My family pleaded with me to forget literature and do something sensible, such as find some sort of useful work.

That was "the story of a young person going out into the world for the first time and finding the world a very difficult place indeed. He once described it as being educational for him and as "rather like being a visiting uncle who has a marvelous time with his nephews and nieces then goes off leaving the parents to cope with attacks of whooping cough mending socks and blackmailing the kids to straighten up the mess in their rooms. I loved all the world's mythologies; King Arthur was one of my heroes;.

His most famous work is The Chronicles of Prydain a series of five high fantasy novels whose conclusion The High King was awarded the 1969 Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature. National Book Awards in 1971 and 1982.