The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - Softcover

Raspe, Rudolph Erich

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1505266262 ISBN 13: 9781505266269

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

Synopsis

Hieronymus Karl Friedrich Baron von Münchhausen was a German nobleman and a famous recounter of tall tales. He joined the Russian military and took part in two campaigns against the Ottoman Turks. Upon returning home, Münchhausen recounted a number of outrageous stories about his adventures. The stories of Münchhausen were first collected and published by an anonymous author in 1781. An English version was published in London in 1785, by Rudolf Erich Raspe, as The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen. It is not clear how much of the story material derives from the Baron himself; however, it is known that the majority of the stories are based on folktales that had been in circulation for many centuries before Münchhausen's birth.

About this title

From the Back Cover

A certain eighteenth-century German noble ventured abroad for military service and returned with a series of amusingly outrageous stories. Baron Munchausen's astounding feats included riding cannonballs, traveling to the Moon, and pulling himself out of a bog by his own hair. Listeners delighted in hearing about these unlikely adventures, and in 1785, the stories were collected and published as Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia. By the nineteenth century, the tales had undergone expansions and transformations by several notable authors and had been translated into many languages.
A figure as colorful as the Baron naturally appeals to the artistic imagination, and he has been depicted in numerous works of art. His definitive visual image, however, belongs to Gustave Doré. Famed for his engravings of scenes from the Bible, the Divine Comedy, Don Quixote, and other literary classics, Doré created theatrical illustrations of the Baron's escapades that perfectly recreate the stories' picaresque humor.
Dover (2005) unabridged republication of the revised edition published by Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, London and New York, 1865.

About the Author

French illustrator Gustave Doré (1833-83) began his prolific career at the age of 15, and his dramatic engravings have exercised an incalculable influence over latter-day artists. The remarkable scope of his work ranges from Milton, Dante, and the Bible to Rabelais, Shakespeare, and street scenes of 19th-century London.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1505266262
• ISBN 13: 9781505266269
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 182