The forbidden love of a druid priestess and a Roman soldier mirrors the clash of cultures in Roman Britain in the latest novel by the author of The Mists of Avalon (Ballantine, 1985). The novel evokes an age when three major religions maintained an uneasy coexistence on the island of Britain. Eilan, a daughter of goddess-worshiping druids, and Gaius Marcellius, a half-British Roman, live for the coming of a legendary future king to unite the warring islanders. Bradley envisions the ``old religion'' as a refreshing blend of classic and revisionist concepts, adding a distinct flavor to her seamless weave of history and myth. Most libraries will want this for their fantasy collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/93.
YA-The setting of this historical/fantasy novel is Roman Briton. Eilan, a Druid girl who has been raised in the cult of the Goddess with the priestesses wielding the power, has fallen in love with a young Roman named Gaius. He is a half-Briton whose mother was of the Druid tribes and whose father is a powerful officer in the Roman legions. The clash between these two cultures and the eventual hope of unification through Eilan and Gaius's son is one of the book's many story lines. Bradley does a masterful job of creating the flavor of the period and the two diverse cultures, as well as strong female characters. With its elements of love story, intense emotions, and mysticism, Forest House will appeal to YAs.-Susan B. McFaden, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
The prolific Bradley's latest historical fiction is set in Britain during the first century, A.D., the time of Roman rule. A prologue and an epilogue by Caillean, a Druid priestess, relating how she and her followers came to the Summer Country, frames the story of British Eilan and her Roman lover, Gaius. They meet as teenagers, and after they consummate their love, Eilan becomes pregnant. But conflicting responsibilities drive them apart: Eilan is destined to become high priestess of the sacred Druid Forest House, and Gaius is a Roman officer, sworn to serve the Empire in subduing Britain. Throughout their lives, they struggle to balance the demands of their separate heritages and religious beliefs with their desire for each other. As in her memorable Mists of Avalon , which imagined the Arthurian legend from a female point of view, Bradley sometimes takes a feminist perspective here. This time, however, the characters are not as engaging and the sometimes static prose slows the narrative. (Apr.)
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