Beltane the Smith  ‡

UK Publisher: Sampson Low, Marston and Co. Ltd. (London). First published 1915

eBook at Project Gutenberg

eBook at unz.org

A novel more crowded with beauty and incident than this new romance of love and adventure would be difficult to find. Young Beltane, growing up in the care of Ambrose the Hermit, knows naught of men and women and teeming cities, but one day a mysterious stranger appears, presenting Beltane with a sword and giving him daily lesson in sword play and horsemanship. Lady Helen of Mortain, as she rides thorough the greenwood, meets Beltane and here is the first love scene - indeed the love interest is one of the strongest notes in this remarkable novel. The story moves with a tremendous sweep from one adventure to another and is by far the author's greatest achievement.

Dustjacket summary: A stirring tale of love and valour in mediaeval England which recalls Mallory's Morte d'Arthur and Tennyson's Idylls of the King. The narrative is so intensely alive that we simply life with the noble Beltane and his brave following, led by Giles of the Bow, the mighty Walkyn, and Black Roger, glorying in the great deeds of valour.

Beautiful is Beltane's tempestuous wooing of the Duchess Helen, and her perfect faith and devotion, despite the treachery which parted them on the wedding eve. For those who are old-fashioned enough to admire true manliness and chivalry in a hero, beauty and nobility in a heroine, this lovely story will, and has for thousands of readers, become a permanent treasure.