A really impressive piece of historical writing! Hadley pulls apart and examines every part of the multiple versions of the Shonks legend, creating from its intricacies a composite image of Late Medieval and Post Medieval England, a collage of a changing landscape where dragons are born, insert themselves into existing legemds, and leave their holes for the workers to find. Where the evangelists become a local hero's attendant and hunting dogs. Where country parsons collect and curate local history over tea and tithes, arguing over the historicity and worth of those heroes. Most of all, though, with this book Hadley makes a case for the worth of the fantastic.

Well told, filled with interesting bits and pieces of history, prone to anecdotes historical and modern, and beautifully illustrated - Strongly recommended!