Lady of Avalon (Avalon Series #3)

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Overview

Journey to a time before King Arthur in this prequel to The Mists of Avalon—a spellbinding story of three remarkable women who alter the fortunes of Roman Britain as they fight to reclaim the magic and traditions of a once glorious past.
 
Caillean, the young priestess fated to become Lady of Avalon, who rescues and raises the orphaned Gawen—heir to a mystic and dangerous royal line...Dierna, who must use all her strength, wisdom, and love to guide Avalon through treacherous political waters and veil the island from a hostile world...Viviane, Lady of the Lake and keeper of the Grail, destined for true greatness as she prepares Avalon for the coming of a legendary king...

Bestselling author Marion Zimmer Bradley brings the mesmerizing world of myth and magic, romance and history, brilliantly to life in this novel of epic grandeur worthy of fantasy’s finest storyteller.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101212783
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/04/2007
Series:	Avalon Series , #3
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	75,332
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Marion Zimmer Bradley was the New York Times bestselling science fiction and fantasy author of the Avalon series, the Darkover series, and more. In addition to her novels, Mrs. Bradley edited many magazines, amateur and professional, including Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. She died in 1999 and was posthumously awarded the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2000.

Date of Birth:

June 30, 1930

Date of Death:

September 25, 1999

Place of Birth:

Albany, New York

Place of Death:

Berkeley, California

Education:

B.A., Hardin-Simmons College, 1964; additional study at University of California, Berkeley, 1965-1967

Table of Contents

TOC not available

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Bradley here combines romance, rich historical detail, magical dazzlements, grand adventure and feminist sentiments into the kind of novel her fans have been yearning for." —-Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Editorial Reviews

Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (1983) remains one of the best lovedand bestsellingreworkings of the Arthurian cycle. Now Bradley has written a splendid prequel (which she also links to her novel The Forest House), in which she traces the High Priestess of Avalon and the sacrificial Sacred King through three cycles of reincarnation and mythic destiny. In the first century of Christianity, Lady Caillean raises her orphaned grandson, Gawen (whose mother was killed in The Forest House). Initiated as the Pendragon and Sacred King, Gawen dies, but has fathered a child by Sianna, a daughter of the Fairy Queen. After his death, Lady Callean transports Avalon to a separate magical reality. Sianna's descendants continue to shape the history of Britannia, however. Lady Dierna marries her daughter Taleri to Carausius, who becomes Emperor of Britannia and dies defending the land. A later descendant, Lady Ana, calls back to Avalon her daughter Viviane, who is united with Vortimer, her era's Defender of Britannia. But it is Lady Ana's child Igraine, whom Viviane raises, who will culiminate the bloodlines. A pillar of the fantasy field, Bradley here combines romance, rich historical detail, magical dazzlements, grand adventure and feminist sentiments into the kind of novel her fans have been yearning for.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This three-part fantasy, set in Roman-occupied Britain, creates the link between The Forest House and The Mists of Avalon and should satisfy fans of both those books. Spanning almost 400 years, it tells the stories of the high priestesses and ladies of Avalon. Recommended for fantasy collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/97.]

Library Journal

This smoky mix of magic, legend, people both mythic and real, and the ancient savageries of war supplies a chronological link between Bradley's The Forest House (1994), set in first-century Britain, and her Arthurian saga, The Mists of Avalon (1983).

Here, again, is Avalon, seat of the Goddess Mother religion, its artifacts crafted by those Old Ones from Atlantis. This time, the High Priestesses, hounded by male-dominated Christianity, wrestle with their powers as they see visions and seek out incarnations of the Sacred King who will save Brittania. The boy Gawen (introduced in The Forest House) will be raised in Avalon by the High Priestess Caillean—it is she who magically separates Avalon from the world outside—saluted as the true "Son of a Hundred Kings," be given a miraculous sword, and ritually unite with his beloved Sianna (none other than the daughter of the Faerie Queen). Gawen is killed by Romans but will appear again in other incarnations to fulfill his destiny as Defender of Brittania. The next Incarnation—the future Emperor of Brittania, Carausius—is discovered by the High Priestess Dierna, who should be his Queen/Bride but mistakenly arranges a marriage for him with one who would help in his defeat. Vortimer, son of the High King, is the third to swear to save Brittania's ancient ways and freedom. There are flights and pursuits, carnage on land and sea, sacred artifacts (cup, lance, etc., later to be Christian symbols), shuddering visions, and plenty of travel between real and magical worlds.

A treat for the savvy initiate, and intriguing for Arthurian buffs, but others may find it too cloudy by half. Go with the flow, though: The prose is as smooth as those sacred stones on which so many interesting things take place. Bradley also includes helpful lists of people and places and a map.

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Lady of Avalon

“Romance, rich historical detail, magical dazzlements, and grand adventure. The novel Marion Zimmer Bradley’s fans have been yearning for.”—Publishers Weekly

“A treat for the savvy initiate, and intriguing for Arthurian buffs.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Interweav[es] history and myth in a near-seamless tapestry.”—Green Man Review 

“Bradley’s women are, as usual, strong and vibrant, but never before has she so effectively depicted the heroic male…an immensely popular saga.”—Booklist
 
“No prior familiarity with Bradley’s Avalon titles will be required in order to enjoy this ongoing saga…Fine characters mark a moving story.”—Midwest Book Review
 
“A nice blend of historical and mystical elements and Bradley’s interpretation of the Priestesses and their role in Britain’s power struggles is quite interesting.”—Future Fiction

From the Publisher