With an introduction by Alan Hollinghurst Neither her Gaudiness the Mistress of the Robes, or her Dreaminess the Queen were feeling quite themselves. In the Palace all was speculation . . . Ronald Firbank, described by Alan Hollinghurst as 'one of the most important figures in British fiction in the twentieth century', first published The Flower Beneath the Foot in 1923. Set on the eve of a royal wedding at the fantastical court of King Willie and Her Dreaminess the Queen of Pisuerga, this is an absurd and often melancholy tale of love. An innovative and much-praised novelist, Ronald Firbank has earned his place in the 'canon of camp' and continues to dazzle in this unmissable cult classic.