Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Mists of Avalon (Avalon #1)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 90,411 ratings · 3,868 reviews

Even readers who don't normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon's Camelot poli...more

Hardcover, 876 pages

Published December 12th 1982 by Alfred a Knopf

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 21, 2007 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-with-swordfighting-in-them, top-25-of-all-time, books-i-loved-in-high-school, five-stars, elves-witches-vampires-and-the-like

You have to be a particular kind of girl to fall in love with this book the way I did.

--You have to be in the sixth grade, a freakishly precocious reader, whose beloved sixth-grade teacher brings a box of her ten favorite books to class and sets them up on the chalkboard and leaves them there for weeks for you to look at, including one HUGE book that looks like it's a billion pages long with some cool fairy priestess chick on a horse on the cover.

--You have to have grown up reading King Arthur s...more You have to be a particular kind of girl to fall in love with this book the way I did.

--You have to be in the sixth grade, a freakishly precocious reader, whose beloved sixth-grade teacher brings a box of her ten favorite books to class and sets them up on the chalkboard and leaves them there for weeks for you to look at, including one HUGE book that looks like it's a billion pages long with some cool fairy priestess chick on a horse on the cover.

--You have to have grown up reading King Arthur stories and LOVE the movie "The Sword In the Stone."

--You have to be so hopelessly nerdy that you would rather sit on the side of the playground reading than play kickball, never mind how much the other kids make fun of you about it.

--You have to be Catholic enough to understand the mentality of the occasionally hateful Christian characters in the book (as well as to be baffled and perplexed by all the sexuality which will make a number of plot elements only make sense to you when you re-read the book as a college student and go, "Ohhhhh. Now I get it").

--You have to be the kind of girl who loves and relates to the plain outcast Morgaine who is treated as a freak has to learn how to rely on herself alone.

--You have to hate the shallow blonde princesses, even when they seem like they might be kind of nice people, and always root for the feisty brunette.

--You have to be a fantasy geek who LOVES any book with swordfighting, magic, princesses, and doomed romance.

--You have to be patient enough to read 800+ pages that cover one woman's entire lifetime from before her birth to old, old age.

--You have to come to the end of the book and secretly wish that (despite your religious conviction in your Catholic upbringing) Britain had never been Christianized and we were all still witches.

--You have to secretly wish you belonged to a mystical female cult where you had to have a blue crescent moon tattooed on your forehead.

--You have to wish you knew how to ride a horse in a dress and look majestic, instead of falling off every time you were forced onto a horse at camp or on vacation and now you hate them and they scare you. (less)

345 likes · like · see review

Jul 20, 2008 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

OK I admit, when I told my college Arthurian Lit professor that I'd read and enjoyed this book, he proceeded to give me a quick-before-the-next-class-comes-in lecture about how Marion Zimmer Bradley's "interpretation" skewed wildly from the genre.

But I don't care. It's a difficult book (long and utterly depressing,) but it takes the first in-depth look at both women and the pagan Celtic religion of Britain, which Christianity usurped around that time. Evil sorceress Morgan Le Fay is transfered i...more

47 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2007 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fantasy lovers, arthurian scholars, young women, feminists

Shelves: fantasy-and-scifi, fiction, owned, 20th-century-postwar-to-late, grand-opera

I read this book when I was in my mid-teens, and in the midst of an Arthurian obsession phase. These are mythical characters that have been written on so many times and by legendary figures who are almost myths themselves. It's a really hard subject to tackle without derision. I do think she filled a niche in what could otherwise be a very chauvinistic, idealized genre.

I haven't read this recently, so I don't know if I would still connect to it as much as I did when I read it all those years ag...more

20 likes · like · see review

Aug 31, 2007 Keely rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, fantasy, novel, reviewed, american

Though I am wont to blame the inescapability of genetics for various aspects of an Epicurean reading of Absurdism, I tend to pause, for some reason, in ascribing gender differences as stringently. It's difficult to say if this is simply a bias of wishful egalitarian thinking or truly an outgrowth of my understanding, for precisely the reasons that Epicureus is worthy to interrupt my many Suicides. So, when I say that women seem more than men to be capable of breaking the Tolkien Curse laid so th...more Though I am wont to blame the inescapability of genetics for various aspects of an Epicurean reading of Absurdism, I tend to pause, for some reason, in ascribing gender differences as stringently. It's difficult to say if this is simply a bias of wishful egalitarian thinking or truly an outgrowth of my understanding, for precisely the reasons that Epicureus is worthy to interrupt my many Suicides. So, when I say that women seem more than men to be capable of breaking the Tolkien Curse laid so thickly upon Modern Fantasy (barely proper), it is with trepidation.

Flatly blaming rude and wretched socialization always seems easier; despite our inability to understand any First Cause. Original Sin infects us all.

There is certainly something bound in the flesh which drives a breed of dwarfish, ill-socialized, fetish-loving escapists to blindly build and habitate an unoriginal world; and for a further gaggle of the nearly less-talented to consume it ravenously. It seems that, in the spirit of contrariness, when women find themselves thrust by love of horses or exceedingly lax tonsorial concerns into the same arena, that they fight a different fight.

Perhaps they approach the incline from a different vantage; arriving not by way of a)Tolkien to b)Conan to c)some unspeakable modern half-wit, but by Malory, McKinley, and Spenser. Of course, one must not forget that the vein of Fantasy still runs, at least in part, through Austen; and that though those alloys be rarer, still inhabit the edges.

Bradley has certainly taken a different tack on her way to the summit (never tor) of fantasy. She evokes Spenser, the Idylls, and all manner of other ridiculous romanticics of the Arthurian Mythos. She also endeavors to pull the characters out of the romantic and toward post-modern psychological conflict. On occasion, she even succeeds.

There is an undeniable depth to the books, accompanied by a rather pleasing graying at the temples of morality which immediately places her at the opposite pole from her male contemporaries. That those poles is really not so far away somewhat lessens the impact, and one is eventually bound to recognize that there really is a reverse pole to the whole of our concept of fantasy marked somewhere in Peake's Titus trilogy.

Actually, that's not true. One could very easily read a fantasy novel a week for life and never have to realize that Bradley is really only a little bit out there; but certainly enough to feel like a breath of the fresher.

My Fantasy Book Suggestions (less)

21 likes · like · see review

Oct 28, 2009 Jillian rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jillian by: Tess Numrich

I copied and pasted part of someone else's review that made me laugh:

"The Arthur myth from the point of view of Morgaine le Fay, pagan priestess. Supposedly a feminist take on the old legends. There is one main problem with this approach: let's face it, women's lives in the dark ages were pretty boring. And rather than break out of this mold with strong female characters, Bradley talks a lot about spinning, weaving, and having babies. The female characters are either contemptible or irritating,...more

23 likes · like · see review

view all 4 comments

Kelly I'm currently slogging through this thing, and I agree with a lot of what's been said here. For the life of me, I don't know what all the gushing prai...more
Dec 23, 2010 07:27am

Emma Okay, I have to say, that the book is not meant to be a feminist, girl-power novel so I don't exactly know where you are getting the ideas your gettin...more
Feb 14, 2013 02:25pm

Apr 19, 2009 Ceridwen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: My younger self

Shelves: fantasy, ceridwens, grrrrl-power

Many moons ago, when Clintons roamed the earth, I was in my first year of college. The broomball ice rink had melted, the grass was greening where it wasn't yellowed by frat boy pee, and I dragged my mother's copy of The Mists of Avalon out in front of the dorm with a blanket, and read. And read and read. People would come by, and bother me about stuff like eating and sleeping and classes, and I would wave them on, obsessed with the story I was reading, and the spring, and the sun.

This is by far...more Many moons ago, when Clintons roamed the earth, I was in my first year of college. The broomball ice rink had melted, the grass was greening where it wasn't yellowed by frat boy pee, and I dragged my mother's copy of The Mists of Avalon out in front of the dorm with a blanket, and read. And read and read. People would come by, and bother me about stuff like eating and sleeping and classes, and I would wave them on, obsessed with the story I was reading, and the spring, and the sun.

This is by far my favorite reading experience. It was like a drug, like sex, like neither of these things, like itself. I would read, and my elbows would go numb, so I would lay on my back until my thumbs hurt, and then flip over again. I had read some Zimmer Bradley in high school and enjoyed it, Firebrand and the one about trapeze artists, but I hadn't been swallowed by the story, hadn't consumed it in turn, like I did with this book. She blew my post-adolescent mind with her view of history, of legend, of the long, dark story of men and women.

She tells the Arthurian legend, but not in any way I had experienced it before. The protagonist is Morgan la Fey, who is usually one of the villains. Here she is a priestess of the Old Religion, the Druids, trying to hold her own as the Christians insinuate and change the whole of society around her. It's not one of those perfect pasts; I remember long passages about the mind-numbing banality that is women's work in any given culture. Gwenhyfar is something of a silly girl, Aurthur a bit of a clueless jock. Morgana prays to the goddess Ceridwen a bunch too, which warmed my heart, as that is what my parents named me. And tattoos! And sex! And a bunch of other stuff that had never, ever occurred to me before, because I was young, and it was spring, and maybe I was a little sheltered, but in a good way.

Zimmer Bradley broke new ground with this book, in terms of feminist re-imaginings of the classics. She didn't just put Morgan la Fey in a leather bustier, and have her shoot sex arrows at Arthur. (Hey man, I'm as sex-positive as the next feminist, but I'm pretty sure putting a historical figure in a bustier has nothing to do with wage parity.) She changed the form, used the language and modes of mass produced fantasy for women to utterly subvert the ideas of literature, of women's literature.

I don't know if you've watched soaps recently, but mostly characters sit around the kitchen and talk about other characters. It's like this mirror world, reflected back from the kitchens where the shows are watched. Zimmer Bradley uses this kind of comfortable feminine form to turn the legend upside down and shake all the change out of its pockets. History is important, right? the purview of important men and their important modes of speech. Zimmer Bradley tackles this most manly of subjects using the language of women, and it was a stroke of genius. (Although, the Arthur stuff is maybe the most girly of all the big legends: no unified text, a sort of gossipy, back-and-forth quality of many of the tales, love triangles, love potions. I mean, Knights of the Round Table? You might as well be the Knights of the Giant Metaphorical Vagina. But, whatever.)

I've never read The Mists of Avalon again, and I don't think I ever will. It's too located in my own private history, too perfect. I have a feeling returning this book would be cringe-inducing, and I'd be confronted by a story in need of an editor and an unsubtle view of men and women and religion. My memory is a way to experience my younger self, and my rating reflects that. It's spring again, and I'm feeling nostalgic for springs past, for books past, for selves past. You'd probably have to be a naive, confident girl from the Midwest, living at the beginning of the end of the millennium, to love this book like I do. It's possible you may have whatever oddball collection of character traits that will make you love this book too. I hope so. (less)

135 likes · like · see review

Nov 07, 2008 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, celtic, arthurian, epic

An excellent Arthurian saga.
Written from the point of view of Morgaine, Arthur's half-sister and the villian of traditional Arthur tales.
Unique in perspective with strong female characters. It is a story of love; and quite different from any Arthur novel you'll ever read.
Marion Zimmer Bradley's best work. She paints a vivid picture, rich with depth of characters and relationships.
One of my favorites, I can read this over and over again.

20 likes · like · see review

Feb 09, 2008 Matthew rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastic, books-on-pod

The Arthur myth from the point of view of Morgaine le Fay, pagan priestess. Supposedly a feminist take on the old legends. There is one main problem with this approach: let's face it, women's lives in the dark ages were pretty boring. And rather than break out of this mold with strong female characters, Bradley talks a lot about spinning, weaving, and having babies. The female characters are either contemptible or irritating, or both. The male characters are cardboard--Arthur is as heroic as a l...more

31 likes · like · see review

Jul 22, 2012 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, favorites, re-read

Well, there I go again - sniffling and crying through the last 10 pages over a bunch of fictional characters that I feel I know better then some real people. If ever there was a book to make me believe in the power of magic, then Bradley cast her spell over me when she penned this book.

What a sap I am, and what a sap I'll be again the next time I read this...

:D

15 likes · like · see review

Jun 23, 2012 Virag rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: unfinished

Good lord, I haven't ever hated a book as much as this one.

I picked up The Mists of Avalon because I really love Nordic myths, and usually any stories about King Arthur. Everyone seems to adore this book; even my librarian told me that this was a really good Arthurian tale! Well, it's not. It's horrible.

First, let me say how turned off I was by all the bashing and hating there was of Christianity. That's all there was in the first 150 pages, and it was a very recurring theme throughout the book....more

11 likes · like · see review

view all 8 comments

Virag Aaron wrote: "not nordic myth."

I tried almond milk for the first time when I was 12 because I loved peanut butter.

I tried reading The Mists of Avalon...more
Feb 14, 2013 11:02am

Virag Rivqah wrote: "Well, you know it was s fact that Christians systematically eradicated, i.e. murdered and forcibly converted Druid, among others, and d...more
updated May 02, 2013 06:00pm

Jan 05, 2008 Meirav Rath rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Young girls with romantic dreams an too many braincells to settle for cheap romance books

Recommended to Meirav by: A friend from university.

Shelves: fiction

Have you ever found yourself reading a book, knowing you're reading crap, but the writing style and the occasional promising plot twist kept you going?

Maybe I was fooled by Hallmark's production, Merlin, and I expected Morgaine to have a backbone to call her own. Zimmer Bradley took whatever hope I had of finding yet another female character to favore and crushed them; Morgaine is obsessed with who everyone marries and who gives birth to who as badly as the simple 'foolish' women she describes c...more

15 likes · like · see review

Dec 06, 2008 Genevieve rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is one of the few books that I hate. I'm a feminist and I love King Arthur stories and The Mists of Avalon makes me vaguely nauseous. I read the whole thing hoping it would get better, and it didn't, though there are a few good bits. Overall I found it offensive to the Arthurian legends, to history, and to women, and being a 15-year-old girl who liked fantasy novels did nothing to change this opinion.

22 likes · like · see review

May 25, 2008 Nick rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was awful. Oh my god, I had to put it down five times and read something else just to get through it. The terms pointless and self-serving come to mind as this author might as well beat the reader over the head with a piss poor attempt at Feminism and some kind of pot-shots at Christianity. I would consider myself a Feminist, but Feminism is about equality not role reversal. And I'm as agnostic as the next guy, but cut me some slack, all religions are just about the same. I mean, these...more

14 likes · like · see review

Feb 20, 2008 Maurean rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have heard for years nothing but glowing recommendations for this book, yet I am still amazed by the intensity with which this story touched me. Marion Zimmer Bradley is an incredible storyteller with impressive knowledge of the ancient Goddess based spirituality. The history and mysticism are clearly well-researched, and the writing is lyrical, palpable, and quite beautiful.

In this “retelling” of the Arthurian legend- which parallels, too, the Celtic mythology of Finn MacCool & the Fenia...more I have heard for years nothing but glowing recommendations for this book, yet I am still amazed by the intensity with which this story touched me. Marion Zimmer Bradley is an incredible storyteller with impressive knowledge of the ancient Goddess based spirituality. The history and mysticism are clearly well-researched, and the writing is lyrical, palpable, and quite beautiful.

In this “retelling” of the Arthurian legend- which parallels, too, the Celtic mythology of Finn MacCool & the Fenians, and the Red Branch Heroes of Ulster - from the perspective of the women in the story, it details magically the struggles of Christianity vs. Paganism, where the lines between good and evil are much blurred;
All the characters are well-drawn in depths both good and bad, flawed and noble, completely and ultimately human.

My favorite passage:

“That faith [Christianity] seems too simple to me – the idea that we have only to believe that Christ died for our sins, once and for all. But I know too much of the truth…of the way life works, with life after life in which we, ourselves, and only we, can work out the causes we have set in motion and make amends for the harm we have done. It stands not in the realm of reason that one man, however holy and blessed, could atone for all of the sins of all men, done in all lifetimes.” (pg. 611)

This is a story of how the old pagan ways of Avalon are engulfed by the rise of Christianity after the fall of Rome. Portrayed through the story of Camelot, told in the voice of Morgaine, Morgan La Fey, niece of Viviane, Lady of the Lake; queen of Cornwall, sister to the High King, and consort to the King Stag; a refreshing perspective to a well-known tale.

This is a masterful interpretation, giving new life to all the old characters: Gwenhwyfar, the pious, Christian Queen to Authur; The handsome Lancelet, most honorable knight and Queen’s Champion; Taliesin, the Great Merlin of Britian, Morgause, Morgaine’s Aunt and foster-mother to Galahad…truly, an engrossing and engaging tale of epic proportions; I cannot find words to praise it enough. This will procure a spot in my “favorite five fiction” reads of all time. If you have not yet treated yourself to this enchanting feat of imagination into this world of Old, I urge you to do so, soon. It is well worth the journey
(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 27, 2007 Dayna rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I commented before that this book is slogging ... and that's what it is. I slogged through half of it ... and then it was due back at the library (yeah ... it took me a month to slog through half of it) so I skimmed the rest until the end. I'm going to be fair and say that if you enjoy Arthurian romance and if you already know the legends through and through that you might enjoy The Mists of Avalon more than I did. Yet you may be even more frustrated than I was. Perhaps disgusted. I cannot give...more I commented before that this book is slogging ... and that's what it is. I slogged through half of it ... and then it was due back at the library (yeah ... it took me a month to slog through half of it) so I skimmed the rest until the end. I'm going to be fair and say that if you enjoy Arthurian romance and if you already know the legends through and through that you might enjoy The Mists of Avalon more than I did. Yet you may be even more frustrated than I was. Perhaps disgusted. I cannot give it less than two stars (even though I think it's really only a one-star) simply because of the fact that if I understood all of the author's sources I might have liked it a lot more than I did. As it is I just could not get into it and so I call it second-rate slop. Tripe.

It is the story of Arthur and Camelot from the womens' point of view. Sounds excellent, right? Whatever. I was frustrated by the fact that every female character seemed manic. In one paragraph she (any SHE in the story) is madly in love with a man (any MAN in the story) and in the next ... moments later SHE is digusted with him. Back and forth it goes. One minute SHE feels like a goddess and the next she feels lost and all alone and confused. Arthur is basically pathetic and all his knights are either "My sword is bigger than yours!" or "I love Pathetic Arthur more than you do!" Beyond that it seems like the book could have been cut by half and you would have had the same exact story ... with all of its wishy-washy characters. Give me a break! I basically concluded that some people will like the "feminine" aspect better than I did and that I simply prefer the story of Arthur to be told from the warrior aspects. Forget the twisted love crap. I wanted more Excalibur! And not this "the blood of a woman woven into the threads of the sheath ... " blah-blah-blah. Just the sword & battle ... and the knights' adventures. I don't care who so-and-so may or may not have fooled around with. Anywho ... if you're into King Arthur I would not recommend this book to get you started. (less)

7 likes · like · see review

Feb 08, 2012 Sofia Teixeira rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As Brumas de Avalon são um clássico da literatura assim como considero Marion Zimmer Bradley uma das melhores autoras de todos os tempos. Apesar de já não estar entre nós, as suas obras prometem ficar para a eternidade, marcando cada leitor que pega nelas. Pelo menos no que toca a esta fantástica saga.

A Senhora da Magia, o primeiro dos quatro livros inseridos n'As Brumas de Avalon, marca o início de uma das muitas versões das lendas arturianas. Num mundo em que a Bretanha está em guerra constant...more As Brumas de Avalon são um clássico da literatura assim como considero Marion Zimmer Bradley uma das melhores autoras de todos os tempos. Apesar de já não estar entre nós, as suas obras prometem ficar para a eternidade, marcando cada leitor que pega nelas. Pelo menos no que toca a esta fantástica saga.

A Senhora da Magia, o primeiro dos quatro livros inseridos n'As Brumas de Avalon, marca o início de uma das muitas versões das lendas arturianas. Num mundo em que a Bretanha está em guerra constante com os saxões em cada costa prontos a atacar, o cristianismo vai-se propagando a uma velocidade assustadora, tentando varrer todos os ritos e costumes antigos. No entanto, com a aproximação da morte do rei Ambrosius que vai tendo como conselheiros tanto cristãos como pagãos, é chegada a hora de eleger um novo rei que possa jurar proteger ambas as facções. Uther é esse rei.

Avalon é uma ilha mágica, em que uma antiga linha dos Antigos luta por sobreviver e evitar que a sua sabedoria pereça. Essa linha de poder é transmitida pela mulher, ao contrário da transmissão de poder dos romanos que é pelo filho mais velho. E é lá que todas as que são detentoras da Visão ou de outros poderes, podem ser treinadas para sacerdotisas, servindo assim a vontade da Deusa. E através dos desígnios que pensam ser transmitidos por Ela, que lutam a todo o custo para que os dois mundos não se separem de vez.

Este primeiro volume é sem dúvida uma pequena semente do que ainda está para vir, apesar de parecer que já aconteceu tanto! Morgaine, filha de um Duque morto e dotada da Visão, vê a sua vida transformada quando Viviana, Senhora de Avalon, a leva para a ilha para lhe serem transmitidos os ensinamentos. Consoante vai aprendendo os mistérios, vai colocando a sua vida cada vez mais à disposição da Deusa. Até que se vê confrontada com uma dura realidade, ficando a sua vida e a de Arthur ligadas para sempre. Como pôde a sua tia fazer-lhe algo assim? Mas os desígnios da Deusa poucos conseguem perceber...

Um romance histórico delicioso, apaixonante e completamente viciante! Marion Zimmer Bradley era, sem dúvida, dotada de uma magnificiência para a escrita. A forma como retrata o tempo dos druidas e todas as paisagens, transporta-nos por completo para aquele mundo maravilhoso que, quem sabe, outrora poderá ter existido. Adorei.

Inicialmente publicado em : http://branmorrighan.blogspot.com/201...(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 15, 2012 Jeane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hf-challenge

Spoilers may be possible

The mists of Avalon is written from a different view than most known stories about Arthur, Camelot, the knights of the round table.... . This story shows a time before Arthur and Camelot. We get introduced to many characters but it starts with two main characters, two strong women: Viviane, priestess of Avalon and Ingraine, born in Avalon but married at a young age to a king.
These two women have in common Morgaine, daughter of Ingraine who spends her life from young age i...more Spoilers may be possible

The mists of Avalon is written from a different view than most known stories about Arthur, Camelot, the knights of the round table.... . This story shows a time before Arthur and Camelot. We get introduced to many characters but it starts with two main characters, two strong women: Viviane, priestess of Avalon and Ingraine, born in Avalon but married at a young age to a king.
These two women have in common Morgaine, daughter of Ingraine who spends her life from young age in Avalon with Viviane and becomes priestess. Her brother is Arthur who is helped by Avalon to become the king who brings peace to the country and swears to do this under the name of Avalon.

Lancelet is shown as a knight connected to Avalon but his love for Arthur and Guinevere, bring him also to the Christian court. Struggled between his love for Arthur and his forbidden love for Guinevere, he stays true to Arthur.

Morgaine is trained to follow up Viviane as priestess, once time comes to it. But in important event that makes Arthur king, changes Morgaine's life for ever. She struggles with this personally and keeps trying to do what the Goddess ask from her as priestess. As a strong priestess, she suffers as much as any ordinary woman. She fights for Avalon her whole live.

Merlin tries to show people that religion isn't important in the way that people beleive there is only one right religion. Merlin brings Avalon and Christianity together, which helps peace.

Many characters are important in the story, in which many things happen. Every little thing has influence on other things, like an unbreakable chain.

It took me seven years after writing it on my to read list, and I am so happy that I finally read it. I wa absorbed by the story which was very lifely, fast paced and intriguing. I loved the strong figure of Morgaine who keeps true to Avalon in the end. The story flows over in each other trough all that happens and with the many characters, so that it enver slows down or bores.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 01, 2008 Chelsea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It took me two whole months to get through this 876 page tome. Not that it wasn't two months well spent, but in the scheme of things, even with my slow pace of late, two months is a long time.

MZB's well crafted world of Avalon and Camelot is not a bad place to spend two months; I actually quite enjoyed the book, up until the last hundred pages or so. She creates a rich tapestry of characters and circumstances (one of those books that probably needs a map and family tree in the back, but hasn't.)...more It took me two whole months to get through this 876 page tome. Not that it wasn't two months well spent, but in the scheme of things, even with my slow pace of late, two months is a long time.

MZB's well crafted world of Avalon and Camelot is not a bad place to spend two months; I actually quite enjoyed the book, up until the last hundred pages or so. She creates a rich tapestry of characters and circumstances (one of those books that probably needs a map and family tree in the back, but hasn't.) Generally, I'm not a big fan of books that have to give you character maps, but because of the epic nature of the novel, you're introduced to the characters gradually, over time as they move in and out of the story, and some die off, some are born, so you're not trying to keep all of their stories straight at the same time.

There are times when the time line itself gets a little confusing, simply because of the effort to tell all these congruent tales. Ultimately, they blend together pretty well into something that's pretty readable and often captivating, if sometimes a little wordy. (Like fantasy tends to do.)

Something I'll only mention briefly is the issues of sexuality/sexism that are addressed through the characters lives. Bradley creates women who are strong-willed, born into a tradition of matriarchal hierarchies and yet, when brought into the increasingly Christian court of Arthur, they seem to meld themselves right into the "traditional" female roles - sitting in gossipy group, spinning and weaving all day. Kinda frustrating. Stop whining about how you want to be included in the court talk and go down there, dammit!

As I mentioned earlier, my biggest problem with the book is the end, really. In the last coupl of chapters, the whole story seems to dissolve into mists and uncertainties; suddenly a lot of people are dying. The main character, who's spent the majority of her time being very strong willed and self-assured starts to break down into mush. The religious talk gets very mealy-mouthed in the Druid/Christian/Pagan debate. Overall, it just sort of felt like she spent the first 700 pages creating this great world, and then realized in the last 100 that she had to destroy it somehow to get back to "reality".

All told, I really like her retelling of the Camelot story. Her characters are real, and the three-somes/pagan sex rituals are kept to a tasteful minimum. I do have to say that its length worked against it in one respect - it took me so long to read that I was kinda wanting to be done and move on to the next thing about two thirds of the way through. So, if you're a quick reader, or you find yourself with lots of free time on your hands, I would recommend this classic fantasy novel. (less)

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 16, 2008 Nadia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

ugh. i can't decide whether to give this a 1 or a 2 (i am SHOCKED that the average rating for this book is over a 4, btw!!!). this book DRAGGED. i am a huge fan of sci-fi/fantasy, and the fact that this (a) is one of those books that you hear about in conversations somewhat frequently, and (b) is a re-creating of a "known" story (the legend of king arthur) from the perspective of the females behind the throne, is what originally prompted me to read this book. BUT, the sci-fi element is not well...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 05, 2007 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

This book is one of those that I would consider required reading. Marion Zimmer Bradley's telling of the Arthurian legend from the point of view of Morgaine is so captivating that even twenty years later, I come back to it.

It's the story of Britain after Rome has faded but the influence of Rome, particularly through spreading Christianity hasn't. Britain is on the cusp where the spread of Christianity is eclipsing the native, ancient religion. You'll see all the familiar names from the legend, A...more

10 likes · like · see review

Nov 04, 2012 A.E. Marling rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

View my BookDancing review on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/n9bcF0dUl6U

I have always loved the tragic poignancy of Arthurian legend. This telling focuses not so much on warfare but on women struggling to survive among the ruling men as well as keeping the religion of the goddess from fading into the forgotten mists.

Gwenyvere grows as a character from a girl frightened by open spaces to a queen adept at keeping court. She is tortured by her barrenness, believing it punishment for her desire for Lancel...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 21, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-1980s, did-not-finish-or-skimmed

Feminist fiction you say?

Oh, book. How do you piss me off? Let me count the ways.

1. You try to masquerade as a strong female fantasy novel when your MC is a total bitch who spends all her time debating over whether or not to give her husband permission when he ravishes her or not (because it's not rape if you're married, folks!).

2. The MC's first husband sleeps around, but she's totally OK with that - until he starts giving her younger sister The Eye. Oh, but god help the MC if she ever decides...more

23 likes · like · see review

Aug 21, 2011 Rachael Sherwood rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

When I was about a fourth of the way through The Mists of Avalon, I glanced at some reviews on GoodReads and was disheartened to see that the consensus of many reviews was that the book ended on a FEMINISMRULESMENDROOLSCHRISTIANITYSUX message. Thus far I had found the book to be more complex than that, but I could see that ending coming, as MZB is not always the subtlest of writers. However, at the end I happily conclude that seeing such a reductionist message from the text is a failing on the r...more When I was about a fourth of the way through The Mists of Avalon, I glanced at some reviews on GoodReads and was disheartened to see that the consensus of many reviews was that the book ended on a FEMINISMRULESMENDROOLSCHRISTIANITYSUX message. Thus far I had found the book to be more complex than that, but I could see that ending coming, as MZB is not always the subtlest of writers. However, at the end I happily conclude that seeing such a reductionist message from the text is a failing on the reader, not the author.

The Mists of Avalon, for those who are not familiar, is a retelling of the Arthurian saga from the women’s point of view. Most notably, it follows the women of Avalon, traditionally regarded as witches, crones, and villainesses. Morgaine (Morgan Le Fey) is not evil sorcercess intent on destroying the good Christian king, she is a devoted priestess to the Goddess who wants to make sure that her religion is not destroyed by the Christian conversion of the lands. The decline of the pagan religion is symbolized quite literally, through their holy Isle of Avalon. There was a time when any man or woman could find the Island, but as more and more converts abandon the old ways, Avalon fades more into the mists. Morgaine’s foil is Gwynhefar, the passionate young Queen who wants to remake Britain in Christ’s name. Both Morgaine and Gwynhefar are I think what you could fairly describe as religious fanatics, and they both struggle with what they must give up to push their agenda. The Merlin of Britain, leader of the Druids, occupies a middle ground in this religious debate, saying merely that all Gods are one and that it does not matter what form men see them in. In the end, the book’s conclusion lies closest to the Merlin’s, and even Morgaine comes to embrace the Christians and sees her Goddess in the Virgin Mary and Saint Brigid. I think this book is a great starting place for a bigger discussion of the place of feminine spirituality within a patriarchal driven religion.

Although the book is largely concerned with matters of religion, it is also a saga of family and love and is filled with fascinating characters. It’s hard for me to say who I’d recommend it to, or not. For me it was a totally immersive and exciting experience, I suspect for others it would drag. I would NOT recommend it for someone looking for an Arthurian story, this is a postfeminist story about spirituality. If that interests you, go for it. ;) I think possibly it’s best audience would be teenage girls; I really enjoyed reading it as an adult, as a teen I think I would have just loved it.
(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 17, 2011 Anachronist rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Synopsis:

The magical legend of King Arthur is vividly retold through the eyes and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne. I could have written much more but there is really no point of it. I bet you have heard about King Arthur, his unfaithful but beautiful wife, Gwenhyfar, his best friend, Lancelot, who was also his wife’s lover, his Knights of the Round Table, the Graal etc. You will find everybody in this book. Do not expect to recognize them.

What I liked:

-the logic
I’ve n...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 30, 2013 Andrea C. rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mythology

I was so excited about reading this book. I was a little thrown when I realized it was 876 pages, but whatever. I could do it. The Mists of Avalon is told from Morgaine's point-of-view and is supposed to be sort of a "this is how it really happened, don't believe the lies you've been told." I love when authors to this. The story from the persecutive of the "villain."

I'd read a few reviews on it and they all praised the novel as being wonderful, great, etc. However... not so much. I tired, fellow...more

1 like · like · see review

May 26, 2012 Jessalyn rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

I have a feeling I am not going to be finishing this book any time soon. I am in love with the Arthurian legend. I am not, however, in love with the way the author is telling it so far. There really isn't a problem with the writing, as there is with the plot and the actual story. The books SCREAMS feminism and pro-pagan beliefs, trashing other religions in the process. For those who are sensitive to that sort of thing, they'll hate this book even more than I do. And that's not even my biggest pr...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 29, 2012 Sierra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Mists of Avalon was originally published in hardcover 1982 and found prominence on the New York Times best seller list. Now after 16 years, in memory of the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, this imaginative retelling of Arthurian legend is again available in a hard cover edition. If you haven’t already read The Mists of Avalon, then you must have heard great things about it; perhaps a friend has told you it’s a must read or you have seen it while browsing the Science Fiction section. But regardl...more The Mists of Avalon was originally published in hardcover 1982 and found prominence on the New York Times best seller list. Now after 16 years, in memory of the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, this imaginative retelling of Arthurian legend is again available in a hard cover edition. If you haven’t already read The Mists of Avalon, then you must have heard great things about it; perhaps a friend has told you it’s a must read or you have seen it while browsing the Science Fiction section. But regardless of the positive things you’ve heard, you have been reluctant to pick it up due to its massive 912-page presence. I hear you. I did the same thing. For someone who admires the wonderfully concise, yet descriptive writing skill of William Shakespeare or Ray Bradbury, this tome intimidated me too. I thought it must certainly be full of unnecessary peripheral content and boring descriptions. I finally did give in, though, and I have never once regretted it. What I encountered was an entirely consuming tale that I was reluctant to put down for any reason; I was living in the pages. It is absolutely the best novel on Arthurian legend that I have read and still remains the one book that I hold all other Arthurian tales up to (my apologies to Mary Stewart, TH White and Stephen Lawhead, who are all very good and close seconds). It is also the only book that I have read more than twice. I experience the story anew with each reading and trust me, it is well worth the revisit.

Mists is a poignant Arthurian tale told from the point of view of the women in Avalon instead of the traditional Camelot perspective. The viewpoints of Igraine, Gwenhwyfar, the Lady of the Lake, and Morgaine merge to tell a tale about the clash of Pagan and Christian beliefs and the conflict over the throne of High King. Igraine is Arthur’s mother, conceived by Pendragon through deceptive means. Gwenhwyfar is Arthur’s wife, a pious Christian, bound to him through familial obligation. The Lady of the Lake is Arthur’s aunt, a priestess of Avalon. Morgaine is Arthur’s half-sister, mother of his child and a priestess with the sight. It is Morgaine’s particularly tragic tale that the story centers upon as she tries to keep her people from accepting Christianity, an imported patriarchal religion and persuade them to retain the ways of the indigenous goddess religion. To achieve her desperate goal, the priestess is necessarily manipulative of others, especially Arthur, siding with him or against him, whichever most suits the completion of her goal. She loses an ally and her task becomes desperate once Arthur, at Gwenhwyfar’s insistence, converts to Christianity and betrays his promise to defend Avalon’s pagan ways. Whether the women are scheming to put Arthur on the throne or remove him from it, their positions are always explained through MZB superb mastery of character portrayals.

Knowing that MZB based her fantastical story on a rather modern Wiccan sensibility, I understand the feminine Pagan community’s reverence of the egalitarian roles in the book. However, the stresses of the story are really religious conflict, and not feminism or historical. In fact, I have read more accurate historical fiction accounting of Celtic pre-Christian conflicts, but never one more quintessential. You may have heard Mists heralded as the equivalent of a chick flick and, as such, dismissed it. To some extent this is true. The book does not concentrate on the particulars of grand wars but of the intimate every day lives of strong women who not regulated to the typical role of temptress or feeble, but of healer and priestess. If you fail to read it, however, you will miss one of Western society’s most well known myths, retold with an amazing storytelling capacity and successfully used as an audacious podium to comment on modern social issues.

This is a reprint (prior to edits) of my original review in the Oct/Nov 2000 issue of Explorations.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 21, 2010 Vincent Wood rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Back when I was in high school I often would take a visit in the local bookstore every time I went to the mall. This was a book I often saw on the shelf, but never picked it up.

While browsing the audio books available at my local library, I saw it and decided to give it a try. I am certainly knowledgeable of the Arthurian legend, perhaps more than the average bear. However, there is certainly a lot more for me to learn of it and I figured this book would be a great way to learn it.

In case you do...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 28, 2010 Emily O rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, women-authors, paperbackswap, myths-and-fairy-tales

I am honestly having a hard time reviewing this book. This is such a long book and there is so much to say, and yet I can't seem to explain the way I feel in words. Reading this book is an experience, and this review is my sadly fragmented attempt at conveying that experience to you.

The Mists of Avalon is a re-telling of Arthurian legend told from the perspective of the Arthurian women. The main narrator is Morgaine, more commonly known as Morgan Le Fey, and the story spans her entire lifetime....more I am honestly having a hard time reviewing this book. This is such a long book and there is so much to say, and yet I can't seem to explain the way I feel in words. Reading this book is an experience, and this review is my sadly fragmented attempt at conveying that experience to you.

The Mists of Avalon is a re-telling of Arthurian legend told from the perspective of the Arthurian women. The main narrator is Morgaine, more commonly known as Morgan Le Fey, and the story spans her entire lifetime. Through her and other narrators including her mother Ivaine, Gwenhwyfar (aka Guinevere), Morgause, and Vivaine, we learn the story of the rise and fall of Camelot, and of the individual lives and choices that shaped an era.

You may remember Morgan Le Fay from the original myth as being an evil sorceress and Arthur's enemy. In fact, the original myth has very clear good and bad guys. This book is much more morally ambiguous, with rich characters that are neither good nor bad, but simply human. Morgaine is not an evil sorceress, but she is a priestess and a pagan, as is the Merlin, who is head of the druids. The Mists of Avalon is above all else the story of the shift from the druidic pagan religion that worshiped the Goddess and embraced plurality to the early Christian church that worshiped one God and sought to convert other people to their religion. As the Goodreads description says, "Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes." In the end of the book the main character comes to terms with Christianity, but throughout much of the book there is a strong hostility towards the kind of Christians that were present at the time. This means that the main characters are openly scornful of the sin-and-damnation kind of Medieval Christianity that had no tolerance for other religions, was built on guilt, and taught that women were by nature sinful. If you are easily offended by a positive depiction of paganism, sexual freedom, or people who don't like those aspects of Christianity mentioned above , then I suggest you don't read this book.

That said, I do not think this is a book that no Christian can enjoy. My good friend Daniel is Christian, and he loved it. I am personally non-religious, and I think it is a strong credit to Mrs. Bradley that while I was reading even I wished that women were really witches and had sacred power and celebrated the pagan rites. The real strong point of this book for me is that it is convincing. When I heard the Merlin say that all Gods are the same God and that we should all join together in our different worship styles, I honestly believed him and agreed with him. When I heard Morgaine talk of people seeing the Goddess in her, I wished that people would see the Goddess in me too. When she talks of the sexual morals of the pagans (which are much more free and life-affirming that those of the Christians from that time period) I agreed with everything she said, and was scandalized that anyone could think differently. Now, I have not converted to paganism by any means. I say these things to tell you how I felt in the moment reading this book. It is a powerfully engrossing experience. I don't think that I've ever been sucked into a book as much as I have with this one.

The fact that this book is so enchanting makes it all the more tragic. I've always thought that Arthur was the greatest tragic character. In the original myth all he wanted was to create peace in his kingdom and for all of his friends to be happy, but in the end the people he loves become his downfall and he lives just long enough to see his kingdom destroyed. I came into this book preparing to care for Arthur like I always have. I wasn't prepared to care for everyone else too. Somehow, Bradley made me care for and understand every single character in this book, so if one character betrayed another I felt honestly sorry for both of them. I loved Arthur, yes, but I also loved Lancelot and Morgaine and I at least understood Gwenhwyfar, even if I disagreed with her for most of the book. I loved the Merlin, but I also loved Nimue. Usually when a character you love is hurt by someone in a book you can take a strange sort of comfort in the fact that the person who hurt them was bad or evil and you never liked them anyway. That's what bad guys are for. But in this book there are no bad guys, and so there is no end to the sadness. I was expecting Arthur to be a tragic hero, I wasn't expecting everyone else to be one too.

While this book is very long and can often get heavy with religious debates and political maneuvering, it is absolutely worth every page. Arthurian Legend is already excellent in and of itself, but this book expands on it it ways I never thought possible, and in doing so it creates human beings out of previously mythical figures. Every part of the myth suddenly makes sense and comes to life in a way it never has before. After reading this book, you will never look at Arthurian legend the same way again.

Rating: a solid 4 stars
Highly recommended. (less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

i've always appreciated the king arthur legend(s) and have a fondness for merlin since a young woman when i read mary stewart's the crystal cave. in 1983 i read marion zimmer bradley's the mists of avalon and totally enjoyed it. she is an excellent story teller and at her hands the arthur legends take on a special aura. so this book is highly recommended. i cannot imagine a better summer read for women and girls of any age.

what i am unclear about, however, is that the original (?) mists of aval...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
matheeyah readers: Summer (?) reading....	1	2	May 20, 2013 05:18pm
The Sword and Laser: A Mother's Day Whiteboard	14	77	May 13, 2013 06:53am
How successful was this as a feminist re-interpretation of the Arthurian cycle?	62	269	Mar 30, 2013 04:13pm
Should I finish this book?	35	298	Mar 19, 2013 06:51am
What do you think of the mainstream books now and the ones back then?	3	56	Jan 08, 2013 05:38am
Books with Morgan le Fay as the protagonist?	3	61	Dec 30, 2012 04:06pm

combine
Other Editions (95)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

5 comments

Genres

Fantasy

4,290 users

Historical Fiction

746 users

Mythology > Arthurian

348 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

289 users

Fantasy > Mythology

171 users

Classics

157 users

Romance

125 users

Fantasy > Magic

99 users

Feminism

78 users

Adult

77 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Marion Zimmer Bradley

Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook.

Born on a farm in Albany, New York, during the Great Depression, she began writing in 1949 and sold her first story to Vortex magazine in 1952. In 1965 Bradley graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Te...more

More about Marion Zimmer Bradley...

Books by Marion Zimmer Bradley

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Mists of Avalon

27 trivia questions
2 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Mists of Avalon

“There is no such thing as a true tale. Truth has many faces and the truth is like to the old road to Avalon; it depends on your own will, and your own thoughts, whither the road will take you.” — 166 people liked it

“All gods are one god.” — 89 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Mists of Avalon
avg rating	preview: The Mists of Avalon Goodreads rating: 4.09 (90411 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1102650.The_Mists_of_Avalon?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317312640l/1102650.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1102650.The_Mists_of_Avalon?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley[/url]

The Mists of Avalon (Avalon #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website