Glastonbury has inspired many works of fiction. I thought I’d do my best to list them all for you. They are of varying quality, appearance in this list is not necessarily a recommendation! I’ve put my personal favourites towards the top, but obviously it’s a question of taste.
Where to buy books set in Glastonbury
If you are thinking of buying any of these titles I’d suggest you try one of Glastonbury’s booksellers first – support local business! You can find them al
Labyrinth Books – new and secondhand books
The Speaking Tree – new and remaindered titles
Courtyard Books – secondhand books
Other Glastonbury shops sell books too, in their own specialist areas. Or you could join the wonderful Library of Avalon in the Glastonbury Experience Courtyard, I bet they’ve got a fair few of these titles on their shelves.
I’m not fond of Amazon, but must confess I find their Kindle titles convenient if I want to download a book to read immediately. I’ve put in Amazon affiliate links, so if you click on the pictures you’ll
Phil Rickman
The author who has best captured Glastonbury for me is the supernatural thriller writer Phil Rickman. The Chalice was a well observed and sometimes amusing novel set in contemporary Glastonbury, while The Bones of Avalon was a fictionalised account of the life of Medieval alchemist John Dee
Phil Rickman has also written two entertaining works of teenage fiction set in Glastonbury, originally published under the pen name T
Fay Weldon
I’m a massive fan of Fay Weldon’s pithy feminist
Nell Leyshon
Nell Leyshon was born in Glastonbury (her family still live locally) and this dark and brooding novel perfectly captures a darker side of life on the Somerset Levels.
Phillipa Bowers
Isabella May
Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists of Avalon is the Glastonbury classic, the re-imagined tale of Arthur and his Knights. I read it when I first moved to Glastonbury, sat in my tent in a campsite at the foot of the Tor.
John Cowper Powys
This novel, the classic work of Glastonbury fiction, should arguably go at the top of this list, except that it’s my list and I’ve never got past the first few pages without falling asleep. Those who have assure me it is a transformative read!
Normal For Glastonbury – the Book
I’ve published a book (available in paperback or as a Kindle eBook) of my best writing from Normal For Glastonbury, it’s mostly non-fiction, but includes ‘Glastonbury’s Stone Circle’ an amusing short story set way back in Glastonbury’s dim and distant past.
Click here to find out more
Other Authors
The following, according to my research,
If you are a competitive
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Yeah, great list; and I still agree with you about Rickman’s “The Chalice”. And though I know we’ve also been here before, I must reiterate that “A Glastonbury Romance” is seriously worth the persevering – just take it slow but steady and it’ll reveal its huge beating heart to you. The Weldon “Heart of the Country” might have to go on my list, I like her anyway so it does look promising. Cheers!
Agree. “A Glastonbury Romance” is fantastic!
Also “Glastonbury, Avalon of the Heart” (Dion Fortune) is worth reading.
Is it really terrible that i haven’t read either of them….? I must try again!
I was surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed Dion Fortune’s work; though she sometimes wanders into territory in which I’m a little lost I still find her obvious sincerity quite compelling.
I’ve got the references to a few other pieces of Glastonbury fiction here.
Geoffrey of Monmouth – Historia Regum Britanniae – published in 1136 and is a story about a chap called King Arthur.
William of Malmesbury – De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae (later editions) published circa 1125 and in this it is the later editions which have been edited by the Glastonbury monks, so part written in Glastonbury for this one. It speaks of Glastonbury church being built by Jesus’ disciples. (Good plot that one)
Robert de Boron – Joseph d’Arimathe is the poem about Joseph d’Arimathe (after 1191 – date not exactly known) who, so the story goes came to Glastonbury and made a tree on Wearyall Hill. Well the hill was named after him in fact, so before he got there it was just like any other hill. He had the Holly Grail with him as well.
So fiction has been Normal for Glastonbury since the 12th century.
The monks were bearing false witness for gold from the profits of tourism. It made them one of the richest abbeys in the country until Henry 8 thought, I’m having that.
Yes, the borders between fiction, myth and ‘history’ are thin in Glastonbury!
Bernard Cornwell (Sharpe) In his Arthur trilogy has Merlin living in a structure on the Tor.
My new play Floods in Somerset has the whole of the first act and scenes in act two in Glastonbury.
The comment about the John Cowper Powys book made me laugh – I thought it was just me!! I think I’ve started it 3 times and never got past the first 10 pages.
…and Phil Rickman is very good. I’d recommend all the Merrily Watkins books. All with a sort of Pagan/religious/weird-goings-on sort of theme.
I was looking forward to reading Phil Rickman’s newest book over Christmas (as I have done most year’s) but i just discovered it’s not out until November 2021! Perhaps I should make the Powys book my Christmas read. Not convinced I will ever find it as entertaining and absorbing though….
Surprised you haven’t mentioned Tom Jones by Henry Fielding. Tom’s putative father, Squire Allworthy, is supposed to be from Glastonbury. According to the notes in my Penguin edition, “The view from Allworthy’s seat is said to be based on that from Glastonbury Tor, near Fielding’s birthplace [Sharpham]. The ruined abbey is Glastonbury; the hills the Mendips ….” I’m currently reading it for the first time, and it’s a cracking story, though the 18th-century prose style can be a bit confusing at times. There are lots of references to West Country locations.
Not one I’ve read David. Can’t say I’ve read anything from the 18th Century since I was forced to at school I’m afraid!
Thanks for the updates, Vicki. Just caught up with Bernard Pearson’s “A Glastonbury Tale”; it’s good fun in a “Terry Pratchett meets Tom Sharpe in Glastonbury” kind of way, and Conn Iggulden’s “Dunstan”, which is rather well written and also recommended. .