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Puck of Pook's Hill (Dover Value Editions)
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Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Publisher: Dover Publications
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $9.95
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Publisher: Dover Publications
Average Customer Rating:
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Puck of Pook's Hill (Dover Value Editions) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780486451473
ISBN: 048645147X
Label: Dover Publications
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2006-10-27
Publisher: Dover Publications
Reading Level: Young Adult
Studio: Dover Publications
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780486451473
ISBN: 048645147X
Label: Dover Publications
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2006-10-27
Publisher: Dover Publications
Reading Level: Young Adult
Studio: Dover Publications
Editorial Review of Puck of Pook's Hill (Dover Value Editions)
In the perfect bedtime reading, a mischievous imp called Puck delights two precocious youngsters with 10 magical fables about the hidden histories of Old England. Written especially for Kipling's own children, each enchanting myth is followed by a selection of the master storyteller's spirited poetry.
Customer Reviews of Puck of Pook's Hill (Dover Value Editions)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fantasy precursor to 'The Hobbit' -- a found treasure!
Review: Marvellous!
In a word, that's my feeling about Puck of Pook's Hill (Dover Value Editions). I'll get into the actual story in just a moment but I first wanted to make some general observations about this terrific work of fantasy.
Kipling harbored a kid's imagination for fantasy stories and a sociology professor's knowledge of history, especially concerning 19th Century England and its colonies. Kipling lived from 1865-1936 and, of course, he generated a plethora of superb period literature including The Jungle Books (Oxford World's Classics), The Man Who Would Be King (Dodo Press), and Kim. The thread so common to the bulk of Kipling's work seems to be ADVENTURE, a theme in which he excelled beyond most other authors, either then or now.
In "Puck" he achieved a level of historical imperative and nostalgic fantasy that was only ever paralleled by Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. This book is (for reasons unknown to me) a real sleeper -- you don't hear much about it either in academia or in bookstores, which is a tremendous shame given its refreshing effervescence and rainy-day appeal. I feel compelled to say that it would be infinitely helpful in digesting "Puck" if you're already somewhat tutored in the history of England and, if you're accustomed to reading the vernacular of other works of Kipling's era. I luckily have the 1987 Penguin softcover edition of this book (Goodwill Store, 50 cents) which is heavily footnoted and which also includes a lengthy, informative introduction to the book written by Sarah Wintle. There even a nice little "Map of the Weald" (Kipling's Sussex) which provides added perspective.
The ten "stories" from this book first appeared in "The Strand" in 1906 which were then illustrated by Claude A. Shepperson. Additionally, some of these entries were published in "Ladies Home Journal" and in "McClure's Magazine". The lion's share of the book is prose but most stories either begin or end with a poem such as "The Runes on Weyland's Sword," a title which reveals much of the flavour of the overall work.
THE STORY: On Midsummer Eve in a secluded meadow just below "Pook's Hill," a boy and his sister (Dan and Una, respectively) acted out their children's version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," coincidentally, inside a fairy ring (of mushrooms). Such an act on the part of these two kids was surely bound to give rise to something very magical (although they never anticipated this possibility) and, in fact, it did. Shortly after their little theater, Puck appeared to them!
Puck is enigmatic, for human adults at least. While he's referred to at one point as a "faun," he seems to be part Leprechaun, part fairy, and part sorcerer. He purposefully engages in shrewd indirect speech which he knows will give rise to endless questions from Dan and Una, thus allowing him to spin his yarns and to bring forth historic figures of The Weald, one after another, over a period of days. He's also capable of conjuring a little spell which has the net effect of eliminating his actuality from the minds of the children after each day's storytelling.
Puck brings on a Roman Centurion (who guarded England), a Norman Knight, a Renaissance artisan, Saxons, Picts, Norsemen (Vikings), a Chinese slave-master and many others, each of whom imparts his respective piece of England's history. There's even a dark adventure tale about a maritime journey along the African coast in search of gold where, of course, devilish monsters were encountered and a horrific battle ensued. Dan and Una are shrewdly drawn into each of these sojourns by Puck as if they had themselves been there.
In summary, if you have so far missed this most excellent proto-Hobbitish legend of ancient England and beyond, my personal opinion is that you cannot order this book fast enough. I give it my highest recommendation, especially for fans of either Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (Signet Classics) or The Lord of the Rings. 3 Vol. Set.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fantasy history of Britain
Review: Puck of Pook's Hill is Rudyard Kipling's attempt to convey British history in a unique way--as a kind of fantasy told to two small children. The children, Dan and Una, participate in a performance of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and then come across an elf (Puck) who claims to be from a nearby hill (Pook's Hill). Over a series of nine chapters characters appear from British history to relate stories of their experiences to the children. The children, of course are in awe and wonder at these tales. Each chapter also begins and ends with a song.
The first series of chapters deals with the adventures of Sir Richard Dalyngridge who came to England with William the Conquerer. In this story we also meet the heroic Saxon Hugh and De Aquilla the Norman warlord. Sir Richard and Hugh go on grand adventures involving being caputred by pirates and get a large quantity of gold. It is the stuff of Peter Pan and such fantasy adventures.
The second story returns to Roman times and here we meet Parnesius, a Roman centurion and other figures from that time. The story involves fighting between the Romans and a group called the "Winged Hats," as well as the internal intrigues within the Roman ranks.
While several other stories provide information on different aspects of British history, these two stories form the main part of the book.
It is hard to rate this book as it will have a strong appeal for some people--children interested in fantasy and history and adults with an interest in Great Britain. For others it may not be very interesting.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Read it anyway, but don't give it to the kids without a warning.
Review: Most of this book is worth reading as fantasy fiction, and all of it is worth studying as an example of late Victorian attitudes. Kipling didn't handle the transitions between "fantasy" and "reality" as well as modern writers who specialize in this sort of thing, but he did pretty well. However ... every time I read this to enjoy the adventures of Dan and Una, I trip up on the character of the medieval Jew who has an inborn, racial "talent for gold." While I don't usually think books should be updated or abridged for modern readers, I would consider excising just a few sentences of this one before letting a child read it.
I recall the comments of a Chinese-American reader who discovered that the beloved Louisa May Alcott used some demeaning stereotypes of Chinese people: Suddenly, one is cast out of the category of "reader" into the category of "other," and one never quite comes back.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: To be read over and over
Review: It seems to be fashionable, in this politically correct time, to find fault with Rudyard Kipling. But Kipling was a great writer with big ideas and a big heart. He wrote "Puck of Pook's Hill" and "Rewards and Fairies" to share his love of his mother country with young readers. These books are a great introduction to English history. I find it hard to imagine a reader not falling in love with the land and people of this great country after reading "Puck of Pook's Hill". The curious reader will seek out more information on what happened during their favorite characters' times, possibly leading to a lifelong love of history and the inclination to explore the world through reading.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not for the History Challenged
Review: I will not recommend this book to people who are not familiar with English history. I found myself stopping in the middle to research the characters because you cannot truly appreciate the book otherwise. This took away from the book's appeal. Someone who doesn't have an idea of who the characters are and what role they played during the period will undoubtedly be completely lost, because you cannot really glean all this from the book alone. Otherwise the book was well written, as Kipling always is. It is, however not a book everyone would enjoy.
Review Summary: Fantasy precursor to 'The Hobbit' -- a found treasure!
Review: Marvellous!
In a word, that's my feeling about Puck of Pook's Hill (Dover Value Editions). I'll get into the actual story in just a moment but I first wanted to make some general observations about this terrific work of fantasy.
Kipling harbored a kid's imagination for fantasy stories and a sociology professor's knowledge of history, especially concerning 19th Century England and its colonies. Kipling lived from 1865-1936 and, of course, he generated a plethora of superb period literature including The Jungle Books (Oxford World's Classics), The Man Who Would Be King (Dodo Press), and Kim. The thread so common to the bulk of Kipling's work seems to be ADVENTURE, a theme in which he excelled beyond most other authors, either then or now.
In "Puck" he achieved a level of historical imperative and nostalgic fantasy that was only ever paralleled by Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. This book is (for reasons unknown to me) a real sleeper -- you don't hear much about it either in academia or in bookstores, which is a tremendous shame given its refreshing effervescence and rainy-day appeal. I feel compelled to say that it would be infinitely helpful in digesting "Puck" if you're already somewhat tutored in the history of England and, if you're accustomed to reading the vernacular of other works of Kipling's era. I luckily have the 1987 Penguin softcover edition of this book (Goodwill Store, 50 cents) which is heavily footnoted and which also includes a lengthy, informative introduction to the book written by Sarah Wintle. There even a nice little "Map of the Weald" (Kipling's Sussex) which provides added perspective.
The ten "stories" from this book first appeared in "The Strand" in 1906 which were then illustrated by Claude A. Shepperson. Additionally, some of these entries were published in "Ladies Home Journal" and in "McClure's Magazine". The lion's share of the book is prose but most stories either begin or end with a poem such as "The Runes on Weyland's Sword," a title which reveals much of the flavour of the overall work.
THE STORY: On Midsummer Eve in a secluded meadow just below "Pook's Hill," a boy and his sister (Dan and Una, respectively) acted out their children's version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," coincidentally, inside a fairy ring (of mushrooms). Such an act on the part of these two kids was surely bound to give rise to something very magical (although they never anticipated this possibility) and, in fact, it did. Shortly after their little theater, Puck appeared to them!
Puck is enigmatic, for human adults at least. While he's referred to at one point as a "faun," he seems to be part Leprechaun, part fairy, and part sorcerer. He purposefully engages in shrewd indirect speech which he knows will give rise to endless questions from Dan and Una, thus allowing him to spin his yarns and to bring forth historic figures of The Weald, one after another, over a period of days. He's also capable of conjuring a little spell which has the net effect of eliminating his actuality from the minds of the children after each day's storytelling.
Puck brings on a Roman Centurion (who guarded England), a Norman Knight, a Renaissance artisan, Saxons, Picts, Norsemen (Vikings), a Chinese slave-master and many others, each of whom imparts his respective piece of England's history. There's even a dark adventure tale about a maritime journey along the African coast in search of gold where, of course, devilish monsters were encountered and a horrific battle ensued. Dan and Una are shrewdly drawn into each of these sojourns by Puck as if they had themselves been there.
In summary, if you have so far missed this most excellent proto-Hobbitish legend of ancient England and beyond, my personal opinion is that you cannot order this book fast enough. I give it my highest recommendation, especially for fans of either Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (Signet Classics) or The Lord of the Rings. 3 Vol. Set.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fantasy history of Britain
Review: Puck of Pook's Hill is Rudyard Kipling's attempt to convey British history in a unique way--as a kind of fantasy told to two small children. The children, Dan and Una, participate in a performance of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and then come across an elf (Puck) who claims to be from a nearby hill (Pook's Hill). Over a series of nine chapters characters appear from British history to relate stories of their experiences to the children. The children, of course are in awe and wonder at these tales. Each chapter also begins and ends with a song.
The first series of chapters deals with the adventures of Sir Richard Dalyngridge who came to England with William the Conquerer. In this story we also meet the heroic Saxon Hugh and De Aquilla the Norman warlord. Sir Richard and Hugh go on grand adventures involving being caputred by pirates and get a large quantity of gold. It is the stuff of Peter Pan and such fantasy adventures.
The second story returns to Roman times and here we meet Parnesius, a Roman centurion and other figures from that time. The story involves fighting between the Romans and a group called the "Winged Hats," as well as the internal intrigues within the Roman ranks.
While several other stories provide information on different aspects of British history, these two stories form the main part of the book.
It is hard to rate this book as it will have a strong appeal for some people--children interested in fantasy and history and adults with an interest in Great Britain. For others it may not be very interesting.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Read it anyway, but don't give it to the kids without a warning.
Review: Most of this book is worth reading as fantasy fiction, and all of it is worth studying as an example of late Victorian attitudes. Kipling didn't handle the transitions between "fantasy" and "reality" as well as modern writers who specialize in this sort of thing, but he did pretty well. However ... every time I read this to enjoy the adventures of Dan and Una, I trip up on the character of the medieval Jew who has an inborn, racial "talent for gold." While I don't usually think books should be updated or abridged for modern readers, I would consider excising just a few sentences of this one before letting a child read it.
I recall the comments of a Chinese-American reader who discovered that the beloved Louisa May Alcott used some demeaning stereotypes of Chinese people: Suddenly, one is cast out of the category of "reader" into the category of "other," and one never quite comes back.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: To be read over and over
Review: It seems to be fashionable, in this politically correct time, to find fault with Rudyard Kipling. But Kipling was a great writer with big ideas and a big heart. He wrote "Puck of Pook's Hill" and "Rewards and Fairies" to share his love of his mother country with young readers. These books are a great introduction to English history. I find it hard to imagine a reader not falling in love with the land and people of this great country after reading "Puck of Pook's Hill". The curious reader will seek out more information on what happened during their favorite characters' times, possibly leading to a lifelong love of history and the inclination to explore the world through reading.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not for the History Challenged
Review: I will not recommend this book to people who are not familiar with English history. I found myself stopping in the middle to research the characters because you cannot truly appreciate the book otherwise. This took away from the book's appeal. Someone who doesn't have an idea of who the characters are and what role they played during the period will undoubtedly be completely lost, because you cannot really glean all this from the book alone. Otherwise the book was well written, as Kipling always is. It is, however not a book everyone would enjoy.