The Thirty-first of June

'Priestley in top form and being very, very funny.' - Simon Fox, Western Mail

'[A] glorious fantasy . . . I, for one, immensely enjoyed this romp of a novel.' - R. C. Scriven, Yorkshire Post

'[I]n a class by itself . . . an energetic romp.' - Claire Tomalin, Spectator

'A book paralleling Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court but loaded with much more wacky humor.' - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

'[A] rollicking piece of humour . . . he can raise more laughs to the page than almost any other story-teller.' - John O'London's

'Dedicated to the author's six granddaughters, it should appeal to countless other grandchildren, not to mention their grannies and grandpas. Still reeling from Mr Priestley's enchantment.' - Fred Urquhart, Books of the Month

The medieval world invades the modern as Arthurian chivalry and magic meet modern-day business and advertising in J. B. Priestley's charming fantasy. In the land of Peradore, Princess Melicent gazes into a magic mirror given to her by the sorcerer Malgrim and is immediately enraptured with the man she sees, Sam Penty, a London ad designer who at that same moment is thinking of using an illustration of an Arthurian damsel in his new marketing campaign. When Malgrim and his rival enchanter Marlagram decide to meddle in the lives of the princess and her would-be lover, Melicent finds herself transported to the 1960s for a hilarious appearance on a daytime television program, while is Sam whisked away to Peradore to fight a battle with the gigantic Red Knight and a ravening, fire-breathing dragon. Can Melicent and Sam survive their wild time-travelling adventures and be united to live happily ever after?

One of the most beloved works by the prolific playwright and novelist J. B. Priestley (1894-1984), The Thirty-First of June (1961) remains a delightful reading experience for young and old alike. This new edition of Priestley's classic fantasy includes the original illustrations by John Cooper and a new introduction by Lee Hanson.