The publication includes a cycle of the most famous legends about the British king Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in the exposition of two writers of the 19th century - James Knowles and Henry Gilbert. The book was first published in 1860 and has since been reprinted several times. The text is given in the translation of Eduard Andreevich Granstrem. The book is decorated with illustrations by several artists at once: Walter Crane, Lancelot Speed, Catherine Grave and William Russell Flint.