Illustrated Faerie Queene

The Faerie Queene, one of the enduring works of poetry, is a magical and fabulous epic—a masterpiece of English literature which has enchanted readers for centuries with its romantic and moral tales of love and adventure: Here for the first time this great English classic is presented in a sparkling, eminently readable. modern prose adaptation. In this sumptuous tale. chivalry, folklore, knighthood, and legend flourish at their most appealing and fascinating. Among the fantastic cast of characters are Queen Gloriana's wandering knights, the gallant Prince Arthur, damsels, monsters, sirens, and other incredible characters.

Lavishly illustrated with wonderful drawings and paintings from the Elizabethan period, The Faerie Queene comes delightfully alive in this illuminating version. The best and most exciting elements of heroic fantasy and the original sensuous flavor of the text are retained in this edition. What is more, with this adaptation. The Faerie Queene is for the first time accessible to a large twentieth-century audience.

Edmund Spenser, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, lived during the second half of the sixteenth century, and was considered the greatest English poet of his time. His poetry glorified England and the English language, just as Virgil glorified Rome and Latin in his epic, the Aeneid. Spenser personally presented the first portion of The Faerie Queene to Queen Elizabeth.

Today Spenser is widely studied as one of the chief inspirations of the English literary Renaissance, the golden age of English poetry, and he is considered a master who embodied in exciting poetic myth a view of moral excellence in a Christian universe.

Behind the rich tapestry of the narrative lies Spenser's threefold wish: to write an epic to rival those of ancient Greece and Rome, to "fashion a gentleman in virtuous and gentle discipline..." and to pay homage to Queen Elizabeth and celebrate the magnificence of her long and splendorous reign. Like his contemporaries, Spenser believed passionately that the poet had the high calling to instruct in moral values and ideal behavior and to do so through delighting his readers. But the author of The Faerie Queene was no romantic innocent. He was very much a man of his time and enjoyed the friendship of such brilliant luminaries as Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Walter Raleigh. He also spent many years in the Queen's diplomatic service in strife-torn and rebellious Ireland.

The majesty and color of the stories and their historical and moral significance makes this splendid edition a joy for readers of all ages, especially devotees of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ursula le Guin, and other writers of fantasy. The Illustrated Faerie Queene includes a special glossary, index, and introduction.

Douglas Hill is literary editor of the London weekly magazine, "Tribune." He was born and educated in Canada and has been a resident of England for eighteen years. Hill has contributed articles to the "New Statesman," the "Times Literary Supplement," and many other publications. His previous books include John Keats, The English to New England, Coyote the Trickster, and The Exploits of Hercules.

—from the dust jacket