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Cover of Priestess of Avalon

Priestess of Avalon

expanded novel 2000 The Mists of Avalon

Record

First published2000
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statusexpanded
First-edition ISBN9780451458629
Internal chronology3

Synopsis

This novel follows Eilan, a priestess of Avalon later known to history as Helena, from a druid's prophecy over her birth through a forbidden love affair with the Roman noble Constantius that leads to her banishment from the island. The son she bears him will grow up to become the emperor Constantine the Great, and Helena's changed status as his mother allows her unusual freedom to travel through the Roman world. As Empress-Mother, she must reconcile the goddess-centered faith of her priestess upbringing with the rising Christian religion spreading through the empire, a tension that comes to a head when she journeys to the Holy Land as a pilgrim. The book weaves real Roman history with Arthurian legend, forming another bridge in Bradley and Paxson's account of Avalon's long history.

Where it sits

Notes

  • Wikipedia dates the UK (Voyager) edition to November 6, 2000; Diana L. Paxson's own site lists 2001 (likely the US edition or a later printing). Registered under the earlier confirmed date (2000); the discrepancy is stated, not resolved.
  • From the series record (The Avalon Series): Bradley 'expanded the book into the Avalon series' with Diana L. Paxson. The Forest House and Lady of Avalon were co-written with Bradley (Paxson uncredited on the original cover for marketing reasons, per Bradley's own account); Priestess of Avalon was begun by Bradley and completed by Paxson following Bradley's September 1999 death (Paxson's own site frames it as her solo work; Wikipedia frames it as a Bradley/Paxson collaboration completed posthumously -- both sources agree on the underlying facts, only on how to characterize the split; left stated rather than resolved). Registered Expanded Canon per the credited-authorship-as-bright-line precedent -- all 3 are published under Bradley's name/brand. Books 4-6 (Ancestors of Avalon, Ravens of Avalon, Sword of Avalon) are Paxson's solo continuations after Bradley's 1999 death, published under the 'Marion Zimmer Bradley's [title]' brand. Ancestors of Avalon bridges Bradley's own The Fall of Atlantis to the founding of Avalon; Ravens of Avalon is a direct prequel to The Forest House (young Boudica); Sword of Avalon is set at the end of the Bronze Age.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.

Sources

← The Mists of Avalon dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.