8 h 33 minAudiobook10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 33 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a mortal heart reaches for a love rooted in the forest?
In The Dryad: A Novel, Justin Huntly McCarthy brings the old spirits of woods and trees close to the human world. At its heart is the dryad, a figure from Greek myth whose life belongs to a tree or forest. Her presence brings two kinds of life together.
This romantic fantasy explores longing across a boundary that separates more than human customs. A mortal heart and a forest spirit draw close, while nature stands against human ways. The promise of forbidden love gives the tale its central question: what can love mean between beings who belong to different worlds?
What you’ll discover
- A spirit of trees Meet the dryad, whose roots in Greek myth give this romance its central figure.
- Love beyond human boundaries Explore a forbidden attachment that reaches across the divide between mortal life and forest spirit.
- Two worlds drawn close Enter a tale where the quiet woods meet the human world and its ways.
- Nature against human ways Consider the tensions that arise when a being of the wild draws near.
- The pull of longing Spend time with a romance shaped by desire for a life beyond familiar boundaries.
Who will love it
For readers who love medieval pageantry, Greek myth and a lover's quest, and who enjoy a rogue with a good heart, a heroine who dresses as a knight, and a romance with real stakes.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A rogue meets a spirit in the wood
- Argathona claims the wood as her home
- The bookish prince and the robbers
- Love at first sight in the greenwood
- Esclaramonde steals the prince
- A dryad dresses as a shepherd knight
- The tournament and the golden wreath
- A promise, a cup and a wedding night
- War, a trap and a hermit
- What the story is about and how it is told
Who’s who
- ArgathonaA dryad of the Eleusinian wood, strong and ageless, who falls in love with a mortal and goes out into the world to win him back.
- RainouartThe bookish, brave son of the Duke of Athens, who dreams of the mystic rose and wants to love only the loveliest and worthiest woman.
- Simon of RouenA big, cynical soldier of fortune with a lantern who is looking for an honest soul and finds more loyalty in himself than he expected.
- EsclaramondeThe beautiful, ruthless Duchess of Thebes, who uses potions and lies to win the prince and the title of Duchess of Athens.
- Duke BaldwinThe loud, greedy and bull-like Duke of Athens, who loves feasting, fighting and tournaments, and who despises his son's love of books.
- Fernand XimenesA patient, clever captain of the Catalan Grand Company who hides a boundless ambition behind a calm face.
- Count ErnaultThe courtly marshal of Duke Baldwin's lists, who helps the Prince of Eleusis enter the tournament and is loved by many women.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 33 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 10 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The Dryad: A Novel
A dryad who has watched the seasons for a thousand years falls for a wounded knight and goes into a tournament.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Dryad is a romance by Justin H. McCarthy, who died in 1936.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A rogue meets a spirit in the wood
The story opens in May, near sunset, with Simon of Rouen crossing the Eleusinian wood on his way to Athens. He is a big, hungry soldier of fortune, broke and bitter, who carries a rusty lantern in the manner of Diogenes. He hopes to win a place with the Duke of Athens.
On the road he has passed a young knight lying in the shade and reading the Romance of the Rose. Simon scorns the man for wasting his life on love stories. In the wood he meets two cutthroats, Captain Fox and Captain Gander, and he cheerfully sends them after the young man in the cloth of gold coat.
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What is The Dryad by Justin H. McCarthy about?
It is a romance set in Greece around 1308. A dryad named Argathona falls in love with Rainouart, the son of the Duke of Athens, and must fight a scheming duchess to win him, with a rogue soldier named Simon at her side.
Who is Argathona in The Dryad?
Argathona is a forest spirit, the daughter of a tree dryad and a mortal man. She has lived more than a thousand years in the Eleusinian wood and has the strength of the old gods and a gift of endless youth.
Is The Dryad based on a true story?
No, the main tale is invented. It is set in a real period, when French lords ruled Athens and the Catalan Grand Company fought in Greece, and it uses real names such as Philip the Fair and Boniface.
The author
Justin Huntly McCarthy
1860–1936 · Irish novelist and historian
Irish nationalist historian, novelist and politician.
More by Justin Huntly McCarthy
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