia'' (1955) written by the [[Galicia (Spain)|Galician]] author [[Álvaro Cunqueiro]], Merlin dwells in the Galician forest of Esmelle and is visited by mythical figures seeking magical advice. This story synthesizes Arthurian legend and Galician folktales.
*[[Susan Cooper|Susan Cooper's]] ''[[The Dark Is Rising Sequence|The Dark Is Rising]]'' series (first published between 1965 and 1977) has Merlin as the central character in an Arthurian fantasy series about the battle between "the Dark and the Light
*In [[T. H. White|T.
*In [[Mary Stewart (novelist)|Mary Stewart's]] ''Merlin Trilogy'' (first published between 1970 and 1979)'','' Myrddin Emrys (Merlin Ambrosius) is the protagonist of the first two novels, ''[[The Crystal Cave]]'' (1970) and ''[[The Hollow Hills]]'' (1973), which are based on earlier traditions of the character. The last book of the trilogy, ''The Last Enchantment,'' and a related book, ''The Wicked Day'', focus more on Arthur and Mordred, though the former is still told from Merlin's viewpoint. Stewart portrays [[Ambrosius Aurelianus|Aurelius Ambrosius]] (brother to Uther Pendragon) as his father, and thus makes him Arthur's cousin. In the end, Merlin goes mad due to [[Morgause|Morgause's]] poison.
*''Merlin's Mirror'' (1975) by [[Andre Norton]], tells the story of the half-human, half-alien Merlin.
*''Merlin'' (1978) by [[Robert Nye]] is a bawdy, anti-Christian version of the Arthurian story, as relived by Merlin after Nimue had trapped him. Though dedicated to [[Malory]], it draws rather from the earlier texts, curiously intertwining references to [[Kaballah]] and explicit erotic passages.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/merlin0000nyer|title=Merlin|last=Nye|first=Robert|date=1978|publisher=Hamish Hamilton|isbn=0-241-89952-4|url-access=registration}}</ref>
*Merlin plays a modern-day villain in [[Roger Zelazny|Roger Zelazny's]] short story
*''[[Cyr Myrddin, the Coming of Age of Merlin]]'' (1979) by [[Michael de Angelo]] is the story of the early life of Merlin as he searches for his destiny.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gododdinpublishing.com|title=Blub of 'Cyr Myrddin, The Coming of Age of Merlin'|date=2009|website=Goddin Publishing|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805102633/http://www.gododdinpublishing.com/|archivedate=5 August 2009}}</ref>
*Merlin, called Aurelianus, is a character in [[Tim Powers|Tim Powers']] novel ''The Drawing of the Dark'' (1979), which describes the reincarnation of King Arthur, an Irishman named Brian Duffy, leading the forces of the West into battle against the forces of the East in 16th century Vienna.
*[[Stephen King]] mentions a character called Maerlyn in [[The Dark Tower (series)|''The Dark Tower'']] series of novels (the first novel published in 1982), as well as the prequel comic ''[[The Gunslinger Born]]'' (2007). Although this Maerlyn is an adviser to an alternative Earth's version of [[King Arthur]], he appears to be evil, as he sires the evil sorcerer [[Marten Broadcloak]] and creates the soul-corrupting Wizard's Rainbow.
*[[Marion Zimmer Bradley|Marion Zimmer Bradley's]] 1983 ''[[The Mists of Avalon]]'' retells the Arthurian legend with [[Morgan Le Fay]] as the protagonist, in the tradition of [[John Champlin Gardner, Jr.|John Gardner]]'s ''[[Grendel (novel)|Grendel]]''. It includes two distinct characters who, in succession, hold the title of "The Merlin of Britain
* [[René Barjavel|René Barjavel's]] novel ''[[L'Enchanteur]]'' (1984) tells the story of the Knights of the Round Table and the quest for the Holy Grail from the perspective of Merlin and his relationship with the Lady of the Lake.
*Arthurian scholar [[Nikolai Tolstoy]] (a relation of [[Leo Tolstoy]]) wrote two books about Merlin, a non-fiction ''The Quest For Merlin'' (1985) and a historical fantasy ''[[The Coming of the King]]'' (1988), the first of an unfinished trilogy. The latter book's depiction of Merlin may be the most historically accurate of all since he lives after Arthur's death. The hero [[Beowulf]] even appears as an invader.
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