"Nigh about the middle of the Dark Ages, when ignorance, greed, and superstition largely ruled the world, pretty much in fact as do these forces at present, a knight and his squire proceeded to their destination under the setting sun." So begins this charming modern fantasy, in which Sir Jasper of the Silver Lance and his squire, George Pipkin, set out to right all wrongs and address all grievances. But the giants are dead, and the stalwart heroes can find neither a robber baron to chastise nor a maiden to rescue. Imagine, then, their excitement to discover that in the village of Pongley-in-the-Marsh, the dreaded Lavender Dragon of Yorkshire has been abducting citizens. Reputed to possess the heart of a crocodile and the brain of a demon, the Lavender Dragon promises to prove a worthy adversary. Indeed, he turns out to be no ordinary dragon, but his difference lies in his philosophy as well as his actions. Praised by Fantasy Literature as "a delightful exercise in inverted perspective," this whimsically humorous tale will enchant all lovers of courtly romances. AUTHOR: English author, poet, and playwright Eden Phillpotts (1862 1960) wrote more than 100 novels, many of them about rural Devon life. In addition to his series of 18 novels set in Dartmoor, his writing encompassed science-fiction stories, fairy tales, essays, reminiscences, and magazine articles.