"Crompton rewrites Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by tracing the beginning of their encounter. Gawain is in the north on king's business and is hungry and alone when he stumbles upon a village feast. He is crowned May King and stays through the summer in the company of the May Queen, the Lady Green of the title. However, when he realizes that the delights of the summer will end with his death at the Summersend festival, he is determined to escape. Lady Green helps him get away, risking her life and her village on his word that he will marry her at Arthur's court. He abandons her, and the breaking of his word sets in motion the strange challenge in Arthur's hall. The druid of the village plays the role of the Green Knight and tests Gawain in the traditional way, though here, Lady Green plays the 'wife' who attempts to sway Gawain from his honour. In the end, Gawain sacrifices not his life, but his pride at the Green Chapel." —Ann F. Howey and Stephen R. Reimer, A Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana, 1500–2000
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