Avalon

Years ago I read two books by Anya Seton: Katherine and My Theodosia. I remember loving both of those and I'm currently working on my own novel set in tenth century Sweden and England. I decided to read Avalon partly as research and partly because I knew I would enjoy it. In my memory, the other two Seton novels were more powerful than this one, but that could be due to the span of years since I read them. In any case, this is a five star read.

The plot tells the story of Rumon, a French nobleman, and Merewyn, a young Cornish woman, whom we first meet as a teenager. Rumon, whose formal name is Romieux de Provence, is on his way to serve in the court of Edgar I, the current King of England. He encounters Merewyn, whose mother has just show more died. Rumon agrees to bring the young woman to her Aunt Merwinna, the current Abbess of Romsey Abbey.

As with Anya Seton's other novels, this is fiction based on historic fact. Many of the characters are historic figures. I believe Merewyn is fictional, but Rumon has some connection to a real character. The story also includes King Edgar I, King Edward (Edgar's son), Queen Alfrida, King Ethelred (Alfrida's son by Edgar – known as “the unready”), Dunstan (the Archbishop of Canterbury), Erik the Red, and Leif Erikson (Erik's son). The settings include England, Ireland, Greenland, and a brief stay in North America. The history of this era has conflicts and voids, but I felt that Anya Seton did an excellent job of resolving those. Avalon feels accurate in historic fact, portrayal of the hardships people faced at that time, and in the personalities of the characters, both fictional and real.

Steve Lindahl – author of Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul show less

This is not a romance. It certainly ruminates on love and desire, but it doesn't guarantee love as a fairy tale. If you want to read a long saga that chronicles two small lives, the mystery they encounter, the serendipity, the tragedy, the happiness, and most of all the unnameable longing for something beyond what you know--the mythical Avalon which the male protagonist searches for--I think you'll enjoy this book. It's complicated and frustrating but honest, and at times very eloquent.

One-sentence summary: Set in 10th century Britain, the book follows the tumultuous lives of French prince Rumon and Cornish lady-in-waiting Merewyn as they take part in court life and struggle to survive the constant Viking attacks.

Why did you get this book?: I love historical novels; I love Anya Seton; this is a time period I know very little about.

Do you like the cover?: Yes, because I like Pre-Raphaelite art, but I think it is the wrong image for the story; something more medieval would have been better.

Did you enjoy the book?: Very much so -- I found it slow to start, but within a chapter or two, it became very engrossing.

Other thoughts?: This wasn't a romance! There were definitely romantic subplots but the entire story was not show more built around a romance between Rumon and Merewyn, which I loved. I also enjoyed the two worlds portrayed in this book -- the first half described medieval court life in England while the second half detailed Merewyn's experience in Iceland and Greenland. Fascinating stuff. show less

This was honestly not what I was expecting. It wasn't bad exactly, but there were several points where I wasn't sure where the story was going and who the "romance" was supposed to be between. This story follows Merewyn and Rumon, who meet when Merewyn is just a young teen, and I suppose they are supposed to be the love story...except that they never seem to be in love with each other. First, Merewyn pines while Rumon carries on an affair with the queen, then Rumon goes chasing after Merewyn when she's kidnapped by Vikings, only to find her happily married...so he becomes a monk. Honestly, this story was all over the place plot and character-wise. That said, it gets an extra star for the section about Merewyn's life on Iceland and show more Greenland, which I would have preferred a whole book of. show less

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 novel is in many ways the total opposite to Anya Seton's Katherine. Whereas Katherine is the story of a passionate love affair this is the story of a love that never had a chance to be. Merewyn and Rumon simply miss each other, first Merewyn loves Rumon but he feels himself above her and by the time that he discovers himself Merewyn has been taken taken across to Iceland to discover her true identity where she falls in love and marries. Rumon traces her to Iceland and discovers he is too late.
Later when Merewyn is widowed she tries to reach Rumon again and finds that his situation has changed.
Theirs is very much a story of missed opportunities, it is really quite sad although each of them eventually finds their own peace.

A historical novel based on events that occurred in the 10th Century in England, Iceland, and Greenland, Avalon did not live up to my expectations of Anya Seton. The plot of a bit plodding and fairly unsophisticated. However, I did enjoy getting a glimpse of this time period, which is not one that is encountered that often. I now have a better understanding of how the very important Norman conquest came to be and why the Normans came to sit on the throne of England.

The story traces a Cornish girl, Merewyn, who is revealed to be a result of a Viking raid, and Rumon, a French descendant of Charlemagne. Their lives intersect several times, as they thread their ways through the royal house of first King Edgar and then Ethelred the Unready. show more The influences of both the raiding Norsemen and the Christian church are well-presented. It is primarily the person stories that lack impact. Merewyn, to whom we should feel attached, falls a bit flat for me, and displays a kind of inconsistency of character that bothers me as well. I do feel the section that deals with her life among the Iceland/Greenland Norse is better-written than her time in England.

I have had this book sitting on my shelf for years and have always believed it was going to be a book I would love if I could ever get it into the schedule. It was not that, but I am pleased to be able to say I have read it and that I did walk away with information and impressions of the time period that I did not have at the outset. show less