Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves: Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene [Paperback]

Edmund Spenser (Author), Roy Maynard (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

Edmund Spenser (1552-99) ranks just below Shakespeare, with Chaucer and Milton, in the pantheon of great writers. In The Faerie Queene, he spins a sub-created fantasy universe that would be the model for Tolkien and Lewis. This poet, whom Milton considered to be a better teacher than the medieval theologians, wrote an epic tale of adventure, love, noble deeds, and faith.

Despite all his acknowledged greatness, almost no one reads Spenser any more. Roy Maynard takes the first book of The Faerie Queene, exploring the concept of Holiness with the character of the Redcross Knight, and makes Spenser accessible again. He does this not by dumbing it down, but by deftly modernizing the spelling, explaining the obscurities in clever asides, and cuing the reader towards the right response.

In today's cultural, aesthetic, and educational wars, Spenser is a mighty ally for the 21st century Christians. Maynard proves himself a worthy mediator between Spenser's time and ours.
—Dr. Gene Edward Veith

Editorial Reviews

Review

Despite all of his acknowledged greatness, almost no one reads Spenser anymore. Roy Maynard takes the first book of the Faerie Queen, exploring the concept of Holiness with the character of the Redcross Knight, and makes Spenser accessible again. He does this not by dumbing it down, but by deftly modernizing the spelling, explaining the obscurities in clever asides, and cueing the reader towards the right response. In today's cultural, aesthetic, and educational wars, Spenser is a mighty ally for 21st century Christians. Maynard proves himself a worthy mediator between Spenser's time and ours." -- Dr. Gene Edward Veith

About the Author

Roy Maynard is an author and journalist who has written for such publications as WORLD Magazine, the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, and the Houston Chronicle. He lives in east Texas with his wife, Sara, and children Calvin, Laurel, and Blythe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Canon Press; 1 edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885767390
• ISBN-13: 978-1885767394
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Journeys of Redcross Knight, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves: Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (Paperback)

For anyone who enjoys reading about knights, legends, and heroic deeds, this book is a must. In a fantasy world, created by Edmund Spencer, the young and inexperienced Redcross Knight must save Lady Una's kingdom from a fierce dragon. The annotations and definitions are a valuable contribution to this work originally written in the 1500's.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendental (but not the Emerson type), March 5, 2004

By 

Jacob Aitken (Pineville, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves: Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (Paperback)

Roy Maynard ought to be commended for aiding us in reading Spenser. Personally, I think Spenser tells a better yarn than Shakespeare, with all due respect to the Bard. This book was written by a Christian, with powerful Christian overtones, and Christians will benefit the most from it. The language is archaic, the story is...well...schockingly relevant.

I said in the title that the book is transcendental. What I mean is the book, in certain sections, touches areas that strikes the reader to the core. No, the hero is not perfect. Yes, he fails over and over again. But the battles he fights! The nature of forgiveness, pain, guilt, ecstatic joy--Spenser pulld no punches. And to point out another irony of historical revisionism prevalent in the public schools: Spenser has sexual allusions (fear not, for they are used to show, in the words of CS Lewis, "the fierceness of Chastity" and the bloody fight that its worth); even more shocking is that Spenser is a proto-Puritan, thus debunking the whole Puritan "prude" myth. By the way, the true hero in the book is King Arthur, not Redcrosse; you will see why later in the book.

Yes, the book is hard to read, even with Maynard's annotations. But oddly enough, it is easy to follow, by and large. I will end with a quote from CS Lewis, "...to read Spenser is to grow in mental health."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting, December 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves: Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (Paperback)

I have never had much patience with poetry; I prefer a good story to sentimentalism and obscure imagery. Nevertheless, I read this book when I learned that St. George and the Dragon, one of my favorite stories, is in The Faerie Queen. What a pleasure! I could hardly put the book down. The imagery is so vivid and the language so beautiful. Mr. Maynard's notes are very helpful without being distracting or interrupting the flow of the poetry.