Order of Book Series
0

Avalon Books in Order

Avalon contains 7 books, published between 1979 and 2009. The first book is The Mists of Avalon (1979) and the newest is Sword of Avalon (2009). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
7
Published
1979–2009
Confirmed
7 of 7 titles
Pages on record
2,723 in 5 of 7 books
Reading time
45–68 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,723 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 5 of 7 titles with a page count on record.

See all 7 books in order Printable Avalon checklist

Avalon is a historical fantasy series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, with Arthurian romances and King Arthur among the subject tags. The Mists of Avalon (1979) opens the 7 books, which continue through The Forest House, Lady of Avalon, Priestess of Avalon, Ancestors of Avalon and Ravens of Avalon to Sword of Avalon (2009). Marion Zimmer Bradley is credited on 5 of the books and Diana L. Paxson on 3. Druids, Romans, Britons and England are further tags. A chronological order is available, and the series is listed as likely complete.

How many Avalon books are there?

Avalon has 7 books, released between 1979 and 2009.

Avalon Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 7 Avalon books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, book 1 of the Avalon series (1979)
  2. Cover of The Forest House / The Forests of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, book 2 of the Avalon series (1993)
  3. Cover of Lady of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, book 3 of the Avalon series (1997)
  4. Cover of Priestess of Avalon, book 4 of the Avalon series (2001)
  5. Cover of Ancestors of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, book 5 of the Avalon series (2004)
  1. 1
    The Mists of Avalon1979 · 1024 pages · confirmed 3/4
    19791024
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Forest House / The Forests of Avalon1993 · 462 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993462
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Lady of Avalon1997 · 480 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Priestess of Avalon2001 · 394 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001394
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Ancestors of Avalon2004 · 363 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004363
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Ravens of Avalon2007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Sword of Avalon2009 · confirmed 3/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Avalon Books in Chronological Order

In story order, Ancestors of Avalon comes first and Sword of Avalon comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 7 books below run in that in-universe sequence.

  1. 5
    Ancestors of Avalon2004 · 363 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004363
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 6
    Ravens of Avalon2007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 2
    The Forest House / The Forests of Avalon1993 · 462 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993462
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 3
    Lady of Avalon1997 · 480 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 4
    Priestess of Avalon2001 · 394 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001394
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 1
    The Mists of Avalon1979 · 1024 pages · confirmed 3/4
    19791024
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Sword of Avalon2009 · confirmed 3/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Do you have to read Avalon books in order?

You should read the Avalon books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Avalon book also stands alone.

Where to start with Avalon

Start with The Mists of Avalon (1979), the earliest published title. In the chronological order, Ancestors of Avalon comes first.

What is the newest Avalon book?

Sword of Avalon (2009) is the newest Avalon book released so far.

Is there a new Avalon book coming?

No next Avalon book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Avalon has won

Wikidata records 1 award and 1 nomination for Avalon. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Avalon at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Avalon title on record dates from 2009, 17 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Avalon books have appeared about one every 5 years on average.
Length
2,723 pages across the 5 of 7 books with a recorded length, a median of 462 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Avalon books, 4 of 7, were published in the 2000s.
Attribution
Of the 7 titles, 5 are credited to Marion Zimmer Bradley and 3 to Diana L. Paxson.

What the Avalon books are about

All 7 Avalon books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: romans is tagged on 3 of 7. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Other series by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.