Author | Marion Zimmer Bradley |
---|---|
Cover artist | John Jude Palencar |
Language | English |
Genre | Fantasy novel |
Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date | 1 April 1994 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 432 |
ISBN | 0-670-84454-3 |
OCLC | 29184773 |
813/.54 20 | |
LC Class | PS3552.R228 F67 1994 |
Preceded by | The Mists of Avalon |
Followed by | Lady of Avalon |
The Forest House is a fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson, though the latter is uncredited by the publisher. It is a prequel to Bradley's Arthurian novel The Mists of Avalon .
The plot of The Forest House is based on that of the opera Norma , relocated from Gaul to Britain, but sharing the basic plot outline of a love affair between a Druidic priestess and a Roman officer.
The Forest House is set in the first century CE in the west of Britain, which was then part of the Roman Empire. Bradley wrote of the conquest of the Celtic tribes and the political and religious implications of the occupation. The novel revolves around the Druidic priestesses who serve the Goddess and keep the ancient rites of learning, healing, and magic lore in their sanctuary, The Forest House. The forbidden love between the priestess Eilan and the Roman officer Gaius is one of the book's principal story lines. Bradley tells the story from both the British, female, druidic perspective, and the Roman, male, legionary perspective, and does so without apparent prejudice, in a style characteristic of her Avalon Series.
In the early days of the conquest, when the Roman Legions are aggressively persecuting the Druids, the sanctuary of the Goddess on the isle of Mona is destroyed and its Druids are murdered and its priestesses are raped. Mona had enjoyed a degree of independence from Roman rule for almost twenty years because Boudica's revolt had forced Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus to withdraw before consolidating his conquest. When the Romans returned under Gnaeus Julius Agricola, they were determined to decisively break the power of the Druids. They destroyed the sacred groves, raped all the women and murdered any Druids who resisted. After the destruction of the sanctuary, those raped priestesses who conceived killed all the girl children but left the boys that were born alive, then killed themselves rather than live with the atrocities done to them. The surviving males later became a rebel group known as the Ravens, which swore vengeance against Rome. Lhiannon, one of the remaining priestesses, re-establishes a new sanctuary at Vernemeton (Most Holy Grove), or The Forest House, which is partially controlled and protected by the Romans.
The novel tells the story of Eilan, granddaughter of the Arch-Druid of Britain. She hears the calling of the Goddess and is chosen to become a priestess at Vernemeton, and later to succeed the dying Lhiannon as High Priestess. However, before her calling, she hears the voice of her heart, and during the magic night of Beltaine, conceives a son with Roman officer Gaius Macellius, son of the high-ranking Camp Prefect at nearby Deva. Gaius is an inheritant of royal blood through his Celtic mother of a southern tribe, the Silures. Eilan knows their son, Gawen, whose bloodline comes from the Dragon (Celtic royalty), the Eagle (Roman Empire), and from the Wise (Druids), will play a crucial role in Britain's future, and makes great sacrifices to protect him in his youth.
A major shift in the balance of power is in the air; Eilan senses that the death of her peace-loving Arch-Druid grandfather will cause it. She tells her friend Caillean (who was rescued from her uncaring mother in Hibernia by Lhiannon) to take a group of young priestesses to the isle of Avalon to found a new sanctuary and become the first high-priestess of Avalon. In Vernemeton, Eilan is increasingly pressured by the new Arch-Druid, her father, to stop promoting peace and collaboration with the Romans. In a dramatic showdown she sacrifices herself (along with her love Gaius) to avoid a bloody insurgency and, in particular, to save the life of her son Gawen.
The Mists of Avalon , a retelling of the King Arthur myth from a feminist point of view, is Marion Zimmer Bradley's most famous single novel. [1] Over the years, and through collaboration with her sister-in-law, Diana L. Paxson, it has grown into a series of books: The Mists of Avalon (1982), The Forest House (1994), Lady of Avalon (1997), Priestess of Avalon (2000), Ancestors of Avalon (2004), Ravens of Avalon (2007), and Sword of Avalon (2009). [1]
Although Paxson is uncredited, Bradley acknowledged her contribution: In Sword and Sorceress XI [2] Bradley wrote in her introduction for Paxson's Spirit Singer
In the Author's Note, Marion Zimmer Bradley says that the hymns in chapters 5, 22, and 30 are adapted from the libretto of Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma . The hymns in chapters 17 and 24 are from the Carmina Gadelica collected by Rev. Alexander Carmichael in the late 19th century.
The novel received a mixed reception, with reviewers comparing it unfavorably to The Mists of Avalon. [3] Entertainment Weekly praised the novel for being "meticulously researched" and noted that it "maintains a dark edge, staying true to the turbulent times. Bradley avoids the all-too-frequent fate of the historical-novel genre: collapsing into a soggy mess." [4] It was less successful than The Mists of Avalon, [1] though it sold modestly well. [3]
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. She was noted for the feminist perspective in her writing.
The Lady of the Lake is a title used by multiple characters in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. As either actually fairy or fairy-like yet human enchantresses, they play important roles in various stories, notably by providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating the wizard Merlin, raising the knight Lancelot after the death of his father, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon after his final battle. Different Ladies of the Lake appear concurrently as separate characters in some versions of the legend since at least the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently the seminal Le Morte d'Arthur, with the latter describing them as members of a hierarchical group, while some texts also give this title to either Morgan or her sister.
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine, a priestess fighting to save her Celtic religion in a country where Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The epic is focused on the lives of Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Viviane, Morgause, Igraine and other women of the Arthurian legend.
Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by science fiction and fantasy authors Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, C. J. Cherryh, Janet Morris, and Chris Morris.
The Warlord Chronicles or The Warlord Trilogy is a series of three novels about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. The story is written as a mixture of historical fiction and Arthurian legend. The books were originally published between 1995 and 1997 by Penguin and Michael Joseph in the United Kingdom and by St. Martin's Press in the United States. It has been adapted for television as The Winter King.
The Sword and Sorceress series is a series of fantasy anthologies originally edited by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, and originally published by DAW Books. As she explained in the foreword to the first volume, she created the anthology to redress the lack of strong female protagonists in the subgenre of sword and sorcery. At the time, most female characters in sword and sorcery were little more than stock damsels in distress, or pawns who were distributed at the conclusion of the story as "bad-conduct prizes" for the male protagonists. Many of the early sword-and-sorcery works featured attitudes toward women that Bradley considered appalling.
Priestess of Avalon is a 2000 novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, completed posthumously by Diana L. Paxson. It follows detailing the life of Helena, first wife of Western Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and mother of Constantine.
Lady of Avalon is a 1997 historical fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson. It is the sequel to The Forest House and the prequel to The Mists of Avalon.
Accolon is a character in Arthurian legends where he is a lover of Morgan le Fay who is killed by King Arthur in a duel during the plot involving the sword Excalibur. He appears in Arthurian prose romances since the Post-Vulgate Cycle, including as Accalon in the French original Huth Merlin and Acalón in the Spanish adaptation El Baladro del Sabe Merlin.
George Henry Smith was an American science fiction author who also wrote soft-core erotica. He is not the same person as George H. Smith, a libertarian writer, or George O. Smith, another science fiction writer. There were at least three authors writing as "George H. Smith" in the 1960s; one wrote many "swamp love" paperback originals, which are often erroneously attributed to George Henry Smith. Smith himself used the pseudonyms Jeremy August, Jerry August, Don Bellmore, Ross Camra, M J Deer, John Dexter ; George Devlin, Robert Hadley, Jan Hudson, Jerry Jason, Clancy O'Brien, Alan Robinson, Holt Standish, Diana Summers, Hal Stryker, Hank Stryker, Morgan Trehune, Roy Warren, and J X Williams for publishers such as Avalon, Beacon, Boudoir, Brandon House, Epic, Evening Reader, France, Greenleaf, Midwood, Monarch, Notetime, Pike, Pillow, and Playtime. It is known that he wrote more than 100 novels.
Diana Lucile Paxson is an American author, primarily in the fields of paganism and heathenism. Her published works include fantasy and historical fiction novels, as well as numerous short stories. More recently she has also published books about pagan and heathen religions and practices. She is a founder of the Society for Creative Anachronism, where she is known as Countess Diana Listmaker.
Arthur's Knights: Tales of Chivalry is an adventure role-playing video game developed by Cryo Interactive and released for Microsoft Windows in October 2000 in North America and November 2000 in Europe. The game's story revolves around the legendary King Arthur in medieval Britain. The player can choose to play the same main character, Bradwen, from either of two perspectives: as a Celt or as a Christian. In both storylines, Bradwen is the illegitimate son of the dying King Cadfanan, leader of the Atrebates tribe shortly following the Roman occupation. Bradwen's goal is to foil the attempts of his evil half-brother Morganor at securing a malevolent kingship for himself, through which enactment of his evil intentions will be made possible.
The Mists of Avalon is a 2001 television miniseries based on the 1983 novel of the same title by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Produced by American cable channel TNT, adapted by Gavin Scott, and directed by Uli Edel, the series retells Arthurian legend from the perspectives of Morgan le Fay and other women of the tale. The first episode was the highest-rated original film on basic cable in the summer of 2001.
Ancestors of Avalon is a 2004 historical fantasy novel by American writer Diana L. Paxson, based on an idea of Marion Zimmer Bradley.
The Avalon Series is a series of fantasy novels written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson. Paxson took over sole authorship after Bradley's death in 1999. The series focuses on the legendary island of Avalon and the various women who have shaped its history and that of Britain.
The Keeper's Price and Other Stories is an anthology of fantasy and science fiction short stories edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The stories are set in Bradley's world of Darkover. The book was first published by DAW Books in February 1980. Many of the stories first appeared in the magazine Starstone.
The spirituality of Avalon is a spiritual concept originating in Celtic and Arthurian literature, and later popularized in Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel The Mists of Avalon and other novels of the so-called Avalon series. As a product of fantasy fiction, set in a fictitious British past, the modern literary spiritual path draws on neopaganism, such as Wicca, druidry and what is generally known as Goddess worship or Goddess spirituality/religion.
The Firebrand is a 1987 historical fantasy novel by American author Marion Zimmer Bradley. Set in the ancient city of Troy, the novel is a retelling of Homer's epic poem the Iliad. The Firebrand is written from the point of view of Kassandra, the prophet daughter of King Priam of Troy, and also features other prominent characters from Greek mythology. As in the Iliad, Kassandra foresees catastrophe for her city, but few pay heed to her warnings. In Bradley's story, Kassandra is presented as a strong and insightful woman rather than as a sufferer of insanity.
Adrienne Martine-Barnes, was an American contemporary, non-fiction and fantasy writer.