The Forest House (Avalon Series #2)

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Overview

The New York Times bestselling science fiction and fantasy author of the Avalon series introduces the prequel to the beloved and enduring classic The Mists of Avalon in this mesmerizing epic of one woman’s legendary role at a turning point in history.

In a Britain struggling to survive Roman invasion, Eilan is the daughter of a Druidic warleader, gifted with visions and marked by fate to become a priestess of the Forest House.

But fate also led Eilan to Gaius, a soldier of mixed blood, son of the Romans sent to subdue the native British. For Gaius, Eilan felt forbidden love, and her terrible secret will haunt her even as she is anointed as the new High Priestess. With mighty enemies poised to destroy the magic the Forest House shelters, Eilan must trust in the power of the great Goddess to lead her through the treacherous labyrinth of her destiny.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101212721
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/01/1995
Series:	Avalon Series , #2
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	166,424
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Marion Zimmer Bradley was the New York Times bestselling science fiction and fantasy author of the Avalon series, the Darkover series, and more. In addition to her novels, Mrs. Bradley edited many magazines, amateur and professional, including Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine. She died in 1999 and was posthumously awarded the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2000.

Date of Birth:

June 30, 1930

Date of Death:

September 25, 1999

Place of Birth:

Albany, New York

Place of Death:

Berkeley, California

Education:

B.A., Hardin-Simmons College, 1964; additional study at University of California, Berkeley, 1965-1967

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Compelling, powerful.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“A seamless weave of history and myth.”—Library Journal

“A magical evocation of a lost age.”—Starlog

Editorial Reviews

The forbidden love of a druid priestess and a Roman soldier mirrors the clash of cultures in Roman Britain in the latest novel by the author of The Mists of Avalon (Ballantine, 1985). The novel evokes an age when three major religions maintained an uneasy coexistence on the island of Britain. Eilan, a daughter of goddess-worshiping druids, and Gaius Marcellius, a half-British Roman, live for the coming of a legendary future king to unite the warring islanders. Bradley envisions the "old religion'' as a refreshing blend of classic and revisionist concepts, adding a distinct flavor to her seamless weave of history and myth. Most libraries will want this for their fantasy collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/93.

Library Journal

YA-The setting of this historical/fantasy novel is Roman Briton. Eilan, a Druid girl who has been raised in the cult of the Goddess with the priestesses wielding the power, has fallen in love with a young Roman named Gaius. He is a half-Briton whose mother was of the Druid tribes and whose father is a powerful officer in the Roman legions. The clash between these two cultures and the eventual hope of unification through Eilan and Gaius's son is one of the book's many story lines. Bradley does a masterful job of creating the flavor of the period and the two diverse cultures, as well as strong female characters. With its elements of love story, intense emotions, and mysticism, Forest House will appeal to YAs.-Susan B. McFaden, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

In the Forest House of ancient Britain live the last remaining Druid priestesses, practicing ancient rituals and attempting to keep peace between their people and the Roman invaders. Primary to the struggle is Eilan, herself the lover of Gaius, a half-Celtic Roman commander. Eilan's twin (well, actually, aunt, but they look so much alike their own families mix them up) is Dieda, another priestess, beloved of Cynric, leader of the vengeful Ravens, who are half-Roman offspring of raped Celtic priestesses. Somehow, the two bloods and the two religions must meld in order to form the sacred background of Arthurian legend, so richly mined by Bradley in The Mists of Avalon. Getting that job done is sometimes tedious (Gaius is sent to Rome to observe the Senate, married to a Londinium girl for dynastic purposes, sent off to war against the Germans) and sometimes thrilling (Eilan goes into a deep trance to encounter the goddess, and Gaius becomes the Year King in sacred sex). The second half of the book introduces far too many subsidiary characters for the reader's comfort, yet on whole this is a compelling goddess tale that should draw quite an audience.

Pat Monaghan

Praise for The Forest House

“Compelling, powerful.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“A seamless weave of history and myth.”—Library Journal

“A magical evocation of a lost age.”—Starlog

From the Publisher