Amongst the many stories included in this volume is the tale of "The Reluctant Dragon", in which a boy negotiates a peace agreement between St. George and a benign and friendly dragon who has come to live on the English downs.
Read More
Amongst the many stories included in this volume is the tale of "The Reluctant Dragon", in which a boy negotiates a peace agreement between St. George and a benign and friendly dragon who has come to live on the English downs.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. First published in 1898, this sequel to The Golden Age is an informative snapshot of the late Victorian era that captures the world of imagination inhabited by children. These stories are written with humor and wit as Grahame depicts a private, separate universe of five siblings whose concerns rarely overlap with the world of adults, whom they refer to as Olympians. The collection's most famous story, "The Reluctant Dragon, " sees the narrator and his neighbor Charlotte following dragon footprints in the snow one winter's evening. Meeting with a Circus Man, they are regaled with tales of a dragon, which, modest and retiring, was reluctant to fight St. George purely for the sake of convention. The author captures perfectly the tone of a childhood enriched by legend and romance, and unsullied by the concerns of adulthood.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. An undated hardback volume in Acceptable condition, boards and spine ratehr worn and grubby, interior clean and bright. No dustjacket. This book is in stock now, in our UK premises. Photos of our books are available on request (the pictures you see on Alibris are NOT our own).
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Used-Good. Good hardback (no dust jacket) Reprint of the Ernest H. Shepard illustrated edition, 1945. Tan cloth with black. Subtle damp stain and slight colour loss at top of rear board. Pages very slightly wavy along top edges. Light foxing.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
1940. John Lane The Bodley Head. Hard Cover. Book-Good, black titles on spine, black titles & decoration on front board, brown boards, sunned. 7.5x5. 168pp. Frontis & many b/w illus by Ernest H. Shepard.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Octavo. Red cloth-covered boards. Gilt lettering on spine. 286 pages. Covers a little discoloured and worn, top and bottom of spine strip frayed. Book not dated. Name on front endpaper. Contents white and unmarked, binding tight.
I love THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, and had expected to love this book too. Instead, I found it a rather tedious bid for sympathy for the author's childhood, one in which he and his orphaned siblings were raised by aunts for whom he had enduring spite.
I have little patience with books that depict adults as the enemies of children --and the idyllic rural setting in which the orphaned children shared their childhood with their aunts sounds blissful, an invitation to imaginative play. The author's account of it makes more vivid his scorn for "the Olympians" (the aunts who offered them a comfortable home are never named) that it does the warmth that may have existed between the siblings. (it would be interesting to know if his siblings may have enjoyed those years more than did young Kenneth.)
I'd never choose to share this book with a child; it is unattractively mean-spirited. I assume his later adult life was happier, allowing us to have the book that made his name.
Were it not for the lovely illustrations, my rating would have been one star.
