'Of Kings and Jesters': An Unusual Dornford Yates Fantasy

Dornford Yates was a reliable purveyor of interwar thrillers and romances. He knew exactly what readers wanted and he provided it in lavish dishes: handsome, rugged heroes; beautiful, plucky heroines; sleek cars smoothly speeding through lonely landscapes; rough, thuggish villains; Ruritanian conspiracies; fisticuffs, chases, kidnaps, secret treasures. There is no subtlety or