Priestess of Avalon (2000)

Priestess of Avalon is a 2000 novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, completed posthumously by Diana L. Paxson. It follows detailing the life of Helena, first wife of Western Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and mother of Constantine.

Plot summary

The novel begins by showing her birth, with a druid giving a prophecy of her life. It proceeds to show her as a young girl named Eilan, who becomes a priestess on the Isle of Avalon.

As a young woman, the British priestess Eilan, known to the Romans as Helena, falls in love with the charismatic Roman Constantius. The Roman noble takes her away from Avalon as she is banished for this forbidden love and, before long, Helena bears him a son, who will become Constantine the Great.

Helena's position in Roman society now gives her the freedom to travel about in the empire. When her son Constantine becomes Emperor, she slowly discovers brand-new roles. She faces the spread of the new Christian religion and seeks to understand the old knowledge of the goddess in light of the new religion. As Empress-Mother, Helena travels on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to find the answers to questions that arise between the old religion and the new.

Release details

2000, UK, Voyager ISBN 0-00-224709-7, Pub date 6 November 2000, hardback (First edition)

2001, USA, Viking Books ISBN 0-670-91023-6, Pub date ? May 2001, hardback

2001, USA, Penguin Group ISBN 0-14-180303-7, Pub date ? May 2001, audio cassette

2001, UK, Voyager ISBN 0-00-648376-3, Pub date 21 May 2001, paperback

2002, USA, Roc ISBN 0-451-45862-1, Pub date ? July 2002, paperback

Reception

Publishers Weekly praised the novel, and wrote that "Paxson's own skill at bringing historical characters and places to vivid life enriches Helena's story. This final book in the Bradley canon is sure to please her devotees and win her more."