But one writer stands out in turn of the mark she left on my life: Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Bradley's novels highlight two key features that are important to me: 1) Strong female protagonists 2)Weaving fantasy into history
History has a long, er, history of letting women down. Or more often beating them down with a stick (know where the phrase 'rule of thumb' comes from? Look it up. I dare you.) - Marion Zimmer Bradley rights such wrongs with unbelievable skill.
Wondering what Morgan Le Fay really thought about King Arthur? Check out:
![](http://semantink.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/list81.jpg)
Think Achilles was just a big jerk? Yeah, pretty much.
![](http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n1/n5941.jpg)
Bradley also wrote wonderful high fantasy
![](http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n1/n7102.jpg)
![](http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/scifi/images/mzb-sm.jpg)
My appreciation for this brilliant author's work runs deep and I am thankful for the lasting legacy she's offered to a new generation of writers.
I've never read THE MISTS OF AVALON (or any other Bradley books), but I remember girls at my ballet studio carrying it around! I need to get to it someday.
ReplyDeleteYou must read it! It is amazing ;)
ReplyDeleteMZB is awesome. Loved the Mists of Avalon. Truly.
ReplyDeleteLove Morgan Llewellyn as well.
Shelley