The journal of Mark Thomas, son of a mercantile elder in C14th Wales: a week in his life for him to decide. Will he wed the beguiling Magge of heroic Brythonic descent, or choose monasticism and scholarship in England?
What effect will the arrival of the Gawain Poet have when he comes to their town? How is the narrator's tale matched by the mysterious tale of the Green Maiden?
Discover the remainder of Gawain’s story after the events of the Green Knight as drawn from original sources, and told in the style of the original as translated into modern English.
Sir Gawain and the Green Maiden: a novel and an inquiry into times and stories.
Amazon review
I have never read anything quite like this story and I know it will stay with me for a long time - in a way that only the best of literature can.
The story of Arthurian legend interwoven throughout the novel is absolutely convincing and compelling. Sumptuous language and a delightfully chivalrous plot are written with utter authenticity. If someone had told me that this was the translation of an original 14th century text, I would have entirely believed them.
It is the voice of the main protagonist though, which really captures the heart of the reader. Mark Thomas is a flawed, complicated character, wrestling conflicting desires and needs. His voice is written with subtle intricacy and a million details are woven in so skilfully throughout that the reader is fully able to imagine life in the remote corner of medieval Wales.
In my opinion, this is the best of all the author's work and I hope it finds the readership it so richly deserves.
Sir Gawain and
the green Maiden
Other books
S. D. Evans has previously published under the name Evan Symmonds
Though the Frost Was Cruel
A chilling ghost story for Christmas. When Penny and Caspar find themselves trapped by the snow with their two children in a country house, and the temperature still plummeting, will they and their guests get through to Christmas Day and survive an outbreak of family revelations? Things are made more complicated by the spectral presence of the ghosts of children from the house's past. What do they have to do with the living, what message do they bring? What has Emily-Jane, Penny's mother not told them, and will the Reverend Peter Goodbye succeed in delivering his Christmas sermon?
Mansfield Park & Ride
A witty and entertaining comedy based around the English heritage industry. Francesca Morris arrives at Mansfield House to undertake duties in the hosting of a Jane Austen summer exhibition, only to find that rival academic Felix Frame has got there first. When Francesca finds lost letters from Jane Austen in an old tea-chest in the attic, the stage is set for a revenge that is long overdue. Meanwhile a troupe of actors are assembling for a performance of Lovers' Vows, along with teams of exhibitors and reenactors. How it will all turn out is anyone's guess -- especially as no one seems quite in control amongst the actors, film-crew, exhibitors, garden events, and a troupe of vagabond performers and buskers who arrive for the launch.
This complex and unusual comedy delivers sharp insights into the world of the stately homes of England, Jane Austen and the academics who promote her. The ending will surprise, and with a guest appearance by Jane herself, the attentive reader may find themselves rethinking everything they thought they knew about the divine Jane.
United Kingdom