Eric Rucker Eddison was born in Adel, England, in 1882. His parents encouraged his spirited imagination. Boyhood days spent reading and adventuring in the northern English countryside with his constant companion, Arthur Ransome, provided rich material for his novels. Eddison was twice honoured, receiving the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1924) and the Order of the Bath (1929) for public service with the Board of Trade. His writings include the first complete translation of the Icelandic epic, Egil’s Saga; the novels The Worm Oroboros and Stybiorn the Strong; and the trilogy Zimiamvia, including Mistress of Mistresses, A Fish Dinner in Memison, and the final book, The Mezentian Gate, which was left unfinished when he died suddenly of a stroke in 1945.