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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 show more 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.
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23 reviews
La Signora di Avalon non è una donna, ma una figura: attraverso i secoli e le generazioni ne conosciamo diverse, tutte accumunate dal potere e il pesante fardello di responsabilità che ne deriva. Insieme a loro, sacerdotesse, druidi, re, soldati, amanti, figli, barbari, romani, britanni… la storia si fonde con la magia, la verità con la leggenda.
Un libro molto bello, nonostante la mole si legge con facilità perché riesce sempre a tenere desto l’interesse, o almeno per me è stato così.

http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodileggere/422
A little different format this time. The book was set in multiple time periods with different lead characters for each section. I liked this as it prevented the story from dragging as some of the other books have.
Lady of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a compilation of three novellas, each set in a different time period, and each with a different High Priestess or "Lady" of Avalon. Part one is a direct sequel to The Forest House and tells the story of how the protective mists that separate Avalon from the surrounding land were put in place by Caillean. Part two is about a priestess named Teleri who is compelled to marry a man she does not love in order to tie him to Avalon to ensure the safety of Britain. Part three is a direct prequel to The Mists of Avalon and is the story of Viviane's childhood and training on Avalon and the events that led to her becoming High Priestess of Avalon. Although these are three separate stories, they all show more contain similar themes which tie them together. I rather enjoyed the first and third parts, but part two I found more tedious and didn't really feel it added much to the series as a whole except to provide some context for certain events that happened in the book Priestess of Avalon. Overall I'd really recommend this book to fans of the Avalon series as it provides some really good background story to The Mists of Avalon.

This book should be read after The Forest House(and Ravens of Avalon before that) and before Mists of Avalon. There are also references to The Fall of Atlantis and Ancestors of Avalon but it is less important that you read these books first. The book Priestess of Avalon overlaps both chronologically and in plot with part two of this book. There are many options for the order in which to read the two books. You could simply read Lady of Avalon first and then Priestess of Avalon second or vice-versa. You could read Priestess of Avalon anytime after the first part of Lady of Avalon, but make sure you finish reading it before you start part three of Lady of Avalon. My preferred method is a bit more complicated though. First read part one of Lady of Avalon. Second read part one of Priestess of Avalon and up to chapter 11 of part two. Third read part two of Lady of Avalon. Forth finish parts two and three of Priestess of Avalon, and then finally read part three of Lady of Avalon.
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Great rendition of Arthurian legend from a woman's perspective and the goddess cult that might have been.
This was great! I really love the whole of the Avalon Saga. It is really refreshing that the author doesn't sacrifice the story line or ending just to produce a stereotypical happy ending
Extremely depressing and rather perturbing, this book serves more as a bridge than a work enjoyable as a stand-alone.
Intéressant secret à découvir !
Bien que moins captivant que les 2 premiers tomes, celui-là revient aux origines du mythe, insiste sur quelques épisodes importants pour dévoiler au final...

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Author Information

Picture of author.
407+ Works 98,700 Members
Marion Zimmer Bradley is a science-fiction and fantasy writer, novelist, and editor. She was born in Albany, New York on June 3, 1930. Bradley attended the New York State College for Teachers from 1946 to 1948. She earned a B.A. from Hardin Simmons University in 1964. Bradley did graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley from 1965 show more to 1967. Bradley sold her first story to Fantastic Amazing Stories as part of an amateur fiction contest. She sold her first professional story to Vortex Science Fiction in 1952. Her novels include The Sword of Aldones and The Planet Savers. Both novels were set on Darkover, the setting for more than 20 subsequent Bradley novels. Bradley also wrote The Mists of Avalon, a reworking of the King Arthur legend with more emphasis on the female characters. She used the same approach with The Firebrand, which was based on The Iliad. In addition to writing more than 85 books, Bradley was the editor of an annual anthology for DAW Books, as well as the editor of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. Bradley died in 1999. (Bowker Author Biography) Marion Zimmer Bradley was the bestselling author of "The Mists of Avalon", "Lady of Avalon", "The Forest House", & "The Firebrand", as well as the popular Darkover series of science fiction novels. She died in 1999. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Some Editions

Argent, Philip (Cover artist)
Landor, Rosalyn (Narrator)
Ohl, Manfred (Translator)
Palencar, John Jude (Cover artist)
Sartorius, Hans (Translator)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Lady of Avalon
Original title
Lady of Avalon
Original publication date
1997
People/Characters
Ambrosius Aurelianus
Important places
Avalon; Atlantis
Related movies*
The Mists of Avalon (2001 | IMDb)
Dedication
To Diana L. Paxson, without whom this book could not have been written, and to Darkmoon Circle, the priestesses of Avalon
First words
It was nearing sunset, and the quiet waters of the Vale of Avalon were overlaid with gold.
Quotations
Is it of your own free will, without force or coercion by your father or anyone, that you seek to join the holy sisterhood that dwell in Avalon?
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Then the Merlin of Britannia and the Lady of Avalon came down from the Tor to begin the new day.
Original language
English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Fantasy, General Fiction, Historical Fiction
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PS3552 .R228 .L27Language and LiteratureAmerican literatureAmerican literatureIndividual authors1961-
BISAC

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Members
3,582
Popularity
4,540
Reviews
21
Rating
½ (3.59)
Languages
12 — Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil)
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
49
ASINs
13