Randolph Stow does more than evoke the beauty of the English countryside in The Girl Green as Elderflower.

Clare is haunted by both his past insanity and by the spirits of the place. Simple events like the visit of friends and the sight of unknown people send him on anguished excursions into the magical world of ancient Suffolk. Characters in Clare's present are reincarnations of the mythical folk of ancient Britain…. As the book progresses, the distinction between past and present becomes increasingly blurred. Clare slowly comes to grips with these spirits and reestablishes the boundaries of what is real in his return to sanity.

This novel is a turbulent and sometimes confusing one. But these shortcomings are more than compensated for by Randolph Stow's unusual imagination, his good humor, and by the intensity and lyrical beauty of his writing. (pp. 66-7)

Peter Canby, "Fiction: 'The Girl Green...