Rewards and Fairies (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Rudyard Kipling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Series: Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics

Continues the adventures of Dan and Una with Puck of Pook's Hill, the last surviving fairy in England. The author also wrote "The Jungle Book", "Just So Stories" and "Plain Tales from the Hills".

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rudyard Joseph Kipling was born in the then named Bombay, India on 30th December 1865. Aged six, he was sent to England to be educated, firstly in Southsea, where he was cared for in a foster home, and later at Westward Ho, a United Services College in Devon. A life of misery at the former was described in his story 'Baa Baa Black Sheep', whilst Westward Ho was used as a basis for his questioning the public school ethic in 'Stalky and Co'. Kipling returned to India in 1882 to work as an assistant editor for the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore. His reputation as a writer was established with stories of English life in India, published there in 1888/9. 'The Phantom Rickshaw', 'Soldiers Three' and 'Under the Deodars' are amongst these early works. Returning to England in 1889, Kipling settled in London and continued to earn a living as a writer. In 1892 he married Caroline Balestier, an American. They travelled extensively in the following four years, including a spell living in America, and it was in this time most of his enduring work was written, not least 'The Jungle Book' and 'The Second Jungle Book'. Kipling once again returned to England in 1896 and continued his writing career, although tragedy hit the family when his eldest daughter, Josephine, died in 1899. Nonetheless, in 1901 he completed 'Kim', often considered to be his best work. The following year, having settled in Sussex, he published 'Just So Stories', a book he had planned to write for Josephine. Having refused the position of Poet Laureate, which was offered in 1895, he did accept the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first English author to be so honoured. By 1910, however, Kipling's appeal was waning. His poems and stories were based on values that were perceived as outdated. There was widespread reaction against Victorian imperialism, highlighted by the incompetent management of the Boer War. When World War I came, Kipling had difficulty in adapting to the mood of the public and after his only son, John, was reported missing in action believed killed in 1915, he became very active on the War Graves Commission. After the war he became an increasingly isolated figure, although some of his best writing was to come, with 'Debits and Credits' in 1926 and 'Limits and Renewals' in 1932. Kipling died in 1936 in London and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Today, however, he is once again avidly read not just for the quality of his writing and storytelling, but through a renewed inte --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140184376
• ISBN-13: 978-0140184372
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,053,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Whither wander you, spirit?, July 27, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rewards and Fairies (Paperback)

If anyone walks up to you today and complains loudly in your face about the recent rise of the "sequel" in popularity, stuff a copy of "Rewards and Fairies" in their face and beg them to know their sequel history. Written as a kind of Part Two to Kipling's previous hit, "Puck of Pook's Hill", "Rewards and Fairies" continues where its predecessor left off. Like the first book, "Rewards" once again follows the tame adventures of little Dan and Una as their adventures with Puck (of "Midsummer Night's Dream" fame) give them new insights into England's fabulous past.

Once again our unlikely heroes (and their unlikely guide) are visited by some relatively obscure but important members of England's great moments. These include everything from a lady of Queen Elizabeth I's court to a half-English half-French smuggler from the years of the French Revolution. Though the stories in this book vary incredibly in quality, Kipling has extended his narrative by quite a bit. Suddenly the kids are meeting a caveman that gave his own eye for a knife and consequently ended up a god amongst his people. Going completely overboard, Kipling includes a smuggler that tells a story about his travels amongst the Seneca of North America. His tale praises (of all people) President George Washington, making the man out to be just shy of a saint. I doubt very much that there are American works of fiction out there that praise our first president even half as much as Kipling's book does here. Some of the characters from the previous book reappear in this one for a brief encore. Once again we meet Harry Dawe, the stonemason who was knighted by King Henry VIII for saving him thirty pounds. There's Sir Richard Dalyngridge again, telling the last and most drawn out boring tale in the lot. In Harry's case, his reappearance is an extension of his somewhat foreshortened previous adventures. In Sir Richard's case, there is no such excuse.

There are things to love in this book, of course. The poems are just shy of brilliant here and there. It's difficult to keep yourself from singing them once in a while. They're just so doggone rhythmic. And there's a lot of humor in these stories too. Puck at one point introduces the kids to an overly affected astrologer who saved a village from the plague (he had the right methods but the wrong reasons). Then there are lines in this book that could keep you awake and twisting for days. How quickly can you say, "I tell you now that a faith which takes care that every man shall keep faith, even though he may save his soul by breaking faith, is the faith for a man to believe in"? Even better, how quickly can you understand it? The book also gives chummy nicknames to some of the world's most infamous men. Suddenly Napolean Bonaparte is being referred to as "Boney" and Sir Francis Drake is reduced to a mere, "Frankie".

The best way to tell if you'll enjoy "Rewards and Fairies" is to read "Puck of Pook's Hill First". If you read that one and enjoyed it then you should have virtually zippo problems with this later creation. Personally, I loved it. I thought it was a great little English History 101 (though I can't exactly remember the difference between the Normans and the Saxons anymore). If you read everything with the exception of the last chapter, I think you'll find it undeniably charming. And who knew Puck enjoyed hearing about business transactions? You could learn a lot from a text like this.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books of all time, June 16, 2006

By 

Sammy Madison (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rewards and Fairies (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

"Rewards and Fairies" is the sequel to "Puck of Pook's Hill". I am very glad it is currently in print. Sometimes it goes out of print, sad because I find it one of the best books for young people. Dan and Una, two children growing up in the English countryside, meet their old friend Puck, a long time vistor to the farm where they live. Puck has used the leaves of the magical trees, oak ash and thorn, to wipe out the children's memories of their past visits, when Puck introduced them to the ghosts of the people who lived on and loved their land before them. In this book, the children and their visitors range further afield, visiting the chalk downs and sheep country where their father grew up. There they meet an early man-god, who sacrificed his eye and his mortality to protect his people and the sheep from their enemy, the wolf. They meet a French and English smuggler who introduces them to American history. This book is just as entertaining and magical as "Puck of Pook's Hill".