Other editions of book Puck of Pook’s Hill

Puck of Pook's Hill is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy - since some of the stories told of the past have clear magical elements, and as contemporary fantasy - since it depicts a magical being active and practising his magic in the England of the early 1900s when the book was written. The stories are all narrated to two children living near Burwash, in the area of Kipling's own house Bateman's, by people magically plucked out of history by the elf Puck, or told by Puck himself. (Puck, who refers to himself as "the oldest Old Thing in England", is better known as a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.) The genres of particular stories range from authentic historical novella (A Centurion of the Thirtieth, On the Great Wall) to children's fantasy (Dymchurch Flit). Each story is bracketed by a poem which relates in some manner to the theme or subject of the story. Donald Mackenzie, who wrote the introduction for the Oxford World's Classics edition of Puck of Pook's Hill in 1987, has described this book as an example of archaeological imagination that, in fragments, delivers a look at the history of England, climaxing with the signing of Magna Carta.

A pair of children happen across an ancient shrine, where they conjure up an impish sprite named Puck, who treats them to a series of tales about Old England. Rudyard Kipling, the storyteller behind Puck's fables, lived in the East Sussex region of Pook's Hill. To amuse his children, Kipling created these quasi-historical stories about the people who lived in their neighborhood centuries ago.Readers of all ages will treasure Puck's ten magical tales of adventure and intrigue. Kipling's imaginative blend of fact and fancy transports readers back to the days of William the Conqueror, to the camps of the Roman legions who guarded Hadrian's Wall against the Picts, and to the thirteenth-century court of King John. All of the stories abound in the freshness of invention and narrative vigor that have kept the author's books popular for generations.

MP3 CD Format Puck of Pook's Hill is an innocent and charming book that takes the listener on a journey through English history with a series of short, fantastical works.When two children happen across an ancient shrine, they unintentionally summon an impish sprite named Puck also known as Robin Goodfellow. To their wonderment, the fairy conjures up the past, taking them on ten magical adventures: they visit Roman Britain and the legion guarding Hadrian's Wall, the thirteenth-century court of King John and Old England from the time of William the Conqueror.Here are stories of lost treasures, epic battles, mysterious cults and daring piracy. Interspersed with Kipling's lyrical poetry, Puck of Pook's Hill is a masterful and magical collection that will stir the imagination.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English author and poet. In 1917 he was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Kipling was born in Bombay, British India. Many of his works have an Indian flavor and setting. His best known for his works are The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), Just So Stories (1902). Stories in this collection are Weland's Sword, Puck's Song, A Tree Song, Young Men at the Manor, Sir Richard's Song, The Knights of the Joyous Venture, Harp Song of the Dane Women, Thorkild's Song, Old Men at Pevensey, The Runes on Weland's Sword, A Centurion of the Thirtieth, 'Cities and Thrones and Powers', A British-Roman Song, On the Great Wall, A Song to Mithras, The Winged Hats, A Pict Song, Hal O' the Draft, 'Prophets have Honour all over the Earth', A Smugglers' Song, 'Dymchurch Flit', The bee Boy's Song, A Three-part Song, The Treasure and the Law, Song of the Fifth River, and The Children's Song.

Puck of Pook's Hill is a historical fantasy book containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. The stories are all told to two children living near Pevensey by people magically plucked out of history by elf Puck, or by Puck himself. Puck, who refers to himself as "the oldest thing in England", is better known as a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Genre of particular stories range from authentic historical novella to children's fantasy.