Lady of Avalon (Avalon, Book 3) [Paperback]

Marion Zimmer Bradley (Author), John Jude Palencar (Illustrator), Diana L. Paxson (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

New York Times bestselling author Marion Zimmer Bradley brings the mesmerizing world of myth, romance and history to life in the spellbinding novel of epic grandeur!

Before the legend of King Arthur and Camelot, there was Avalon, a beautiful island of golden vales and silver mists. A land where the lives of three powerful priestesses shape the destiny of Roman Britian as they fight to regain the magic and traditions of a once gallant past...

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

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.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Bradley's sensational Arthurian fantasy, The Mists of Avalon (1982), could never have a sequel, not if Bradley wanted to keep women's power as the main theme, because after Camelot, you will recall, things went steadily downhill. So she retreated and wrote The Forest House (1994), a prequel about the struggle between native Celts and invading Romans in Avalon's home world. This sequel to House and prequel to Mists is set close enough to Arthurian times for such important figures as Merlin and Vivianne to appear, yet far enough before them to allow Bradley's imagination ample scope. In it, three characters capable of reincarnation--a priestess, a mother, and a son--appear in similar relationships in episodes set at the turn of the first to the second century A.D., the end of the third century, and the middle of the fifth century. In each time, Avalon is threatened; the mystic isle survives, of course, but only through sacrifice. Bradley's women are, as usual, strong and vibrant, but never before has she so effectively depicted the heroic male. Expect strong demand for this installment of an immensely popular saga; Viking does, to the tune of a 150,000-copy first printing. Patricia Monaghan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Roc Trade (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451456521
• ISBN-13: 978-0451456526
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marion Eleanor Zimmer was born in Albany, NY, on June 3, 1930, and married Robert Alden Bradley in 1949. Mrs. Bradley received her B.A. in 1964 from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, then did graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-67.
She was a science fiction/fantasy fan from her middle teens. She had written as long as she could remember, but wrote only for school magazines and fanzines until 1952, when she sold her first professional short story to VORTEX SCIENCE FICTION. She wrote everything from science fiction to Gothics, but is probably best known for her Darkover novels and for her Arthurian novel, THE MISTS OF AVALON.
In addition to her novels, Mrs. Bradley edited magazines, amateur and professional, including Marion Zimmer Bradley's FANTASY Magazine, which she started in 1988. She also edited an annual anthology called SWORD AND SORCERESS, which is still published annually under the title MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY'S SWORD AND SORCERESS.
She died in Berkeley, California on September 25, 1999, four days after suffering a major heart attack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquent display of the cycle of life, July 18, 2006

By 

Monarch (San Fran Bay area, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady of Avalon (Avalon, Book 3) (Paperback)

Lady of Avalon is actually 3 books in one. Each part is a separate story, yet they are all interwoven in the Pagan idea of the life cycle, and reincarnation.

The first section is called "The Wisewoman" and takes place from 96AD to 118AD. This is mostly Caillean's story as left off in "The Forest House" including the rest of the life of Eilan's son, Gawen. This story also reveals how and why Avalon came to have it's infamous "mists" and different time tract.

The second section is called "The High Priestess" and takes place from 285AD to 293AD. This is mostly Dierna's story picking up from the story line started in the book "Priestess of Avalon." I would personally recommend reading "Priestess of Avalon" between reading the first and second parts of this book, if one wishes to read the stories in chronological order.

Part 3 is called "Daughter of Avalon" and takes place from 440AD to 452AD. This is mostly Vivianne's story, which directly leads in to "The Mists of Avalon." Although I thoroughly enjoyed the story that was presented, I was wanting even more. I felt it ended a little too early with a larger gap in time from the end of this to the start of "The Mists" than I would prefer. This story is VERY insightful to the character of Vivianne, and gives much more understanding of her actions carried out in "The Mists of Avalon." As with all the stories in the series, it was very spiritual. The desription of what Vivianne felt and thought as she went to part the mists for the first time was moving.

The books preceeding this one in the series are: "The Fall of Atlantis," "Ancestors of Avalon," and "The Forest House."

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as Compelling as Mists, September 8, 2004

By 

Diana F. Von Behren "reneofc" (Kenner, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lady of Avalon (Avalon, Book 3) (Paperback)

When I read the Mists of Avalon a few years ago I was mesmerized. A huge tome of over a 1000 pages, this earlier novel relates the story of Arthur and his Camelot from the perspective of the three women closest in his life: his mother Ygraine, his sister, Morgaine and his wife, Guinevere. believe me this is a novel to be savored and reread many times. That being said, I was excited when Zimmer Bradley came out with her two prequels, firstly, "The Forest House" and "Lady of Avalon". Sadly, neither of these two books are worthy enough to complete a trilogy, but if you, like myself, were intigued by the idea of a closed society of people using magic to effect the early history of Britain, you will also grudgingly like these.
"Lady of Avalon" starts off where "Forest House" left off. In order to span the gulf between the time sequence of Forest House and Mists of Avalon, Bradley scrambles a bit and tells the story of three different generations of Avalon high priestesses. How disappointing . . . each of these vignettes would have made a wonderful more fully fleshed out novel of its own. Granted, each of the women are strong and they all have their particular mission with regard to Avalon with respect to the outside world. However detailed certain acts of magic are within storyline, Zimmer Bradley's own sparkling brand of magic so evident in "Mists" is unfortunately missing. But one postive note: however disappointing this trilogy of tales is, it still continues the tradion of Zimmer Bradley's brainchild and it is supremely better than Diana Paxson's sequel called "Priestess of Avalon" which cannot hold a candle to Zimmer Bradley's work.
I both read the book and listened to the audio performance; the abridged version leaves far too much out to be considered serious.
Recommended to all those who simply love Zimmer Bradley's interpretation of the Arthurian tales and must have more.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I am torn between loyalty and personal views..., March 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady of Avalon (Hardcover)

I have read Mists, Forest House, and Atlantis. I am currently in the process of finishing this, "Lady of Avalon"-- what I consider to be the fourth installment of Bradley's tale of Druidic religion, and can say fairly that I am truly torn. I am enjoying the book, I purchased it 4 days ago and am on chapter 21 or 22. From her first two books, because truly Atlantis sets the stage for the Druids who are to come, I feel that she has not allowed herself the time to develop her characters fully.

With Atlantis we see the depth of conviction that the priests and priestesses have for their religion, and the spiral of lives that may come forth beause of their rebellion; in Mists we see one of those very incarnations (which is why If you've read Mists and not Atlantis you REALLY should Atlantis); the Forest House allows the reader to find out how the priestesses came to Avalon, while Lady explains how Avalon went into the mists. The whole story of Gawen could have taken a book in itself, and seemed rushed so that she could continue on with her storycraft. I believe that each section could have been larger, had I known so much history would be condensed into this installment, I would have expected to see it the size of Mists, not barely larger than Forest House.

My loyalty to Ms. Bradley and her first two installments leads me to believe that after finishing Lady and reflecting, I will like it emmensely. I am enjoying it--I would have enjoyed it far more had it seemed that she put the time into this as she had in Mists. By time I mean covering things more in depth, giving the reader time to become more involved with the characters. We know two of the charatcers from other books, Eilan and Vivianne. I like the book, and if you are an avid follower of Ms. Bradley's Arthurian tale I highly recommend it. Perhaps her brevity in this installment will allow her to expand on certain events or characters in later installments.