Customer Reviews

Avalon

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful, romantic tale, almost a saga. Though the main character is fictional, the story itself is set in an interesting historical period and the details are accurate.

Merewyn leaves Cornwall at fifteen, after the death of her mother. She travels into England in the company of Rumon, who is the historical figure Romieux de Provence, shipwrecked on the Cornish coast. Merewyn works for some time at England's royal court and then stays at a nunnery, following the assassination of one unfortunate English king. Fate intervenes dramatically with her life when she has to return to Cornwall after the death of the Abbess of her convent.

Anya Seton has woven a charming story around the figure of Rumon, a Cornish saint. Merewyn believes herself descended from the ancient, royal line of King Arthur. This is a sustaining myth in her life. Merewyn's actual parentage is far less romantic and has to do with Viking raids on the Cornish coast.

The story of the star-crossed love of Merewyn and Rumon is just one strand of this story. England in the tenth century was subject to periodic invasion from the Norsemen - this is a major part of the plot, which is romantic yet plausible. Merewyn does a great deal of travelling both planned and unexpected, to find her real identity.

I first read this novel many years ago, and have since read it many times. I warmly recommend it to new readers.

Very enjoyable. It was nice taking a travel through history in a period of time not so frequently written about. The up and down see saw of Merewyn's and Ruman's star crossed love was heartbreaking at times. I don't want to say more to give out the end.

It isn't Katherine by a long shot, but still a good read, and I would recommend to any lover of historical fiction.

Recently, the works of novelist Anya Seton have been coming back into print, with introductions written by fellow writer, Philippa Gregory. With most of Seton's work being produced between the 1950's and 1980's, it's been interesting to reread these stories, mostly of thwarted love and romance, with a generous dash of the mysterious stirred in for good measure.

Set in England just before the year 1000, it takes the story of two young people who meet by happenstance, and form a bond that is by turns resentful, friendly and at times, romantic. Rumon, a young princeling from Avignon, descended from the early Saxon kings of England, has been sent to that land by his exasperated grandmother, Queen Edgive. Rumon, unlike the other young men, has not one bit of interest in the arts of war, preferring instead to follow gentler arts, such as reading and music. When he is shipwrecked off the coast of Cornwall, he finds himself in a strange place that seems to hover on the edges of the earth itself.

And it is here that he meets Merewyn, a young girl that is everything that he is not -- illiterate, destitute and burdened with a mother that is both crippled, and likely to be mad to boot. But there is one thing that she has in common with the fastidious, aloof Rumon -- a touch of royal blood, claiming descent from King Arthur himself, and proud of her heritage. But from her dying mother, who wrings a vow from him to never speak of it, Rumon learns something else entirely, a secret that both haunts and poisons him, but his own sense of honor has him taking Merewyn with him to the protection of her Aunt, Abbess Merwinna of Romsey.

We follow them along to the court of King Edgar, and his beautiful vain wife, Alfrida, meeting courtiers and bishops along the way. One of them, Dunstan, will play pivotal roles in the futures of the young couple, and gives a glimpse of the mystical and religious life of England just before the turn of the first millennium. Religion was at the time, a serious matter, and people believed strongly in the power of visions, superstitions and at times, rather convoluted ways of doing things. Rumon, especially, is rather naïve, even more so than Merewyn, with his insistance on his quest to find Avalon, the mystical resting place of King Arthur, and his strict adherence to doctrine, even when it costs him both self-respect and love. Both of them embark on adventures across the sea, Merewyn to the Norse lands of Iceland and Greenland, and Rumon even beyond that. Throughout their troubles and questioning natures, one thing remains solid -- their bond, and the thirst for happiness.

One thing that I really enjoy about Anya Seton's work is her ability to create a world that is both believable and entertaining. I tend to be a stickler for historical accuracy in novels, and Seton goes far beyond what is required. She stays true to what is known, but also isn?t afraid to explore some of the more controversial aspects of history. Of her characters, only those of Merewyn and her family are fictional, but Dunstan, Merwinna and Rumon all lived, along with the English royalty at the times. Too, so are the stories of the Vikings settling in Greenland, which was much warmer than today at the time, and making it as far as the North American continent. So too, might have the Irish monks, and the tales of the Culdees, an early Irish-Christian sect. One of the pivotal points of the novel occurs in North Salem, New Hampshire, and the site known as Mystery Hill.

(Warning - there are a couple of spoilers here, so just skip to the end if you don't want to read them, but they're important to the review, so...)

In retrospect, this isn?t going to be a novel that appeals to everyone. Many will be upset about the fact that the two leads never really do get to have a future together. Many consider this to fly in the face of a 'romance' novel, but I think that Seton was aiming for something different than the usual romance, and decided to really put the characters through trying times. While Merewyn is able to find happiness of a sort in both of her marriages, there isn't any sort of the grand passion that is expected in most books nowadays.

But then, Avalon was written in a very different era than today. Written in 1965, most women were expected to marry, be faithful, and raise several children, all the while denying that there could ever be something more satisfying in life. Certainly novels, if they were to be successful and mass-marketed kept sex and adultery to a minimum, unless the woman involved was a Bad Woman. But times have changed in the last forty years. Nowadays, Rumon and Merewyn would have had little self-doubts and hesitations, and would have been busy steaming up the sheets, and the interest and charm that make this such a readable novel would have vanished.

(End spoiler)

No, this is not a traditional sort of romance. Here, the longing may or may not be fulfilled, which is left to the reader to guess at until the very end. Instead, the focus is as much on the inner world as it is about Viking raids, adventures, treacherous queens and scholarly monks. Rumon's own arrogance and at times, priggishness, hold the seeds of his own downfall, and the character of Queen Alfrida is certainly one to give anyone pause before getting entangled with her.

What I did not like about this edition is Philippa Gregory's forward to the story. Towards the end, she denigrates the very work that she is talking about, an action that I find rather underhanded, after all, Ms. Seton has been dead for several years and it's rather bad form to take a slap at someone who can't fight back. The afterword, however, is excellent, where the author explains her sources and some of the more unlikely - but quite possible - actions in the story.

Not everyone will like it, but if you are hunting for a novel that has a solid historical base, keeps away from the sticky, syrupy romances of today, and manages to create a world that is believable - and unusual - then this is one to take in. Five solid stars.

Recommended

I read "Avalon" when I was in my late teens or early 20's, now at 53, re-reading it, and happy to have found it in the bookstore again, I am not disappointed. It is an excellent historical novel.

The title, "Avalon" refers to Rumon's quest, and there are other quests as well that tie in nicely with the title.

The writing flows, the language is written to sound realistic for the time period yet not hard to follow, it's as easy to read as anything set in the present day.

I was very disappointed in the publisher that allowed the terrible Foreward by Philippa Gregory. A book that has stood the test of time and been brought back into publication deserves a Foreward that is nothing but complimentary. Ms. Gregory wrote of "Avalon" what she feels is wrong with the book, to quote: "But as a novel, it is too episodic, and unstructured." She also wrote: "...it is hard to feel empathy that a good novel usually delivers."

What does "too episodic" mean? And the second quote I offer plainly shows that Ms. Gregory doesn't really believe "Avalon" is a good novel.

Reading "Avalon," I felt empathy for every character, even the nasty Alfrida. Perhaps Ms. Gregory is comparing "Avalon" to the books she has written, that I'm sure she considers "good novels." I work in a bookstore and to Ms. Gregory's credit, she has brought a lot of joy to people who buy and love her books, and I am tempted regularly to keep giving Ms. Gregory's books one more try, but I can't ever get beyond the first page in any of Ms. Gregory's books. So in reviewing Anya Seton's "Avalon," (and it is a low blow to criticize so negatively a book by a woman who has passed away), Ms. Gregory was unable to suppress her conceit in her own work along with her overwhelming ego because of her success with her books, (books that, at least to me, fall into the pulp Romance Novel category, although Ms. Gregory managed to get her books categorized as to be shelved in the Fiction bays). If I could, I would like to remind Ms. Gregory that these days, the publishing/bookstore business is very different than it was when "Avalon" first came out. If, in 47 years ANY of Philippa Gregory's books are republished, I will be surprised. But by then I'll be 100, and probably won't care, every minute will count at that age and I won't waste it trying once again to read any of Ms. Gregory's books.

The Foreward to "Avalon" is a good reason NOT to read Forewards.

The book "Avalon" is excellent. Characters that are very identifiable emotionally, good history, good dialogue, subtle and well-written. The scenes set in the Norselands are so realistic you can almost feel the climate.

Please read it and enjoy. Then read the actual history of the times; you will then be even more impressed with Anya Seton's work.

If you do read the Foreward, take the good, then take a black marker and block out the negative. Then read "Avalon" and enjoy it. It's wonderful.

Anya Seton is a masterful storyteller, transporting the reader back to the Dark Ages, to be immersed in a period of Viking raids on the British Isles and deceit, treachery and murder on the English throne. As is an indicator of good historical fiction, I was inspired to find out more about this time period, to learn which characters and events were historically documented and which were products of the author's vivid imagination. I also highly recommend Seton's "Katherine" for those who enjoy historical fiction.

This book was amazing it enchanted me right from the start. There was never a time when i was bored, the story of a poor little cornish girl who doesn't know her own background is very moving in places and even funny sometimes, as Merewyn and Rumon search for thier love. Its a spectacular book and i don't understand why it is out of print. i'm just glad i got to it before it went out of print.

If you love books, you'll REALLY love this! The whole book was just great! It tells the story of a young Cornish girl who's life is intertwined with that of a French prince. He meets her on the shores of Cornwall just to ask directions. And that is just the beggining. This is such an AWESOME book! It is one of those books that you can picture being a movie! (And a good one at that!) I reccommend it to any and everyone! You will love it! I GUARENTEE IT!

Anya Seton is my favorite author and historical fiction writer. Her writing is perfect, characters well rounded, and her stories researched. "Avalon" was not a disappointment because she did not fail in any of those respects. However, "Avalon" was not nearly as good as her other books. I did not feel attached to the characters as I usually do, at some points I felt the story dragging on, and you wait throughout the whole book for something that Ms Seton continuously builds up to, but does not come to pass.

During the 800's in England, it is about two fictional characters in a historically correct setting. The novel is basically about their relationship that never truely develops.

I recommend this because Anya Seton has a way with her writing and stories, even though it's not personally one of my favorites by her.

I picked up this book at a library sale and had it for two years before I read it. I now want to read all of Anya Seton's books.

My copy was issued in 1965, I was 3 years old at the time. I am an avid book reader and I am especially fond of historical fiction, (learn and be entertained at the same time). I agree with the other reviewer's. A newly re-published boxed set of Seton's works would be high on my list!

I was reading comments about Anya Seton's books, and there was one I had to heartily agree with.... to please have Seton's books printed again... as gift box sets, what a wonderful idea! She is one author who truly brings to life characters and the era, I find they haunt me. I read "Katherine" 33 years ago, I plan on re-reading that and probably others. She is a special author - please bring those books back!