Puck of Pook's Hill (Piccolo Books)

These stories of Puck and the amazing things he reveals to Dan and Una have been favourite reading for innumerable children since they were published in 1906.
Kipling brings vividly to life the most exciting moments in English history as Puck confronts the two children with some very interesting people...

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.