The best books on pagans, saints, and love

This was the first book that made me realize druids had been real, and that entire belief system was nearly—in historical chronology—stamped out by the Roman Empire. The story focuses on a young druid, Ainvar, who befriends Vercingetorix, the Celtic warrior who was brought to Rome in chains by Julius Caesar. While the setting is in Gaul, I began to understand the beliefs of the druid life that was very nearly lost. Where Rome’s war with the druids of Gaul was bloody and decisive, the Irish conversion took a different path. I wanted to find out why the two histories, the change from druid to Christian, was so dramatically different.

Magic is real. I fell in love with the way Zimmer-Bradley took the King Arthur legend and wove a full and beautiful story, richly told, with varied and complex characters. Told from Morgaine’s (Morgan Le Fey) point of view, the reader gets a different take from the usual Arthur stories. Arthur and Lancelet are not necessarily heroes, nor is Gwenhwyfar the immaculate, benevolent queen. I love Morgaine as the narrator and main character. She gains my sympathy, my ire on her behalf. The thread which binds my recommendations are the pagan vs. Christian elements, the everyday struggle between the two. This again touched on my curiosity about Ireland’s transition and their myths and legends.

Kate Horsely’s writing is exquisite. Every word, every detail is carefully chosen and her language has a beauty all its own. The novel is about an Irish nun, Gwynneve, who was raised pagan. She sought refuge in Saint Brigit’s and is welcomed because of her literacy. She is to transcribe the words of St. Augustine and St. Patrick. She observes the crossroads of paganism and Christianity and witnesses the positive and negative of both sides. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but Gwynneve becomes caught up in the conflict as she records her diary of observations and pays the price for honesty. Again, I’m fascinated by the two belief systems, pagan and Christian, side by side, and searched for how that transition occurred.

Talk about sacrilege. Although my dad’s side of the family is Irish Catholic, he had nothing to do with the Church once he went to college, where he met my mom. Several years later, they split up. I was raised Southern Baptist by my mom, New Age/Buddhism/Unitarianism on alternating weekends from my dad, and rosary prayers and Virgin Mary sightings shared with me from my grandmother. The point is, to read a superb novel about Jesus having a relationship with Mary Magdalene, is something that would have shocked my Baptist Sunday School teacher. What does this have to do with Ireland? Cunningham describes Maeve aka Mary, as a woman raised by witches on a druid isle—where she first meets Jesus who was there for a bit of druid training—and is kidnapped and sold into Roman slavery. From there, she faces numerous challenges before finding the man she knew as a druid many years ago. 

I can read about Ireland’s past, druids, myths, and legends but here we are in the modern era. Ireland still grapples with a divide. It’s moved on from druids to Catholics and Protestants. And really, the divide isn’t religious as much as it is political. This comes to a head during “The Troubles” of the 1960s and 1970s into this century. Radden Keefe focuses on the tragic murder of Jean McConville in Belfast to then detail the dealings of the IRA, Gerry Adams, and the tenuous peace accords.