Lady of Avalon

By: Marion Zimmer Bradley

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A new age is coming... The King will come...and he will rule forever in Avalon.

Through the generations the women of Avalon prepare for the coming of the Defender, the sacred king who will guard the old ways of the Britons and save their land from destruction. On the holy isle of Avalon, hidden in the mists between the world of Faerie and the world of men, they wait. For High Priestess Caillean, facing the Roman foe, salvation comes not through victory, but bitter sacrifice.

Two hundred years later, her successor, Dierna, faces a new enemy: the Saxon hordes who assail her people like savages. By the time of Viviane, Britain seems wholly lost. But a Merlin is made amongst the Druids once more, and the day of the Defender, who will come to be known as Arthur, draws close.

A spellbinding historical fantasy, Lady of Avalon links the best-selling novels in the Avalon series - The Forests of Avalon and The Mists of Avalon.

©1997 Marion Zimmer Bradley (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Bradley here combines romance, rich historical detail, magical dazzlements, grand adventure and feminist sentiments into the kind of novel her fans have been yearning for." ( Publishers Weekly)

Two very interesting stories

Admittedly, when I read the hardcover years ago, I was extremely disappointed with the fragmented nature of this book. I wanted "Epic" like Mists, and dismissed this book with some sourness. I only chose to get the audiobook because of Rosalyn Landor, and how stunning I thought her reading of "The Forest House" was. This book ("Lady of Avalon") like the previous one, just blossoms under Ms. Landor's efforts. I still don't care for the middle story, but the bookends - the first part taking up the action right after "The Forest House" ends and the third part, learning about Viviane's early years, are just beautifully done now.

I still don't think this is a great standalone book - in fact, I would only recommend it after listening to "The Forest House" and as a bridge to "Mists." But, if like me, you didn't enjoy reading the novel itself, I would suggest you give it another try by listening to it being read by such a wonderful storyteller.

Enchantment Personified

Back in time in Avalon's history, the reader is effortlessly drawn back into the world Zimmer Bradley first created with "The Mists of Avalon." The story moves along magically and if it were in book form, it would be a real page-turner. The characters are human and real as well as fairy and priestess.

my wife chose this book

this is my wifes favorite book. she had read hard back and said the audio book was better. so this is her review

Loved the Entire Series...but...

I loved the entire series but was really shocked that at the end of "Daughter of Avalon" the Fairy Queen reveals the outcomes of Viviane's efforts in "Mists of Avalon."

I had read "Mists" many years ago, so I already knew the story.

However, if someone was reading the entire series from start to finish, never having read "Mists"--I would think this would be a major bummer to find this out.

i love this book

i am so in love with this book. the time line is just amazing. i am so in love with each character

Good story missed connection till end

Sorta confused what was happening or how it tied in till the last few hours

Last part the best

I didn’t care much for the story or the delivery of parts 1 and 2. Part 3 was much stronger in performance and story.

Terrible plot and mediocre writing

Hundreds of years are crammed into one book. There are huge gaps between time periods - hundreds of years or more making the weak plat harder to follow. There is no reason to have this book. At least “The Mists of Avalon” book is a female look at the mythology of King Arthur. Everything in this author’s writing style in my opinion are of poor quality: plot, sentence structure, character arch’s, and vocabulary. I respect that women need to be recognized in Sci-Fi/Fantasy but this author does not hold up to many other less popular female sci/Fi, fantasy and dystopian excellent female authors.

Lady of Avalon

I didn't precious friend this book that I shall listen to again and again. So mote it be

Another Great Audible Recording

This is my 3rd Avalon Recording (The Mists of Avalon, The Forest House, The Lady of Avalon) and I’m absolutely enthralled with the world that Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxton have created. The narration is wonderful also. I am looking forward to listening to the remaining Avalon Books on Audible. I highly recommend this series.