The Mists of Avalon
- 876
- Pages
- about 16 h
- Reading time
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
- NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books
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Our view
“The Mists of Avalon” retells the Arthurian legend through its women, and that shift of viewpoint is the reason to read it. At its centre is Morgaine, a priestess defending the old religion as Christianity spreads. At nearly nine hundred pages it is a long commitment: some readers race through, others take months or give up partway. For those who know the legend and want to see it from the other side.
Worth knowing The Mists of Avalon, from 1983, tells the Arthurian legend from the women’s side, mainly through Morgaine, the Morgan le Fay of the old stories, here a priestess of Avalon trying to keep the old religion alive as Christianity takes Britain, and through Gwenhwyfar, Igraine and Viviane, the Lady of the Lake. Marion Zimmer Bradley makes the story a struggle between the Goddess and the new Church, with Arthur, Lancelet and Mordred as the prizes, and at nearly 900 pages it is slow and meant to be. It won the Locus Award in 1984, sat on the bestseller lists for months and became a television miniseries in 2001. Since 2014 it has been read with what became known about its author in mind; see the author page.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine, a priestess fighting to save her Celtic religion in a country where Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The epic is focused on the lives of Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Viviane, Morgause, Igraine and other women of the Arthurian legend.
Reading order · Avalon Series
Full order & progress →- The Fall of AtlantisStart here
–Not ranked yet - Ancestors of Avalon
–Not ranked yet - Sword of AvalonSword of Avalon–Not ranked yet
- Ravens of Avalon
–Not ranked yet - The Forest House
7.77.7 / 10 - Lady of Avalon
–Not ranked yet - Priestess of Avalon
–Not ranked yet - The Mists of AvalonThis book
7.87.8 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.7 across 389 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 73% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.6 | 37 | 10% |
| Hardcover | 7.7 | 352 | 91% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Mists of Avalon?
It has 876 pages — longer than 89% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 7.8, the closest to this book.
