The Saint of the Dragon's Dale: A Fantastical Tale

"The Saint of the Dragon's Dale: A Fantastical Tale" by William Stearns Davis is a novel written in the early 20th century. This story presents a rich tapestry of medieval intrigue, featuring the titular character, Jerome, a hermit known for his piety and rumored sainthood, as he embarks on a quest to rescue a noble maid named Agnes from the grasp of the nefarious Baron Ulrich. Set in a time of knights and magic, the novel weaves themes of temptation, moral struggle, and the interplay between good and evil. At the start of the tale, the reader is introduced to Jerome, who lives in seclusion at the Dragon's Dale, steeped in prayer and penitence. The narrative quickly unfolds as others bring him news of a little maid, Agnes, who has been captured by Baron Ulrich during a raid. Jerome's conviction to rescue her leads him through a series of supernatural encounters, foreshadowing the trials he will face, including the temptations that arise from his growing affection for Agnes. As he prepares to confront Ulrich, the stage is set for a classic battle between the saintly and the wicked, promising readers a blend of thrilling adventure and deep moral questions. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

William Stearns Davis was an American educator, historian, and author. He has been cited as one who "contributed to history as a scholarly discipline,. .. [but] was intrigued by the human side of history, which, at the time, was neglected by the discipline." After first experimenting with short stories, he turned while still a college undergraduate to longer forms to relate, from an involved (fictional) character's view, a number of critical turns of history. This faculty for humanizing, even dramatizing, history characterized Davis' later academic and professional writings as well, making them particularly suitable for secondary and higher education during the first half of the twentieth century in a field which, according to one editor, had "lost the freshness and robustness. .. the congeniality" that should mark the study of history. Both Davis' fiction and non-fiction are found in public and academic libraries today.