White Rose of Avalon

Maranda Wabik

  • My Top 10 Love Songs!

    Below is my second Valentine’s Day list in honor of Love Week here at White Rose of Avalon! Number 10: Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers ~This song is a very romantic and was first released in 1955, but received jukebox standard acclaim with the Righteous Brothers 1965 recording.   This same recording went on…

  • My Top 10 Love Story Films

    To start out Love Week on White Rose of Avalon, I will begin my Valentine’s Day love lists!   In this post I am counting down my favorite love story movies! Number 10: Beauty and the Beast (1946) ~This is a French classic directed by Jean Cocteau.    It is as iconic as it is…

  • It’s Love Week

    Hello, my dear readers!    One week from today is Valentine’s Day, and I am declaring this week Love Week,here at White Rose of Avalon!    Over the next seven days my posts will have the running theme of love and romance.    This may mean posts about historical loves, or about legendary and fairytale…

  • My Top 10 Love Story Books

    In this post I will count down my favorite love stories that have appeared in books! Number 10: Possession by A.S. Byatt ~This book is unique in that it tells two love stories.   One set of lovers are Victorian poets, and the other are scholars who are studying the poetry of these two poets. …

  • Lady of the Lake

    Within the Arthurian Legends there is the faerie woman known as the Lady of the Lake.    She is keeper of Excalibur, and the protectress of Avalon.    In some tales Lady of the Lake is the title given to the head of the nine sisters who practice magic on the Isle of Avalon.   …

  • La Belle et la Bete

    The old French fairytale of Beauty and the Beast is famous for its depictions of love breaking a curse.    This is a common theme amongst romantic fairytales.    In the tale a young woman goes willingly into a Beast’s castle in order to save her father, who has been imprisoned within.   He has…

  • My Top 5 Anne Boleyn Portrayals

    In this post I will count down my top five actresses to have portrayed Anne Boleyn in films and television.   I am very particular about how my favorite wife of Henry VIII is portrayed. Number 5: Claire Foy in Wolf Hall ~Claire Foy starred in the miniseries that centers on the life of Thomas…

  • My Top 5 Henry VIII Portrayals

    In this post I will count down my top five actors to have given life to Henry VIII in films and television. Number 5: Ruairi O’Connor in The Spanish Princess  ~In the series based on the life of Katherine of Aragon, and books by Philippa Gregory Henry VIII is portrayed by Ruairi O’Connor.   During…

  • Rhiannon: Faerie Queen

    Rhiannon was a horse goddess in ancient Wales.    This Celtic goddess had her story told in the Mabinogion.   Besides horses Rhiannon also has three songbirds that are symbols of her power.    Rhiannon seems to be related to the ancient Gallo-Roman horse goddess Epona, and a derivative, possibly of the earlier Celtic goddess…

  • Rival Queens

    In the times of Tudor rule in England there were two rival Queens, both with claims to the throne.    The first was Elizabeth I, Queen of England and daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.   The second was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, and the great niece of Henry VIII (Mary’s grandmother was…