Book 1 of the Avalon Series.
Igraine, the wife of the Roman Duke of Cornwall Gorlois, is visited by her sister Viviane, the High Priestess of Avalon, and her father Merlin. These two tell her that she will be the mother of the King that will Britain together, but Gorlois will not be his father.
When Igraine and Uther meet there’s an instant connection and Gorlois picks up on this. He declares Uther his enemy and physically abuses Igraine. When he’s not at Tintagel, he makes sure Igraine and their daughter Morgaine are not allowed outside the castle walls.
At Midwinter Uther comes to Tintagel, and everyone who sees him thinks he’s Gorlois except for Igraine. The following morning word comes to the castle saying Gorlois has died in battle. Uther and Igraine are married instantly.
Morgaine is put in charge of her baby brother and resents him for coming between her and her mother. When he’s a small child he’s whisked away to grow up in secret and Morgaine is sent to Viviane to become a priestess of Avalon.
Following Uther’s death, Arthur comes out of hiding to be crowned as the High King of Britain. His cousins, the sons of Morgause and Lot, and Viviane’s sons, pledge their fealty to him. At the coronation Morgaine realises she is pregnant – she’d lost her virginity at Beltane to the Stag King (her brother Arthur).
Arthur, unaware of this, marries the fair maiden Gwenhwyfar, but Gwenhwyfar is in love with Arthur’s cousin Lancelet.
The Mists of Avalon follows Morgaine throughout her life and it’s an amazing tale. I know MZB is considered a problematic author by a lot of people and please do not see my rating of this book as condoning what she did in her personal life… this book is beautifully written and I love the story – not the author.
Read for The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 29: Shares Universe With Prompt 28
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
