SHORT STORIES FOR CHILDREN VOL 3

DE LA MARE, WALTER

ISBN 10: 1900357054 / ISBN 13: 9781900357050

Published by Giles De LA Mare Pub Ltd, 2006

Seller Inventory # NWUS9781900357050

Synopsis:

The publication of "Short Stories for Children" celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Walter de la Mare's death. It is also the culmination of a major literary enterprise. For many people, Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) is as great a writer of fiction as of poetry. But, the majority of his short stories, of which there are a hundred, have long been unavailable. "Short Stories" brings them all together in three volumes in the first comprehensive collection to be published. The third and last volume, "Short Stories for Children", starts with "Broomsticks and Other Tales" of 1925, with its twelve stories, and continues with "The Lord Fish" of 1933 with seven stories. It includes three distinctive stories, 'Pigtails, Ltd', 'The Thief' and 'A Nose', that have never been reprinted since they originally appeared in Broomsticks. Quirky, disparate, unpredictable, acutely observed, sometimes frightening, and often preoccupied with states of mind and personal identity, these stories have much in common with the adult stories. Some of them are peopled with giants, witches, kind elves, evil and spiteful fairies, and imprisoned maidens in castles, but most are not.We find ourselves in railway trains, a mansion in the City of London, another Elizabethan one in a mysterious tract of country, a remote farm house near the sea, a waterlogged forest, a drawing-room being watched by a fly; and, among other things, we encounter a wise monkey, a haunted cat, a fish magician, a baron transmogrified into a donkey, a thief desperate to be burgled, a man who believes he has a wax nose, and a godmother celebrating her 350th birthday. As in de la Mare's poems, everyday reality may at any time become undercut by disturbing uncertainty and dark, though not always malign, forces. A full understanding of the poems and stories is impossible without knowledge of both. Vivid and timeless, Bold's original woodcut designs and Rex Whistler's original engravings have been used to illustrate the two parts of the book.

About the Author: Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) was one of the leading poets and novelists of the twentieth century. His writings are known throughout the world, and have been translated into numerous languages. He wrote poetry and fiction for both adults and children. He is loved and admired equally by the young and the old. Together with the Complete Poems, published in 1969 and shortly to be brought back into print -- and also edited by Giles de la Mare -- Short Stories I, II and III provide the definitive text of all Walter de la Mare's creative writings apart from the four novels. De la Mare was in addition an anthologist of genius and an outstanding literary critic, serving as the main critic on the TLS for many years.

Bibliographic Details

Title: SHORT STORIES FOR CHILDREN VOL 3
Publisher: Giles De LA Mare Pub Ltd
Publication Date: 2006
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: NEW