The first book based on the isle of Avalon, The Mists of Avalon, was actually published as a novel on its own.

The most interesting thing about the Avalon series is the feminist point of view, where villains in the King Arthur stories like Morgan Le Fay are actually portrayed as strong women who tried to protect her people’s traditions in the midst of political and spiritual upheaval. She also explores the themes of the conflict between the pagan and Christian traditions, and how both traditions offer wisdom. It focuses on the legendary isle of Avalon- how it was created, its history and how it eventually faded away with the introduction of the Romans’ religion, Christianity.īradley explores the story of King Arthur and the legends related to it, incorporating historical figures and events of that time.

Paxson, who took over the authorship after Bradley’s death. This series was written with help from Diana L. Throughout her life she has been known to support a number of unpublished authors with their careers, some of whom have been able to participate in the writing of one of her most popular series, Darkover.īradley passed on in 1999 after suffering from a heart attack a few days before her death. Not a stranger to controversial themes, she also wrote a number of gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels under a number of pseudonyms. Bradley graduated from the Hardin-Simmons University in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and later moved to Berkeley to pursue her graduate studies in the University of California.Īs a child, Bradley enjoyed reading adventure/fantasy novels which strongly influenced her works later in life. She was born in Albany, New York in 1930 and began writing during the Great Depression in 1947. Marion Zimmer Bradley was an American author who specialized in the genres of fantasy, historical fantasy and science fiction.

The mists of avalon book series