A Glastonbury Romance

A Glastonbury Romance (1932) is the second of John Cowper Powys's (1873–1963) Wessex novels, along with Wolf Solent (1929), Weymouth Sands (1934) and Maiden Castle (1935). One of Powys's major novels, it is described by Glen Cavaliero, "as Powys's most enthralling novel" despite "all its many and glaring faults". The first two chapters of A Glastonbury Romance takes place in Norfolk, where the late Canon William Crow's will is read, and the Crow family learn that his secretary-valet John Geard has inherited his wealth. Also in Norfolk a romance begins between cousins John and Mary Crow. But after an important scene at the ancient monument of Stonehenge the rest of the action takes place in or near the Somerset town of Glastonbury. This is a few miles north of the village of Montacute, where Powys's father was a clergyman, and where Powys lived for much of his youth. The action occurs over roughly a year.