A Wonder-book for Girls and Boys
by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good/No dust jacket
- Seller
-
Midland, Michigan, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Ticknor, Reed and Fields, 1852. First edition. first issue. Hardcover. Good/No dust jacket. First edition, first issue with ";ifed" misprint on page 21. Original green cloth, with repairs.
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.
Read More: Identifying first editions of A Wonder-book for Girls and Boys
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Details
- Bookseller
- Graver & Pen Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 012385
- Title
- A Wonder-book for Girls and Boys
- Author
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- No dust jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition. first issue
- Publisher
- Ticknor, Reed and Fields
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1852
Terms of Sale
Graver & Pen Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Graver & Pen Rare Books
Biblio member since 2021
Midland, Michigan
About Graver & Pen Rare Books
Online bookseller specializing in literature, general stock
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- 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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