ETA 11/30 – Please be aware: Trigger Warning for the discussion in the comments, as it touches on sexual abuse and child abuse. – SW
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This HaBO request comes to us from Tabitha, who is trying to track down a book she borrowed from her aunt:
The hero and heroine were involved in a type of (druid?) ritual unbeknownst to them. The heroine’s face was covered, because the hero couldn’t remember her later on. He was possibly drugged/drunk. He marries a lady (a noblewoman) because he assumes she is the mother of his child, but actually that lady stole the baby from our heroine.
In the story, our heroine tracks him down to where his army is camped and pleads with him to rescue her son. He doesn’t believe her at first, but he does keep her captive ( I remember him being mean to her) and she ends up pregnant a second time. I think she escapes while pregnant and he follows and, in the end, they rescue their son.
The book may have had an Arthurian theme, but I am very unsure. Sorry this is so vague, I would appreciate any help I can get.
Whoa, this took a turn at the baby stealing!
I totally thought Arthurian theme when I read the first part, but don’t remember a baby. What popped into my head is “Queen of Camelot” by Nancy McKenzie. It’s an omnibus of “Guinevere, The Child Queen” and “The High Queen”. But it definitely starts out with a druid festival that ends with people in tents getting it on with whoever they want.
I went to Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which I know had a scene where there’s a Druidic rite and everyone had on masks and during the rite Morgaine and Arthur do the thing and then freak out when they figure out who they just did it with. It’s been a really long time since I read it though. And although I remember really liking it, it loses its sheen considerably if you read about the allegations of sexual abuse from MZB’s daughter.
It might be totally possible I’m thinking of the festival from Mists of Avalon. I read them around the same time more than ten years ago.
Whoa. This sounds nuts. If it’s not Mists, I might actually want to read it.
This sounds like some of the old school Bertrice Small books!
It’s been probably 15 or more years since I’ve read Mists of Avalon, but I think that’s what it is too.
I don’t see how this could possibly be Mists of Avalon. Sure there is the Druidic feast but Morgaine and Arthur know they are participating in it and they never had a second child together.
No, it’s not The Mists of Avalon. They didn’t wear masks in the book, just in the miniseries. There was body paint, though. And stag blood. And Arthur wore an antler crown. I LOVED that book as a young teenager and it’s an understatement to say that I was gutted when I heard that Marion Zimmer Bradley had abused her daughter and covered up for her husband, who was an outspoken paedophile.
The BBC Merlin fandom excels in Arthurian ritual sex fics (mostly Arthur/Morgana or Arthur/Merlin), and these can be found on LJ and AO3. Ahem, or so a friend tells me. *shifty eyes*
Could it be one of Morgan Llywelyn’s books? The story setup sounds familiar to me. I read a lot of books set in the Dark and Middle Ages years ago but can’t place this story.
It sounds to me like something by Victoria Holt in one of her incarnations. No idea which one but I think I have read it quite a long time ago.
Virginia, I had the same thought, and I think it’s The Night of the Hunter’s Moon that I was thinking of. There is definitely some sort of pagan revelry with a masked man in the forest. I didn’t think there was baby stealing in that one, although it’s probably been 30 yrs since I read it.
The TIME of the Hunter’s Moon.
I try and make a point of not knowing about the real lives of artists I admire, so I can carry on admiring them. Safe in my bubble, I had no idea about MZB.
I thought Mists was clever, highly enjoyable trash when it came out, and never bothered to read any of her other stuff, so at least I wasn’t helping support a monster. She wasn’t a personal hero. But still. Fuck. That’s just…that’s….that’s upsetting.
Deeply upsetting.
@kkw, you wrote “so at least I wasn’t helping support a monster.” I am astonished to read this. I read all the Darkover novels, even the ones she re-wrote. I also know that those novels inspired people to live as though they were on Darkover. I think they had commune. I find it hard to believe a monster could inspire that.
Here is a link to the guardian story about MZB and what happened to her daughter. It has links to the blogs where it all came out, which make for harrowing reading.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/27/sff-community-marion-zimmer-bradley-daughter-accuses-abuse
I felt the same about Anne Perry-hard to admire a well crafted murder mystery once you find out the author has actually committed murder.
@gloriamarie – human beings are complicated and contradictory.
I’m a survivor of CSA and I didn’t follow the MZB case out of self protection. I absolutely don’t want to get into speculation here about whether or not the accusations are true.
But I really do believe that someone can do monstrous things and also create remarkable art. I suspect that the monstrous behavior or at least the beliefs that support it seep into the art – but I also think it’s possible for art to be better than the person who created it – for it to transcend the flawed human who brought it to life.
When I taught history of design I discovered more than one influential designer who did horrible non-art and design related things. Some of it was beyond appalling. And yet some of the art they created was transcendent. How one deals with that as a consumer is a really personal decision. I’m not consistent. I prefer to separate the art from the artist but sometimes I can’t. I continue to admire Picasso’s art even though he was fairly horrible in his personal life. But I will never watch another Woody Allen movie or buy an Orsen Scott Card book.
@ cleo – exactly! Although funnily enough I have problems with Picasso ever since I saw that movie he’s in – how could I resist a movie where you get to watch his process, as the drawings appear on screen, line by line? If only it had been a silent film.
@ gloriamarie I have undoubtedly contributed financially to many a monstrous artist in the past and will do so again, I’m sorry if it sounded like anyone should feel guilty for liking the art they like.
@cleo I apologize but I don’t know what CSA means. I m a survivor of some pretty horrific abuse myself and have a life long issue with Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety. I also know that many great artists have been horrible people and/or who have suffered horrible things.
@kkw, I didn’t feel guilty at all. I thought you were talking about yourself and no one else. I had never heard those accusations about MZB. I daresay people will be writing Ph.D theses on her. After all, she has two different sets of Darkover novels. She completely rewrote the saga.
In my opinion, all human beings have within us the capacity for great good and great evil. I see it as a given and it is up to us to choose which we will embrace, but none of us are good all the time and none of us are evil all the time. I applaud when we choose good, weep when we choose evil and do my best to resist evil whenever I encounter it.
I deeply appreciate the trigger warnings that preface many a book recommendation here on this blog. We must all respect ourselves and be gentle with ourselves.
Actually, Amanda, I would say that it took a turn at unwittingly involved in a druidic ritual, well before any baby stealing.
@Gloriamarie: CSA is “childhood sexual abuse.”
(Unless it pertains to vegetables – then it’s community sponsored agriculture, which is much better!)
And I’m glad the trigger warnings are helpful. I want this to be a safe space for everyone.
@SB Sarah, very sorry that you experiened this. I too am CSA. I agree about Community Support Agriculture. I wish they took food stamps.
@Gloriamarie Would a farmer’s market work? At least on my town they started accepting food stamps. Hope you can find something close to you.
@Gloriamarie: I did not experience it but I have deepest empathy for you and everyone who has. I was trying to clarify the terms – and I am sorry for the confusion!
It would except for a severe back injury several years ago that make it difficult to stand and walk for any length of time.
We have an email suggestion from Zaiba that the book could be Moonlight Mistress by Patricia Rice.