JL Merrow

Stranded in a remote country village in 1920s England when his car breaks down, shy young Arthur finds himself drawn to the rough mechanic who comes to his aid, Bob Goodman. Forced to stay until the May Day holiday is over, Arthur makes the best of it, enjoying the village procession and fete.<br><br>But the villagers seem to know more about him than they should, and there’s a second, darker, May celebration that starts when the sun’s gone down. In the drunken revelry that follows, Arthur is whisked off in a wild dance by Goodman, who plays the part of Jack in the Green, the spirit of the greenwood.<br><br>Dancing turns to loving, but is everything what it seems? And is one night all Arthur can have?

Jack in the Green

“And so many traditions we nowadays associate with the birth of our Lord: the mistletoe, the ringing of bells—why, the very notion of a midwinter festival—all that is owed to our heathen forefathers. And you would be astonished—simply astonished—at the number of churches, both in England and in foreign parts, which bear representations of the Green Man.”


It took Arthur a moment to comprehend that the Rector spoke of the pagan deity, and not of the public house, so used had he become already to its appellation. “I—really? I had no idea.”


Chapter 5