Anna Elliot’s second book in the Arthurian trilogy sees Isolde launch a bold plan to save Britain from Saxon invaders
Rating: 3 Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
“Tintagel Castle in Cornwall is a fascinating place,” says Dark Moon of Avalon author Anna Elliot. “The Arthurian connection has been largely discounted by scholars. But, the latest archaeological work has suggested that there was at least some kind of a princely fortress there during the 5th or 6th centuries.” That was after the fall of the Roman Empire and Hadrian’s Wall. It would have been contemporary with King Arthur, if scholars could agree he existed as more than a legend.
Dark Moon of Avalon: A novel of Trystan & Isolde is the second book in Anna Elliot’s Arthurian trilogy Twilight of Avalon. Britain is in danger of falling into the hands of Lord Marche and his ruthless Saxon allies. Isolde has a bold plan to save the kingdom, a desperate alliance with the Saxon king Cerdic…whose willingness is uncertain. On their journey to find Cedric, Isolde learns more than she’d like about Trystan’s life while they were apart.
Elliot’s writing is vivid, bringing the Arthurian world to life in the Dark Moon of Avalon. Her descriptions of the ravages of war are graphic. Some may not like her extension of sexual tension between Trystan and Isolde, but it doesn’t hurt the story. The story flows. It’s a book you can read quickly and has surprises.
Elliot says she read all the Arthurian primary sources. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain is the version of history she chose as the basis for story. “I read and re-read that, as well as Nennius’ Historia Brittonum, another early source of Arthur material. I read the early Welsh Arthurian tales like Culhwch and Olwen and The Dream of Rhonabwy, as well as the later medieval legends like Le Morte d’Arthur. And of course I also read all the available versions of the original Trystan and Isolde story.”
Elliot also read The Anglo Saxon Chronicle and Gildas’ De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, neither of which mention Arthur, but that give a picture of the political climate in 6th Century Britain.
Elliot lives in Washington D.C. She was born in New Jersey. She’s working on a prequel to the Twilight of Avalon trilogy, about Merlin and Morgan le Fey. Elliot’s web address is www.annaelliottbooks.com.
Dark Moon of Avalon: A Novel of Trystan & Isolde (Twilight of Avalon Trilogy) by Anna Elliot. Paperback, 448 pages, Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (September 14, 2010), Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-1416589907 $16.00.
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