Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930-1999) was a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction, both under her own name and under several pseudonyms (Lee Chapman, John Dexter, Miriam Gardner, Valerie Graves, and Morgan Ives). Best known for her Darkover novels, she is also the author of a feminist recasting of Arthurian legend, The Mists of Avalon (1983, Knopf), as well as of three prequels to it: The Forest House (1993, Viking); Lady of Avalon (1997, Viking); and Priestess of Avalon (written with Diana Paxson; 2000, Harper Collins/Voyager). In 2000 she was posthumously awarded the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
The Mists of Avalon retells Arthurian legend from the perspective of the women, most notably Morgaine. Its premise is that the legends that have come down to us represent a biased recasting of events that were part of a conflict between Christianity and an older religion involving the worship of the Mother Goddess. As such, it represents a modern feminist take on the legends that is true to the medieval notion of translatio.