''A Midsummer's Nightmare'' (1996) is a novel by British writer Garry Kilworth. It is a comical parody of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', and is internally illustrated by Stephen Player.

Plot

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...

, King of the Fairies, decides to relocate his people from

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is the remnants of an ancient royal forest, Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, within the East Midlands region in England. It has association with the legend of Robin Hood. The forest was proclaimed by William the Conqueror and ...

, increasingly littered by tourists and drained of magic, to the less-spoiled

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. Aided by young car mechanic Sid whom the fairies have captured, they set off in an old bus that Sid teaches Queen Titania to drive, and have various encounters with humans on the way. At a village fête, Titania falls in love with and abducts a human baby (a humorous contrast to ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' where she falls in love with a half-man/half-donkey) whose disappearance attracts pursuit, and the fairy band joins up with a convoy of Stonehenge-bound New-age travellers, including would-be writer Tom Blessing who bears some resemblance to the book's author. However, the fairies' passage through the land awakens other supernatural entities, including

Wotan (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compos ...

, Gogmagog, the Green Man, the

Long Man of Wilmington The Long Man of Wilmington or Wilmington Giant is a hill figure on the steep slopes of Windover Hill near Wilmington, East Sussex, Wilmington, East Sussex, England. It is northwest of Eastbourne and south of Wilmington. Locally, the figure w ...

, and Titania's old foe Morgan-le-Fay, the Morning-Fairy. She, compelling the aid of various legendary beings, proposes to restore the polluted modern world by returning it to the era of Avalon, but with herself in charge, and to raise the necessary magical power by sacrificing the stolen baby, whose ancestry traces back to the

Matter of Britain The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the list of legendary kings of Britain, legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Art ...

. Sid and Tom help to thwart Morgan's machinations, Sid manages to return the baby, and at the book's climax, Morgan and Titania engage in a magical duel to the death.

References

1996 British novels Parody novels Novels based on A Midsummer Night's Dream Novels set in Nottinghamshire Bantam Press books {{1990s-parody-novel-stub