Avalon: A Novel (Rediscovered Classics) Paperback – May 1, 2006

What a pleasant surprise this was! A very entertaining book, well written, well researched, and with generally realistic characterizations.I only knew Anya Seton through two works: a very bad 1946 movie version of Dragonwyck and the (in my opinion) highly-overrated “Katherine.” Dragonwyck may be a good novel, I don’t know, but it was a very confused, choppy movie (a major character disappears midway through the movie and is never mentioned again). “Katherine” was about Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, and I found it to be shallow and trite (Katherine is so beautiful that men either lose control and rape her, or almost lose control and rape her), and sadly laughable in its view of romanticism (she falls in love with a man who raped her).I owned Avalon for quite some time before I started reading it, what with two loser Setons on my record. However, once I started, I couldn’t put it down. It starts as a very conventional romance. Handsome Romieux de Provence, descended from royalty, leaves his home in Normandy to seek Avalon, a peaceful paradise he has dreamed of, as well as to escape the pressures to become a warrior knight. He is shipwrecked and manages to reach the shore in Cornwall, but he has lost most of his possessions and now he himself is lost. He comes upon a young woman returning home with her servant from a pilgrimage. He shares their road.The young woman is Merewyn, who also is believed to be descended from royalty, and not just any royal, but the blessed King Arthur himself. She now lives in isolated poverty with her crippled and ailing mother, for whose sake Merewyn had been on pilgrimage. Rumon (as Romieux is now called) accompanies her home and Merewyn’s dying mother exacts a promise from him to take Merewyn to her only living relative, an abbess. Rumon grudgingly agrees; he would rather be on his way, and he resents being delayed from his quest.Rumon is always exquisitely attired, and he is artistic, educated, intelligent, and spiritual. Merewyn, of course, is in awe of the elegant and refined Rumon, and soon is hopelessly in love with him. Rumon is above such things, and certainly above the illiterate and shabby Merewyn. He expects great things to happen in his life and yearns to find his Avalon, his paradise.Will he find Avalon? Does it exist? Will he ever return Merewyn’s love? How long will she wait?Here the conventional romance story of (potentially) star-crossed lovers grows into a fascinating historical novel. They arrive at the court of the English king Edgar, where Merewyn is to meet her aunt. Rumon all but forgets Merewyn, and, instead, becomes first infatuated and soon obsessed with Edgar’s beautiful young second wife, Alfrida. Alfrida encourages his interest, but she has other things in mind. Let’s just say she’s not very nice. She does, however, take an interest in Merewyn, and asks her to stay at court as one of her ladies.Nothing goes as either Merewyn or Rumon planned.This is a fascinating, but little known, period of English history. Rumon, Edgar, Alfrida, and Merewyn’s aunt are all historical figures. So I will talk a little about the history, since most people don’t know it, and it’s good to know some of it before reading the book. Edgar died, leaving Edward, the son of his first wife as his heir. A few years later (in the year 978), when Alfrida’s son was about ten to twelve years old, King Edward was murdered. Alfrida was blamed by the chroniclers of the age, in part because it is always convenient to blame a woman. Alfrida certainly may have been part of the plot as her son was then left to inherit the throne, but she certainly was not solely responsible. In this book, Alfrida is pure evil, but in real life, she appears to have been pious and responsible for many charitable acts and donations. That’s not to say she’s sweet innocence.Alfrida’s son, Ethelred, became king (“Ethelred the Unready”), and his reign was a disaster. How much of that was actually the fault of Ethelred is debated. A major incident in his reign was the St. Brice’s Day Massacre. Many Danes and other “Viking” people were living peaceably in England; however, the Danes sometimes still conducted raids in England. Ethelred chose to pay the leaders to stay away, essentially paying tribute. In return, the Danish king left his sister and her family in England as hostages. Then, on St. Brice’s Day in 1002, Ethelred ordered the extermination of the Danes living in England. The Danish king’s sister was among the murdered, and the Viking raids on England began again in earnest.These events and many more affect the lives of Rumon and Merewyn. Their stories are intertwined with the real-life characters mentioned (and Rumon himself is a historical figure, although the early events of the real Rumon’s life are unknown and completely fictionalized in this novel). Many other historical figures are involved as well, including the Vikings Erik the Red (who founded colonies in Iceland) and his son, the explorer Leif Erikson (who explored North America). All of these figures affect the paths on which Merewyn and Rumon find themselves.Except for Alfrida, who is two-dimensional evil, and Erik the Red’s daughter, Freydis, who is an evil pervert, the characters are well drawn and believable. Freydis is herself a remarkable character about whom history has left conflicting stories. There’s no doubt she was one tough cookie.This is a sweeping saga that brings to life a little-known and exciting (sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way) period of history. It seems very well-researched and authentic. It is an intelligent and entertaining read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys good quality, factually-based historical fiction.

I loved Avalon. It is not the best Anya Seton book (that honor goes to Katherine). However, for a book set in the Dark Ages, it is absolutely fantastic. Anya Seton did a fantastic job transplanting readers into a time about which we know little. I knew nothing going into the novel about the Saxon kings and the Vikings. Seton did a great job in helping readers understand how scary and uncertain this time period was. Seton also gives a fascinating look into Viking society, something I knew little about.However, I did not give this book 5 stars for two main reasons:(1) The premise of the book is that Merewyn is living a lie and that she is not descended from King Arthur. Rather, she is the product of a rape. Merewyn's mother was raped by Kettil Redbeard (we learn later), a Viking. He is the same Viking who had murdered Merewyn's purported father. Somehow, at the exact time Merewyn is transporting her aunt Merwinna's heart to be buried in Padstow, her hometown, she is nearly raped by Kettil Redbeard, her father. The local priest recognizes him, as he had witnessed her mother's rape, and puts a stop to it. Merewyn is then kidnapped and taken to Ireland and Iceland (and ultimately Greenland). Now, it does not seem plausible to me that it would be the same viking and that the Viking would recognize her as a daughter and take her home with him. Nor does it seem plausible that Merewyn would just accept him as a father.(2) Seton takes the controversial view that America was discovered by Irish monks. The idea that Rumon was swept to America, somehow encounters the descendants of these Irish monks and then manages to find Merewyn in Iceland after escaping seems implausible and far fetched.Aside from these implausibilities, Avalon is a wonderful novel. Anya Seton's writing style is very rich (ignore Phillipa Gregory's horrid forward) and the time period is fascinating.

Wonderfully beautiful film for anyone, any age, especially if the immigrant experience is treasured in your family

I adore Anya Seton, have since I first read Katherine when I was a teen. I have read most of her books and all of them are very, very good. Avalon was also good, but unfortunately was long and dragged quite a bit. I have no problems with a lengthy book, in fact like stories that I can really sink my teeth into, but Avalon was not one of those. I felt that the story was luke warm throughout and never caught my full attention. I kept waiting for it to pick up but it never did. I recommend it as an interesting read with interesting information about the early Norse travels to North America but if you want one of Seton's better books, choose another.

I found this to be a very sad, depressing story but also interesting and I still enjoyed reading the book.

It came factory sealed as promised and just one of my favorite Barry Levinson movies.Just a great movie and I'm glad I have it in my collection.

read this book about 50 years ago,i did not think i would see it again,thank you amazon

I have read this book more than once, you almost forget how powerful it is, and then you are looking at your books and select the battered copy, and read it all again, withjust as much pleasure, this only happens with a few books, but it is a joy to rediscover.I cannot recommend it highly enough

My Polish wife loves it!!

I enjoyed reading this book although felt a bit frustrated towards the end as I really wanted the story to end in a particular way which didn’t quite. A lovely read!