Puck of Pook's Hill (Dover Children's Classics) - Softcover

Kipling, Rudyard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 048645147X ISBN 13: 9780486451473

Publisher: Dover, 2006

Synopsis

A pair of children happen across an ancient shrine, where they conjure up an impish sprite named Puck, who treats them to a series of tales about Old England. Rudyard Kipling, the storyteller behind Puck's fables, lived in the East Sussex region of Pook's Hill. To amuse his children, Kipling created these quasi-historical stories about the people who lived in their neighborhood centuries ago.
Readers of all ages will treasure Puck's ten magical tales of adventure and intrigue. Kipling's imaginative blend of fact and fancy transports readers back to the days of William the Conqueror, to the camps of the Roman legions who guarded Hadrian's Wall against the Picts, and to the thirteenth-century court of King John. All of the stories abound in the freshness of invention and narrative vigor that have kept the author's books popular for generations. Each enchanting myth is followed by a selection of Kipling's spirited poetry.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies are classic children's books which speak powerfully to adult readers. Una and Dan, performing a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream one Midsummer's Eve, accidentally summon Puck to a fairy ring near their Sussex home. Through Puck the children are witnesses to tales of English history, subtly called forth by Kipling's brilliant and fluid adventure writing. Kipling's historical imagination extends to a wide variety of stories, many of which blend the ghostly and the familiar, and often anticipate his later writing in their themes: a sense of loss and breakdown, but also healing. First published in magazines between 1906 and 1910, the stories were accompanied by some of Kipling's most famous poems, including 'If-' and 'The Way through the Woods'. This edition includes an introduction which dispels the myth that these stories are simply a nostalgic view of English history, discusses their relationship to other historical fiction, and relates them to Kipling's earlier and later writings.

About the Author:

Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) is best remembered for children's tales such as The Jungle Book as well as his poetry and stories about British soldiers in India, which include "Gunga Din" and The Man Who Would Be King. Kipling was enormously popular at the turn of the 20th century but his reputation declined with the change in attitude toward British imperialism. In recent years Kipling's works have found new acclaim as a vibrant source of literary and cultural history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 048645147X
• ISBN 13: 9780486451473
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Illustrator: Rackham Arthur