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 treachero's labyrinth of her destiny.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451454249
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/01/1995
Series:	Avalon , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	175,539
Product dimensions:	6.07(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.99(d)
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

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

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