White Rose of Avalon

Literature

  • The Importance of Imagination and Inspiration

    Today I want to discuss the importance imagination and inspiration play in our lives, especially for those of us who are creative (and how creative people make things for all to enjoy).   My imagination is what inspires the manuscripts I work on, my poetry and short fiction, and of course my blog posts here! …

  • Christopher Marlowe: Playwright Spy

    For day five of Elizabethan Intrigue week I have chosen to focus on the figure of the great playwright, Christopher Marlowe.   Christopher Marlowe, who was known to his friends as Kit, died a mysterious death.   His death has long been attributed to his other job, spy for Elizabeth I! Kit Marlowe is best…

  • Beach Reads

    It is now the time of year to enjoy being outdoors, and celebrating the beauty of nature.   For many people this includes trips to the beach, and books to bring along with them.    I personally adore summer reading, and reading a book outdoors!    However, I am not really much for the traditionally…

  • Orlando

    For today’s post I would like to do a short review of the novel Orlando by Virginia Woolf.   Orlando is my favorite of Virginia Woolf’s books.    In this unique supernatural tale we see the evolution of a character for centuries.    The character also goes through a sex change during the story.   …

  • Oberon: Faerie King

    Happy Summer Solstice readers!    For today’s holiday post I have decided to take on the subject of Oberon!   In many tales there are faerie kings, as well as queens.   The name of a faerie king is most often Oberon, and this is likely based in older folk tales across Britain.   Most…

  • Gawain and the Green Knight

    The tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval one (14th century) written by an anonymous author.   The title was interestingly only given centuries later.   It has since been translated by many great poets and scholars!    This summer, the much awaited film (that was supposed to premiere last year…

  • Fantasy Places

    Many writers throughout times have written about fictional places.    Today I want to talk about some of my favorite fantasy places from literature!     I will focus on children’s or young adult literary places, in order to keep this post from getting ridiculously long! I have always adored Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and…

  • The Phantom of Manhattan

    Today I want to do a short review of the book The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth.    This is a novel that continued the story of The Phantom of the Opera.    Andrew Lloyd Webber himself was a great supporter of this novel, and would years later use it as a basis for…

  • My Ranking of the Bridgerton Siblings

    I have recently been reading the Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn.    I have already seen the first season of the Netflix series as well.    This has led me to want to make a list of my favorite Bridgerton siblings!   So this post will count down all eight siblings. Number 8: Francesca ~Francesca…

  • Death and the Maiden Motif

    The Death and the Maiden Motif is a classic motif in art and literature.    It all goes back to the ancient Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.    The motif is centered on a beautiful young woman being pursued (and loved by) a man who is death incarnate.    The male side of the…