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Best-selling author Marion Zimmer Bradley skillfully blends enchanting romance, supernatural ritual, and daring exploits in this eagerly-awaited prelude to the blockbuster fantasy series, The Mists of Avalon. Foreshadowing the mystical birth of King Arthur, Lady of Avalon paints a lush portrait of the turbulence and grandeur of ancient Britain while Rome ruled the Isles. Throughout Britannia, Roman soldiers are destroying those who follow the Druid's time-honored religion. Hoping to save a remnant of the faith, High Priestess Lady Caillean retreats with her band of holy followers to the mist-enshrouded island of Avalon. There she forges a bond with the Sacred King to serve the Great Goddess and to steer Britannia's political forces. As the decades turn into centuries, the High Priestess and her inspired successors work their magic to shape the fortunes of humankind-but even their powerful sorcery cannot control the human heart. Each earthy priestess of Avalon steps colorfully from the pages with Marion Zimmer Bradley's dynamic plotting and Davina Porter's dramatic narration.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 2, 1997
      Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (1983) remains one of the best loved--and bestselling--reworkings 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. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Davina Porter is an outstanding narrator who brings a relaxed but articulate style to every story she reads. This masterful presentation of this enchanting tale, which foreshadows the birth of King Arthur, is read with drama and precision. Characters are easily and quickly recognizable through different accents and dialects. The abridgment has smooth transitions and does an exceptional job adapting the book to an aural format. In their telling of the successive lives of Avalon's three most powerful priestesses, Porter and Bradley form a hard-to-beat team that will delight most listeners. S.C.A. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1030
  • Text Difficulty:6-8

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