T. H. White's tetralogy “The Once and Future King” (plus the posthumously published “The Book of Merlin”) are iconic works not only in science fiction, but also in literature in general. It is enough to mention the names of writers who directly spoke about the influence that T. H. White had on them to be convinced of this. Michael Moorcock, JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman - the list goes on for a long time. The source of the cycle, of course, is Thomas Malory, his “Le Morte d’Arthur”. On the other hand, White is so in tune with his era, so imbued these books with thoughts about good and evil, anxiety for the modern world (the first books of the series were published in the pre-war years), that, regardless of the source, their value and originality is beyond doubt. On the Tombstone On the stone on the grave of T. H. White there is an inscription: “To the writer who, from the depths of his tormented heart, brought joy to people and praised life.” And this is true.