Product Description

A mythical tale of the encounter of Joseph of Arimathea and the Lady of Avalon, during the Roman invasion of Britain c. C.E. 45.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108913 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-16
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

White Dragon Magazine, No. 54, Samhain 2007
"The story itself is thoughtful, surprising, and emotionally affecting. The writing style is vivid and luscious . . . an inspiring read." (Reviewed by Bryn Colvin)

From the Author
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 all 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.

From the Back Cover
Out of the Mists of Time Comes the Tale of
THE APPLE AND THE THORN

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 ancient heritage of Britain.
A weave of mythologies, theologies, and histories,
it is the story of two people, and a story of all peoples.
It has no beginning and no ending.

The Apple and the Thorn stands upon
the tradition of two mythological characters:
The Lady of the Lake, and Eosaidh of Cornualle
(Joseph of Arimathea.)
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.

A Timeless Tale of Love and War.

Customer Reviews

The Apple and the Thorn
This Review has been written and submitted through WW Melnyk by Peter Neall:

Reviewed by Peter Neall


I very much looked forward to getting and reading 'The Apple and the Thorn'the first attempt at a novel written by Emma Restall Orr, one of the
foremost Druid teachers in the UK whose teaching I have long admired and Walter William Melnyk, a former minister in the Episcopal church in the USA with a long and deep interest in Druidry and its influence on Christianity.

So when I did get it I dived in eagerly. I was expecting a story about the deep history of Britain, its myths and characters who exerted a profound influence on our later collective psyche. I got those in a story rich in myth, characterisation and history. The story is told by each of the two main characters in their own distinctive voice.

Joseph of Arimethea, known as Eosaidh in the book, comes to England in his job as a trader and traveller and meets Vivian, the High Priestess of the Goddess at Avalon. Their meeting has a profound effect on them both and this story begins when Joseph, ready to cease from his travelling, comes to end his life in the West Country. Here he encounters Vivian again and their story of love and honour unfolds in the context of the ending of one world and the dawn of another as the Romans invade and change England forever.

Like all good stories once begun I could not put it down , it drew me in and I wanted to know what happened. But more than that it surprised and even shocked me. Even in the compulsion of wanting to know what happened I had to pause, to wait as if for breath and let the story happen to me before continuing.

Vivian describes the land, my land as only a priestess can and I am drawn to see and feel things locked deep in my memory that I had forgotten I remembered. Mud between the toes, darkness, real darkness of the sky at night and the sounds and touch of the marsh, of water and of the land. It is not the description of the land it is the gift of the land.

There is more - as she shows Eosaidh the difference between men and women my eyes are opened and my breath hurts. I am given a secret which has been before me all my life that until now I have never seen so clearly.

Eosaidh's response is authentic and honourable in a new deeper sense of the word that goes beyond our normal usage. I hear his voice, feel the turbulence in his heart, and the deep longings of his soul as if they were mine.

The book gives me more than a wonderful story. Today I looked at the land and the people I live with differently. That is a gift worth reading for.