White Rose of Avalon

Maranda Wabik

  • Lucrezia Borgia

    The Borgias were one of Renaissance Italy’s most notorious families.   Today they are seen as a precursor to the modern Mafia, or a proto-Mafia if you will.   Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of Rodrigo Borgia who would become Pope Alexander VI.    Lucrezia Borgia’s story is one filled with intrigue, poisoning, sex, and…

  • Maleficent

    Maleficent is the antagonist of Disney’s 1959 Sleeping Beauty.   She is a wicked faery who has the magical ability to transform into a dragon.   In 2014 the story of Sleeping Beauty was re-imagined in Disney’s Maleficent.   She was portrayed by Angelina Jolie, and Elle Fanning brought life to Aurora!   In 2019…

  • Five Medieval Queens You Should Know!

    Today I wanted to share with my readers five medieval queens I feel that everyone should know about!   This is not a count down list of the five best, but rather just a list of amazing queens!   I have listed the queens chronologically. Number 1: Matilda of Scotland (1080 –1118), Queen of Henry…

  • The Vila

    The Vila are faeries of Slavic folklore who love to dance, but will turn viscous if you are guilty of hunting and harming forest creatures.   They are protectors of the forest, similar to Greek nymphs, but much more viscous!    In many tellings they are also protectors of women, and will lure men to…

  • Love Goddesses

    Goddesses of love and sex appear in culture after culture around the ancient world.   Sex as a means of worship is very common and even important in ancient cultures and polytheistic religions.   In Greece and Rome she was Aphrodite and her Roman counterpart Venus.   In Celtic regions there were several Goddesses associated…

  • My Top Five Shakespeare Love Quotes

    Number 5:’I would not wish any companion in the world but you’ (The Tempest – Act 3, Scene 1) ~This quote reminds us that friendship is important in romantic love!  Number 4:’Her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love’ (Antony & Cleopatra – Act 3, Scene 5) ~I love this…

  • Tim Burton’s Gothic Victorian Fairytales

    Personally the title of this blog post is how I have always seen many of Tim Burton’s  masterful films!   From his own world vision films like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie to iconic characters he chooses to bring to life like Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, and Dark Shadows.…

  • Great Lovers

    Throughout history there have been many great lovers!   Many of these lotharios are men of nobility and royalty.   Today I want to look at some of the most famous.   I have chosen three lovers that exemplify the great romance and sexual awakening of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe! The…

  • Cleopatra VII

    Cleopatra VII was the last queen of Egypt, ruling until her death (supposedly a suicide by asp bite, or injection of poison) after her and Marc Antony lost the Battle of Actium.   She is famous and infamous as a symbol of ancient Egypt and as a seductress.    She was an incredible scholar, and…

  • My Top 10 Shakespearean Films

    Number 10: Hamlet (1969) ~This version of Hamlet starred Marianne Faithfull as Ophelia, and is worth watching for that alone! Number 9: William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet (1996) ~This is the classic Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes version! Number 8: William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) ~Michelle Pfiffer made an awesome Titania in this…