This story is not true
in the sense that most people use the word.
It emerges out of the mists of time, rooted deep in the heritage of Britain.
It is a weave of mythologies, theologies, and histories.
It is the story of two people, and a story of our peoples.
It has no beginning and it has no ending.

The Apple and the Thorn stands upon the tradition of two mythical characters: the Lady of the Lake, and Joseph of Arimathea (Eosaidh, in this tale.). Yet the land itself is a living character in the tale, as is the surrounding marsh, the invading Roman legion, and a very special cup of blue glass that unites them all.

The legend of the Lady is found in medieval Arthurian literature, but predates and underlies the story of Arthur by some four hundred years, no doubt emerging out of very ancient oral traditions. In this tale, she is known as Vivian. The story is set amidst the coming of the Jesus tradition from the east to the ancient world of mythic Britain, and what happens when these two worlds first collide. The conflict is deepened when Eosaidh is confronted with the new cult of Jesus that even he cannot accept. In the end, Eosaidh must choose between Avalon and Jerusalem, between two loves. Vivian, too, must face choices she had never imagined.

As the tale unfolds, Vivian and Eosaidh debate the story of the young Lad, exploring questions of God and the gods, humanity, gender, honour, hope, history, ethics, spirituality and, always, the underlying presence and meaning of the land. They alternately succeed and fail in understanding each other. The growing depth of their intellectual connection is matched by the growing depth of their friendship.

For the authors, there is much in this tale that emerges from their own separate life stories, brought together here in a literary collaboration to craft a mythic tale of human struggle and hope in the midst of a violent world. Yet readers will find only themselves in Eosaidh of Cornualle and Vivian of the Marshes.

Emma Restall Orr (Bobcat)
Walter William Melnyk (Oak)

• We started tracking this book on November 14, 2012.
• This book was £3.59 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 13 times in the past 4,173 days.
• The current price of this book is £4.19 last checked one day ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is FREE.
• The lowest price to date was FREE last reached on December 7, 2017.
• This book has been FREE 6 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was £4.19 last reached on December 12, 2017.
• This book has been £4.19 4 times since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its highest price since we started tracking it.

• Science Fiction & FantasyFantasyFairy Tales
• Literature & FictionMythology & Folk Tales

• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 296 Pages
• File Size: 881 KB