Literature Page

Author: Marion Zimmer Bradley

Age: Late teen to adult. This is another book that I would not teach in school due to the thematic content and sheer length.

Genre: Fantasy (While some may consider this historical fiction, the Arthurian legends, especially in their current incarnation, are more closely related to fantasy.)

Topics for Discussion: power struggles, forms of government, separation of church and state (or lack thereof), incest, Arthurian legend

Summary: Bradley draws upon Arthurian legend, but focuses primarily or Morgan Le Fay, or in this rendition, Morgaine. This epic novel follows Morgaine's rise to power as a priestess of Avalon, which parallel's her brother Arthur's rise to the throne of a united Saxon/Roman Britain. The conflict eventually develops between which woman has the most influence over Arthur, his sister who is father to his only child or his barren Christian wife.

Book Review: I must admit that Bradley did keep me interested in this one, even when it was a morbid interest. Her style is easy to read and not overly wordy; she simply has a very long, drawn out story to tell.

Multimedia: A television mini-series was done in 2001. It does manage to follow the novel closely, but necessarily leaves out quite a bit. I must say that it is pretty decent for a made-for-TV movie, with good sets and good acting. Keep in mind, though, that themes inappropriate for children are still depicted in this version, including the incest.

Christian Perspectives: I've hesitated to review this book for so long because of what I have to say about it. I would not recommend this book for Christians at all; as far as I can tell, it is written by a modern Pagan and actively advocates those beliefs throughout the novel. The heroes of this story are the women who pursue a study of magical arts, while the only Christian is portrayed as weak and sniveling. The one thing I learned while reading this book is that, underneath it all, witchcraft is really all about an attempt to not only control one's own environment, but also an attempt to control the minds of men. While I find the revelation valuable and interesting, I would in no way recommend that anyone read the novel simply to obtain similar revelations about the Pagan world view.