The Mists of Avalon

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Paperback, 1984

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Publication

Ballantine Books (1984), Edition: 1st, Paperback, 1009 pages

Description

When Morgan le Fay (Morgaine) has to sacrifice her virginity during fertility rites, the man who impregnates her is her younger brother Arthur, whom she turns against when she thinks he has betrayed the old religion of Avalon.

Media reviews

The New York Times Book Review

In ''The Mists of Avalon,'' Marion Zimmer Bradley's monumental reimagining of the Arthurian legends, the story begins differently, in the slow stages of female desire and of moral, even mythic, choice. Stepping into this world through the Avalon mists, we see the saga from an entirely untraditional

perspective: not Arthur's, not Lancelot's, not Merlin's. We see the creation of Camelot from the vantage point of its principal women - Viviane, Gwynyfar, Morgaine and Igraine. This, the untold Arthurian story, is no less tragic, but it has gained a mythic coherence; reading it is a deeply moving and at times uncanny experience.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member GingerbreadMan

Guinevere: Denounce all paganism and witchcraft, or we’ll never have a son.
Arthur: But honey, I am king over ALL of Britain, both Christian and believers in the Goddess.
Lancelot: I know this is wrong, but I can’t help myself!
Morgaine: You have betrayed Avalon! Give that sword back, right

now.
Merlin: But all gods are truly one and the same.
Morgause: Gods are stupid. There’s only physical love.
Accolon: You are not only my lover, you are my priestess.
Raven: -
Mordred: Yes, “uncle”.
Uriens: Morgiane, a footrub would be lovely.

Repeat five hundred times.

Add the tiniest table spoon of graaling, dragon hunting and general questing. Add a fistful of good characterization. Add a wagonload of swoony passion. Add a rather neat sense of things fading away that leaves a lingering taste. Then add three hundred pages just for the heck of it.

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LibraryThing member thorswitch

Probably my favourite book of all time. This is a masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend, primarily seen though the eyes of the women of Camelot. The story is lush, and when reading it, I find myself totally enveloped in it - to the point where occasionally, if something pulls me out of the

book, it takes me a second to get reoriented.

Zimmer Bradley touches on a wide range of topics: the nature of male-female relationships, what it might have been like to live through the transition of Pagan Britain into Christendom, the link between religion, politics and power, the struggle between duty and desire, how much influence we have over our destiny mysticism vs. dogma, and more. All of these themes are deftly woven into the tale, and she manages to carry it all off without resorting to simplistic character cliches. While the reader is clearly meant to sympathize the most with Morgaine, though who's eyes the story is told, I found myself at one point or another sympathizing with and rooting for each of the main characters.

I would recommend this book pretty much for anyone who doesn't hate fantasy, historical fiction or the Arthurian legends. I know I've lost count of how many times I've read it over the year, but it really is *that* good.

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LibraryThing member cataylor

Get lost in the magical world of Camelot and Avalon. Told by Morgaine LeFay, this spin on Arthur's world is full of strong women and the spirit of the Goddess.

LibraryThing member CathyLeming

Retelling the Arthurian legend from the point-of-view of the women-specifically Morgan LeFey. Intense emotional drama and an excellent example of world-building.

LibraryThing member Kathleen828

Review written 11/06/2002
I reread this, beginning in May, 2001, because TNT made a movie of it and my daughter, Leanne, was interested. I had read it when it was first published in 1984 and I hated it. I found it interesting and enlightening to read it again 18 years later.
The Matter of Britain

is public property and is therefore open (and defenseless) against anyone's desire to use it as a jumping off point. Though now nearly a thousand years old, the themes are eternal, and the characters are full-fledged and truly human.
I see now, as I did not on my first reading, what great skill Ms. Bradley needed to include every aspect of the myth, and what talent it took to weave all this seamlessly into this unusual and fresh interpretation.
My complaint is her constant, unrelenting ire and pique, expressed against Christianity. She never allows an opportunity to pass for a character to make some critical remark, or to load her narrative paragraphs with pejorative words.
Her agenda is too much present, and it is this, I think, that prevents the book from rising to the status of "great." The power, the pathos, the emotional engagement which flows from writer to reader when all has been forgotten except the story, is not in this, in my opinion 'because' she could never let go of her underlying purpose, which is to bash Christianity.
She had to keep uplifting The Goddess, slamming Christians and supporting her cause. Had she allowed the story and the characters just to flow, this could have been a far greater and deeper work.
As it is, I give her kudos and respect for hard work, great research, intricate plotting and a tale well told, but she never made my heart sing as Malory does.

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LibraryThing member lannabrooke13

Well I cannot even begin to explain my disappointment in this book. I kept on trudging through it thinking "of course it is going to get better! Look at everyone's reviews!" Well it never got better for me. I wasted SO much time reading this book. It honestly seemed to me like a bunch of SILLY

girls ruining the world of Arthur!! And their CONSTANT bickering and STUPID mistakes! I am ALL for strong women characters but EVERY single one of the women in this book seriously irritated me! The only person I liked in this book was Arthur! He was the only one I could relate to and I am a woman!! Plus the Pagan vs. Christian storyline was just BICKERING and CONSTANT! I feel like half the book was a repeat of same bickering about religion over and over and over! And I like THEOLOGY! Okay so maybe I am a 23 year old reading a book primarily written for 16 year olds, but as this book is nearly a "classic" I had to give it a chance and I am sorry I did. It was my 1st Arthurian book and I am happy that I kept on going with the Arthurian genre and picked up Queen of Camelot by Nancy McKenzie. Now her book is MUCH better!!! I can relate to the characters!!

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LibraryThing member rubyjand

When I first read this book I really liked it. The Camelot legend has always fascinated me and this version, with its focus on Viviane, Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, appealed to me. Now, after having been captured by the BBC series Merlin - which is brilliant! - I read The Mists of Avalon again. What a

bitter disappointment. It didn't live up to my previous high rating at all. Long, repetitive, boring, pretentious, totally lacking in humour... What was still interesting was the conflict with the Christians but the insistence that all the gods and goddesses really are one God after all was just so ho hum. Gwenhyfar was unbearable, Arthur a wimp, Merlin a goody two shoes. Only Morgaine was of some interest but, oh how it dragged out. Now I just want to watch the BBC series again to get back into the enthrallment of Merlin, Morgana, Arthur and Gwen. If you haven't seen the series, see it! If you haven't read the book, don't bother.

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LibraryThing member Eric_the_Hamster

A great take on the Arthurian mythos, narrated from the viewpoint of three women involved: Guinevere, Morgan and Viviane (the Lady of the Lake). The first (and I think only) telling, to put Morgan Le Fay in a sympathetic light.

LibraryThing member craso

This book is not just a feminists retelling of the Arthurian legend, it is the fight for the minds and souls of the British people. Who will reign over the land, a pagan or a Christian king? Will the tradition of the pagan king, put on the throne by Avalon, survive or will the king be converted to

Christianity and with him the rest of Britain? Will the religions come together as the Merlin believes with one God representing the many Gods.

What roll do women play in this struggle? In the pagan tradition, priestesses rule in Avalon. In the Christian church, women are told to be quiet and carry the burden of Eve’s sins. This duality is represented by Morgaine, Arthur’s half sister and priestess of Avalon and Gwenhwyfar, Arthur’s queen and a devout Christian. Neither is the heroine of the story. Each meddles in politics for religious reasons. If they had stayed in their own religious sects as priestess and nun, Arthur’s reign would have been serene and very boring. Instead they scheme behind the scenes to get what they want; not realizing how selfish and full of pride they are. Morgaine is shunned from Arthur’s court for plotting his downfall and Gwenhwyfar’s pious nature cannot quell her longing for Lancelet.

Arthur is not a central figure in this retelling, but a symbol of the burgeoning new religion. It is foretold that he will bring both religions together. What he does is join the British and the Saxons; creating peace in the land for a time by allowing the new religion to flourish. He forsakes those who put him on the throne. Like the Merlin, he hopes that people will understand that all Gods are one.

This book is very easy to read for such a large tome. Bradley is well versed in Arthurian legend. Like most retellings, she alters and adds characters to fit the plot, but she doesn’t forget even a minor figure from the original story. Some stories are treated as court gossip; Tristan and Isolde, Gareth and the Red King. Some people are just mentioned; Perceval and Benevere. Some of the traditional main characters like Merlin are not central to the story. Both Taliesin and Kevin the Bard are very weak and easily manipulated.

The story is told through the eyes of the central female characters. They are strong, smart and determined. They manipulate the events from behind the scenes because they are women and cannot speak out in a man’s world. Only Viviane, the Lady of The Lake, has any political stature. Instead they influence their husbands and lovers to do there biddings, often with dire results.

Who is right and who is wrong in this story? Who is good and who is evil? I believe every reader must decide for themselves. This book has not converted me to paganism. Yet, I can see that each side did what they did because they believed their choices were in the best interest of the people of Britain.

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LibraryThing member hockeycrew

One of my all time favorite books. Puts Arthurian legends through the eyes of the priesteses of the time. Beautifully written and wildly entertaining.

LibraryThing member sffstorm

I may give up on this. I like the beginning, to a point. I did not love it, but it was OK. I enjoyed the thought of the Arthur legends from a new perspective. The beginning had a lot of female empowerment and strong positive depictions of old pagan beliefs. I did like the portrayal of females under

the pagan system over the christian system, but really enjoy depictions of the old pagan religions. Halfway through the second part, I hate it. It has become more about religion than anything. I fucking hate Guinevere and wish nothing but the worst on this incarnation of that character. The ignorant hate of everyone around her is what the ENTIRE second part is about. I am sick of it. The story seems to be going nowhere and it is becoming a chore to get through. At first it made me irritated with Christianity (not being a Christian, it really wasn't that tough) but then I just started to get annoyed with the author who was clearly pushing an agenda. If in the next chapter she doesn't calm down a bit, it am giving up.

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LibraryThing member the1butterfly

The legend of King Arthur has been retold many times and in many ways (I have even heard of it being on a space ship), but this version rings the truest for me. Though I love my Malory, this is a retelling that doesn't put in five hundred battles, but takes things on a smaller, more personal scale.

If you believe in magic, then this version is also believable. I love how this retelling focuses on women, and makes us reexamine who is good, bad, right, or wrong within the tale. This is a must-read.

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LibraryThing member pacifickle

I couldn’t wait to be finished with this book until I finished it, and then I was really sad. It’s over 900 pages, so settle in. This epic Arthurian tale is from the female perspective and has much to do with love, religion, and kingcraft through a few different generations. It beautifully

features orgies, heresy, gay and lesbian love, time warps, gruesome deaths, lots of adultery, threesomes, and love triangles. Gwenwyfar is overzealous and unintelligent, Morgaine is the star-crossed villain who is resigned to deny her heart and only serve her religion, Arthur secret is that he wants only to please everyone else, and Lancelet is only strong enough to be a little bit bad, which is worse than being all the way bad. There are dozens of other characters too, and the author is talented enough to distinguish them pretty well. I also like the perspective on medieval life- they only eat cheese, bread and meat, for instance, even the royal women are illiterate, and their culture is slowly being integrated with Roman ideals and Christian beliefs. This precarious keeping of balance between varying religions, genders, loves, lands, and warring tribes all has an underlying promotion of moderation and equality.

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LibraryThing member RogueBelle

Easily the best work of modern Arthurian literature. Mists of Avalon captures the epic qualities of the stories; the only comparison for the scope of this story is Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur -- but this is far more accessible for the average modern reader, and delightfully tells the tales from the

viewpoints of the women key to the story. My only criticism is that MZB edges too far into ascribing New-Age aspects to ancient paganism at times. Overall, though, a truly wonderful book -- philosophical, sensual, and exciting.

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LibraryThing member roxy

I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It’s about 800 pages long and quite large but once I started it, I just had to keep it with me at all times even just to read a few extra sentences between classes. This was mainly Morgan’s story though the way her mother, Igraine fell in

love with Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father is related in details. We also get detailed concerning the Lancelet-Gwenwyfar-Arthur triangle; often of Viviane’s point of view as well. I was a fresh new look at fantasy because, being written from a women’s point of view, there were no battle descriptions and such… and while I love epic stories, it’s nice to read something else once in a while. Other than that, it gave clear details concerning women’s condition at the time… opposing what Catholicism to Celtic beliefs (Avalon and the Merlin’s belief in the Lady). I’m a sucker for Arthurian legends but this book brought up historical notions that I never even suspected…; especially on a religious ground. While I am aware that the author had to bend history so that it would fit her story, the way christianism was brought to Britain and the way the Saxons settled there were nicely portrayed. I enjoyed the complexity of the plot, the way Morgan would constantly try to disentangle her emotions and what she wanted to do form what the Goddess wanted her to do. The author has done an excellent work at characterization, emphasizing the differences and similarities of those women and also the complexity of their relationships and interactions. Overall, every great men had a women at his side and she influenced him in a positive or negative way... even though Catholicism claimed that women should basically keep their mouth shuts. It gave a greater meaning to the saying “Behind every great man, there is a great woman�Â?.

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LibraryThing member im-imagined

Undoubtedly the best adaption of the Arthurian legends out there, told through the eyes of the women of the Arthurian court...

LibraryThing member dchaikin

A King Arthur chronicle from the women's points-of-view. This story is told through Arthur's mother, his aunt, Queen Morgause, and later his sister Morgaine and his wife Gwynhefar. Morgaine, or Morgan le Fay is our main guide, and the magical character who drives the book.

Zimmer makes much of the

timing of the King Arthur legend to develop the brilliant setting. The Romans have left leaving a power vacuum, the Saxons are raiding. Christianity is strengthening it's hold and about to to become the dominant religion, while the Celtic religions are fading away. Zimmer creates a magical Druid religion that centers in Avalon, a place only loosely connected to the rest of the world. It requires some magic to get into the mists of Avalon. However, the Druid's and their Goddess are losing their influence.

Morgaine, who comes from a line of powerful Druids, is part of the effort to save her religion from fading away. Gwynhefar, and devout and somewhat insanely pious Christian, wants the heathen religions banished. If you know the story, and where Arthur fits in this all, you might see the tangled mess this can lead to...not to mention some interesting religious debates.

At almost 900 pages, this is a long book. It covers everything. It's a book to get lost in, to carry you away to a very distant time and place. Unfortunately it didn't do that for me, and the length really wore me out, especially the first 700 pages or so until the tone of the story begins to change. I found the ending very rewarding, wonderful actually, worth the length.

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LibraryThing member MyriadBooks

It was the loving depiction of incest, the religious permission given for it, and the weak-ass moral platitude -- and incredibly stupid reason for this platitude -- on the precise whens and wherefores the incest was and was not wrong that did me over. I'll grant that the incest is of traditional

importance to the King Arthur legend and is necessary in this retelling... but how Zimmer Bradley has opted to embellish it? Ick.

I know this is an award-wining work of literary significance and I read it avidly enough as a teen. But I can't say I enjoyed the read even then, and honestly, reading it now as an adult? Just... no.

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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C

I'm actually a fan of MZB and of Arthurian stories, but compared to her Darkover books, and Arthurian novels such as those by TH White and Mary Stewart among others, I just didn't find this a compelling read or at all original. I do have a friend who is a Pagan who counts this as a favorite book,

even life-transforming, for how it wove pagan motifs into the narrative, and I know others who enjoy it because of the feminist perspective and what they see as strong female protagonists, particularly Morgaine, and the book was unique for making her sympathetic, and not a villain.

I'm afraid I find the feminist and paganistic aspects rather heavy handed here--again, in contrast to her Darkover books. I think with Darkover it also helps that's the author's created fantasy world--but with a novel like this one with a historical basis she never convinced me I was reading about Dark Age Britons versus characters with her modern New Age values superimposed on them. I felt the theological parts dragged down an overlong book and none of the characters ever engaged my sympathies, particularly the central trio of Arthur, Lancelet (Lancelot), Gwynhwyfar (Guinevere). Arthur is a weak leader, Lancelet shallow, Gwynhwyfar a timid, narrow-minded religious bigot. (God, how I hated this vision of Guinevere!) Merlin is downplayed.

I'm rather sorry actually that of all of MZB's books, this is the one that is her blockbuster bestseller and that people are likely introduced to her through this book. I have a lot of MZB's works on my bookshelves--yet not this one--this is the one I don't consider a keeper.

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LibraryThing member MorgannaKerrie

This is my favorite book. Ever. It is a gorgeous take on the legend of King Arthur from the point of view of Morgaine. I can read this over and over again.

LibraryThing member cskerr13

I first read this when it came out....in 2 days flat. (okay, so I really didn't get anything done, hey, I was on college break). The rhythym of the book just flowed and was difficult to put down. A different perspective...and probably closer to actual historical/religios truths.

LibraryThing member dreamseeker

This is a classic re-telling of the Arthurian legends given from a feminine viewpoint. The author looks at the stories from the perspective of the main female characters. The author explores not only the female viewpoint, but the transition from the Druid/pagan beliefs to Christianity in Britain
.

Though the book is told more from the pagan perspective than the Christian, author does the nice trick of honoring both Christianity and Druid/pagan beliefs. Some other innovations in this book are: postulating more than one Merlin (Merlin is considered a job title rather than a proper name - some archeological evidence supports this choice.) and multiple Morgan la feys ( this allows the author to explor different aspects of Druid beliefs from different perspectives. )
This is an entertaining, mind-broadening book, with more depth than the average fantasy fiction. At teh time that she wrote it, Marion Zimmer-Bradley considered this book to be her magnum opus. I don't know if she still considers it in those terms. (she has written several substancial books since) but it would make a fine magnum opus for anyone!

I thoroughly recommend it.

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LibraryThing member piefuchs

A rewriting of the King Arthur story from a feminist perspective. I positively adored this book when I was in undergrad - hard to say what I would think today...

LibraryThing member Omrythea

Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote this so beautifully. I didn't want it to end.

LibraryThing member samantha464

I wrote my bachelor's thesis on Le Morte'd'Arthur. I studied Arthurian romance in college and grad school. I consider myself an amateur Arthurian scholar (cause I'm that cool). Needless to say, I'm incredibly finnicky about Arthurian re-tellings. This is one of the only 20th century attempts to

retell the legends that I actually like. It holds true to a lot of the more important aspects of the medieval stories while putting a great, not too modern, spin on things, and it pays homage to the origins of so many of the familiar tales (such as Lancelot being French). It also stays true to the idea of Arthurian legend as a collection of patriotic myths, with it's focus on anti-invasion and British autonomy.

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