I really enjoyed this book. I was so glad to see that the book picked up where the book "Ravens of Avalon" left off.The Arch-Druid Ardanos, Lhiannon(High Priestess of Vernemeton - the Forest House), and Caillean (senior priestess assisting Lhiannon - also Lhiannon's adoptive daughter)are characters from the book "Ravens of Avalon" who survived the fire and take over of Mona. These individuals move on to Vernemeton and rebuild the hertiage of the Priestess and Druids with the consent of the Roman EmperorThe story wraps around Eilan (the Arch-Druid Ardanos granddaughter) a Roman officer "Gaius" who is half Roman and half Britian and is also the son of Martius Julius Licinius (Procurator - financial officer of Britannia).Eilan and Gaius story becomes complicated because of Gaius status of being a Roman but the love they have for each other is held in secret. Even though Eilan has taken vows to become a priestess, they proclaim their love in secret during the Beltane Festible. Eilan ends up pregnant but Gaius can not claim their child (son- Gawan)or her because of his status of being a Roman.Though Eilan is pregnant, Lhinnanon on her death bed chooses Eilan as her sucessor. Once Eilan has her boy, the boy is protected by the Forest House but his idenity is kept in secret and he does not know his mother is the High Priestess Eilan.Even though Eilan and Gaius life can not be joined, the continue to love each other from a part but go on with their lives. Eilan serves the Goddess and Gaius goes on to marry another Roman girl "Julia" and has 4 daughters.During this time, christianity has moved from Rome into the Britannia and after the death of Gaius and Julia's daughter and their preborn son, Julia turns to the christian faith and vows chasity and to never sleep with her husband again which qualifies Gaius for grounds for divorce according to law. With this in mind, Gaius desides to seek out Eilan and claim his son and get a new bride.But things don't go as planned and both Eilan and Gaius end up in the Beltane Fires as sacrefices to the Gods.This was a very good read and after reading 4 out of the 7 books in this series, I have not lost interest and the books keep getting better and better.
The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley is one of the books in her Avalon series. The story is set during the Roman occupation of Britain about a generation after the uprising of Boudicca. Much of the story is centered around the Forest House, which is the sanctuary for the Druid priestesses that was established after the destruction of the Druid complex on the isle of Mona by the Romans, and the woman who serve there. All of the books in this series have elements of romance, but it is a particularly strong theme in this book and a major plot point is the forbidden love between Eilan, a Druid priestess of the Forest House, and Gaius, a half-Roman soldier. The story follows their lives parallel to each other and the few times they are able to meet. Although they can never truly be together, in their own ways they both work to try to keep the peace between their two peoples as certain British factions vie for revenge against the Romans for the atrocities they committed years before.This book takes place after Ravens of Avalon and I would strongly suggest reading that book before reading The Forest House. Ravens of Avalon provides much of the background story for The Forest House and I definitely felt less confused about events mentioned in The Forest House on this read than on previous reads before having read Ravens of Avalon(despite some minor inconsistencies between the two books). You might also want to read The Fall of Atlantis before reading this book in order to understand certain references, but it's not wholly necessary. I wouldn't say that The Forest House is my favorite book in the series, but I did enjoy it and would recommend it to other fans of the series and to people who enjoy British history.
What do You think about The Forest House (1995)?
One of the prequels to Mists of Avalon, Forest House tells the story of Eilan, a British priestess and Gaius, the Roman soldier she falls in love with. It can be rather slow at times, but overall the story is still compelling, and the world well-realized. It has more of a historical setting than Mists.If you really liked Mists, and want to know the backstory, read this and the other prequels, but don't compare it to Mists. It's pretty good in its own right, but don't expect it to be as good as Mists.
—Mariah
The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley is the prequel to The Mists of Avalon. Long before King Arthur's time, the British Isles were occupied by the native tribes and also the Romans. The native people were Pagans - the holy people were Priestesses and Druids. The Romans worshiped their many Gods. Christianity was just starting to spread to the region region where this story takes place, and Christians were a minority seen as a cult. A love affair between Eilan, a woman who was to become the
—Rosie
Honestly, I really, really loved this book. It was the perfect combination of history with romance, beautifully balanced and... heck, just read this book. I couldn't put it down after I picked it up.
—Paty
