Three Courses and a Dessert

Carlo has barely reached a Somerset valley before he is caught with his teeth in a wether’s wool—and a cudgel-wielding stranger is teaching him manners. The stranger is Sir Mathew Ale, an unconventional expert on country lore, customs, and the virtues of ale.

William Clarke sets out a literary feast in three courses: West Country tales, Irish neighbors, legal anecdotes, and a final miscellany. In the rural counties of old England, the narrator’s sheep-loving dog brings him into the company of Sir Mathew, a genial baronet devoted to rustic traditions and convinced that charms may hold real power. Yet Sir Mathew’s own experiments with superstition have a way of becoming less mysterious—and much more painful—than he expects. What happens when a believer puts a country charm to the test?

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