Duffy and the Devil: A Cornish Tale

Harve Zemach

ISBN 10: 0374418977 / ISBN 13: 9780374418977

Published by Square Fish, 1986

About this Item

Duffy and the Devil was a popular play in Cornwall in the nineteenth century, performed at the Christmas season by groups of young people who went from house to house. The Zemachs have interpreted the folk tale which the play dramatized, recognizable as a version of the widespread Rumpelstiltskin story. Its main themes are familiar, but the character and details of this picture book are entirely Cornish, as robust and distinctive as the higgledy-piggledy, cliff-hanging villages that dot England's southwestern coast from Penzance to Land's End. The language spoken by the Christmas players was a rich mixture of local English dialect and Old Cornish (similar to Welsh and Gaelic), and something of this flavor is preserved in Harve Zemach's retelling. Margot Zemach's pen-and-wash illustrations combine a refined sense of comedy with telling observation of character, felicitous drawing with decorative richness, to a degree that surpasses her own past accomplishments. Duffy and the Devil is a 1973 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1974 National Book Award Finalist for Children's Books, and the winner of the 1974 Caldecott Medal.

Seller Inventory # CIN0374418977G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Duffy and the Devil: A Cornish Tale
• Publisher: Square Fish
• Publication Date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374418977
• ISBN 13: 9780374418977
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Zemach, Margot
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Duffy and the Devil was a popular play in Cornwall in the nineteenth century, performed at the Christmas season by groups of young people who went from house to house. The Zemachs have interpreted the folk tale which the play dramatized, recognizable as a version of the widespread Rumpelstiltskin story. Its main themes are familiar, but the character and details of this picture book are entirely Cornish, as robust and distinctive as the higgledy-piggledy, cliff-hanging villages that dot England's southwestern coast from Penzance to Land's End.

The language spoken by the Christmas players was a rich mixture of local English dialect and Old Cornish (similar to Welsh and Gaelic), and something of this flavor is preserved in Harve Zemach's retelling. Margot Zemach's pen-and-wash illustrations combine a refined sense of comedy with telling observation of character, felicitous drawing with decorative richness, to a degree that surpasses her own past accomplishments.

Duffy and the Devil is a 1973 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1974 National Book Award Finalist for Children's Books, and the winner of the 1974 Caldecott Medal.

About the Authors

Harve Zemach was a children's book author. With his wife, Margot, who was an illustrator, they collaborated on many enduring children's books, including The Judge: An Untrue Tale, a Caldecott Honor Book; A Penny a Look, an ALA Notable Book; and Duffy and the Devil, recipient of the Caldecott Medal.

Margot Zemach (1931-89) was born in Los Angeles, California. She began illustrating stories by her husband, Harve, in 1959, and their subsequent collaborations led to many enduring children's books, including The Judge: An Untrue Tale, a Caldecott Honor Book; A Penny a Look, an ALA Notable Book; and Duffy and the Devil, recipient of the Caldecott Medal.