A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls [Hardcover] Hawthorne, Nathaniel
by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Used
- Acceptable
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Acceptable
- Seller
-
South Lyon, Michigan, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston. hardcover. Acceptable. 0x0x0. 1852; Boston; First edition with "lifed" instead of lifted on page 21; green cloth covered boards; heavy wear; covers are spotted and soiled; gilt titles; both hinges are split; ffep is splitting at top; foxed throughout; all plates present and attached; Interior clean and unmarked; 12mo, 6 3/4" - 7 3/4" Tall; 256 pages
Synopsis
Hawthorne made it his ambition to be a writer as a teenager, he graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine, where poet Longfellow was also a student, and spent several years traveling New England writing short stories before creating The Scarlet Letter. He wrote A Wonder-Book between April and July 1851, freely adapting six legends from Charles Anton's A Classical Dictionary . He set out deliberately to 'modernize' the stories, freeing them from 'cold moonshine' and using a romantic, readable style. This was criticized by adults but proved universally popular with children. The stories in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys are all stories within a story. The frame being that a Williams College student, Eustace Bright, is telling these tales to a group of children at Tanglewood, an area in Lenox, Massachusetts, where Hawthorne lived for a time. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys covers the myths of: The Gorgon's Head - the story of Perseus killing Medusa at the request of the king of the island, Polydectes. The Golden Touch - the story of King Midas and his "Golden Touch". The Paradise of Children - the story of Pandora opening the box filled with all of mankind's Troubles. The Three Golden Apples - the story of Heracles procuring the Three Golden Apples from the Hesperides' orchard, with the help of Atlas. The Miraculous Pitcher - the story of Baucis and Philemon providing food and shelter to two strangers who were Zeus and "Quicksilver" (Hermes) in disguise. Baucis and Philemon were rewarded by the gods for their kindness; they were promised never to live apart from one another. The Chimæra - the story of Bellerophon taming Pegasus and killing the Chimæra.
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Details
- Bookseller
- A Squared Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- SKU1100677
- Title
- A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls [Hardcover] Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Author
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston
- Size
- 0x0x0
- Weight
- 1.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
A Squared Books
Unconditional return for 7 days after receipt. Purchase price refunded. If book not as described, purchase price and shipping fee is refunded.
About the Seller
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Foxed
- Foxing is the age related browning, or brown-yellowish spots, that can occur to book paper over time. When this aging process...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Acceptable
- A non-traditional book condition description that generally refers to a book in readable condition, although no standard exists...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- FFEP
- A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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