The Well at the World's End

The Well at the World's End is a tale of Ralph of Upmeads, the son of a minor king, who heads out to seek his adventure as a knight. His task, to find the Well at the World's End: a magic well which gives those who drink from it immortality and a strong destiny. Ralph becomes lovers with a babe who has drunk from the well, and they become lovers. When fate intervenes, Ralph is deterred from his goal. Will he find the magic well? This is a beautiful story well told. It heavily influenced J.R.R. Tolkien as a child, and would affect his own body of work. So if you loved The Lord of The Rings, you'll love this work. The Well at the World's End is both fantasy and fairy-tale, minus the fairies. It is also a "romance" in the strict sense that it is a chivalric, hero story about a man on a quest. Ralph of Upmeads, the least likely of the King's four sons, sent out to find a "fountain of youth."