Glastonbury in Fiction

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 all in the High Street or online.

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 be taken to Amazon’s site where you can find out more about the titles. if you order the book from the link I might make a small commission.

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 Thom Madley.

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Fay Weldon

I’m a massive fan of Fay Weldon’s pithy feminist fiction, and loved both of these. The events in Heart of the Country take place in the town itself, at the time of the yearly Glastonbury Carnival, while Puffball is set on the Somerset Levels in view of the Tor.

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

Phillipa Bowers is well known as the sculptor of the iconic Glastonbury Goddess figurines that are to be found  in her High Street gallery and shop. She is also a prolific author, her most recent novel ‘The Dark Well of Glastonbury’ is the story of the Guardians of Glastonbury’s three sacred wells throughout thousands of years of Glastonbury’s history.

Isabella May

Isabella May was brought up in Glastonbury but now lives in Spain, her love for her home town shines through in the two contemporary novels she has set here, they make entertaining light reading. You can read more about her here in my post How a Glastonbury Childhood Inspired Author 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. Like many thousands of others I was utterly absorbed in this thrilling and romantic story. Sadly, the follow-ups were, for me at least, horribly disappointing, then Zimmer-Bradley’s abusive relationship with her daughter was revealed, so her work has fallen out of favour.

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!

Other Authors

The following, according to my research, are set in Glastonbury. I’ve either not read them at all, or read them so long ago I can’t remember whether they are any good or not.

If you are a competitive type you might like to look at my list of Glastonbury Fiction on Listmania and tick off how many you’ve read! Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed any titles, or post up your own reviews.

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Header image by Gerhard Gellinger from Pixabay