Books with title THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN

The Classic tale of a man that helps his village get rid of rats is now reprinted once again in its original brilliance as it once was over 100 years ago. Colorful illustrations depict a village of children and animals as the Pied Piper entices the rats to leave the village and a happy ending for all. Historical Significance: In 1284, while the town of Hamelin was suffering from a rat infestation, a man dressed in pied clothing appeared, claiming to be a rat-catcher. He promised the mayor a solution for their problem with the rats. The mayor in turn promised to pay him for the removal of the rats. The man accepted, and played a musical pipe to lure the rats with a song into the Weser River, where all but one drowned. Despite his success, the mayor reneged on his promise and refused to pay the rat-catcher the full amount of money. The man left the town angrily, but vowed to return some time later, seeking revenge.

An energetic re-telling of the classic story of a strangely enchanting piper who rids a miserly town of its rats--only to be rewarded by being cheated of his reward. Scenery may be minimal or grand. Approx. running time: 75 min. Two acts that may be played without intermission. Cast of 6 women, 20 men, (with options for doubling or adding extras).In this telling the rats and the human "vermin" wage political and social war against each other and anyone who contradicts them. But there are heroes too in Hamelin: the crippled orphan Franz, his pet mouse Mortimer, and of course The Piper. Humor, action, and conflict carry this story of betrayal and simple friendship with the reminder that a promise is a promise.

This facsimile of Robert Browning's The Pied Piper of Hamelin, A Child’s Story is beautifully illustrated and colored by T. W. Craik and W. A. Craik. BlazeVOX presents for the first time this wonderful edition, originally created in 1959 as a gift by the illustrators to their young son. Robert Browning's poem captures the mysterious nature of the Piper legend and the resplendent, rich time period in which the tale took place, which has inspired many great illustrators such as Kate Greenaway, Arthur Rackham, Margaret Tarant, and Maxfield Parrish. The dramatic events that Browning recorded in 1842 marvelously unfold in the Craiks' illustrations. The pages have bold, imaginative drawings, deep lines, rich colors and fine (often idiosyncratic) details. From the pillaging rats to the gluttonous council members, every pen and brush stroke brings Browning's moral home. This work contains over 40 illustrated pages with hand lettering and includes a foreword by Roger Craik detailing this book’s creation by his parents. This unique book is intended for all ages. —————Thomas Wallace Craik was born in Warrington, Cheshire, in 1927, and educated at the Boteler Grammer School there, from which he won an Open Exhibition in French and English to Christ's College Cambridge, where he studied under F. R. Leavis and Enid Welsford. He taught English at Leicester University College (later Leicester University), Aberdeen, Dundee and Durham, where he was Professor of English from 1977 until his retirement in 1989. After The Tudor Interlude (1958) and The Comic Tales of Chaucer (1964) he devoted himself chiefly to the critical editing of the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Wendy Ann Craik was born in East Finchley, North London, in 1934, and evacuated to the countryside in World War Two. After receiving a Ph.D. at Leicester University College, supervised by Monica Jones, she worked as a schoolteacher before entering academia. She was Reader in English at Aberdeen University, and Professor of English at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, and has written four books on the nineteenth century novel. Roger Craik was born in Leicester in 1956, and studied at the universities of Reading and Southampton. He teaches English at Kent State University, Ohio.