Most sequels stink. A lot. George MacDonald, the first fantasy master, managed to buck that trend with the sequel to "The Princess and the Goblin," with "The Princess and Curdie." If anything, this book is even better than the first -- a bit more mature, a little bit darker, but with the same haunting prose and likeable characters.

In the time since the defeat of the goblins, Curdie has gone back to his life as a miner. Unfortunately he also begins to stray from the pure actions he showed in the first book, pushing aside thoughts of Princess Irene's grandmother and trying to convince himself that the more supernatural events of "Goblin" were just imagination. Until he needlessly wounds a pigeon with his bow and arrow, and takes it to the stately, mysterious Grandmother.

As Curdie regains his innocence and his faith, the Lady sends him on a quest, with a weird doglike creature called Lina who was once a human. She also (by having him stick his hands into burning roses) makes his hands able to feel a person's soul when he touches them, if a person is "growing into a beast" on the inside. Now Curdie and Lina set off for the capital, where Irene's father is physically ill, and falling prey to the scheming of his sinister officials.

If the first book was Irene's, then this book is undeniably Curdie's. The focus is on him almost constantly through the book, and it's his internal struggles that we are fascinated by. Every person (well, most of them, anyway) eventually loses their childlike faith and innocence, as Curdie has begun to do at the beginning. He's naturally a more skeptical person than Irene, and so time begins to fade whatever he thought he saw; also, being "one of the guys" in the mine requires a seemingly more mature attitude. But with the loss of innocence also goes some of the faith and internal beauty, and so MacDonald brings Curdie back to the gentle, trusting kid he was in the first book.

The Lady (also known as Irene's great-great-great-grandmother, Lady of the Silver Moon, and Mother Wotherwop -- don't ask about the last one) is also a more prominent figure. She's still both maternal and supernaturally distant, very warm while also seeming to know everything. Precisely who and what she is remains a mystery, but we see more of her subtle, awe-inspiring powers here.

The writing is, as the first book was, immensely dreamy and haunting. MacDonald let rip with the surreally beautiful descriptions of the Lady's room and appearances, and of scenes like Curdie sticking his hands into the rose petals. Like in "Princess and the Goblin," the plot takes awhile to get moving, but it's so well-written that you probably won't notice.

"The Princess and Curdie" is currently harder to find than the first book, which strikes me as a little odd. (Especially since this duology is just screaming to be compiled in one book) But anyone who enjoyed the first book, or even just enjoys a gorgeously-written fantasy, will definitely want to get this sequel.

'The Princess and Curdie' is a superb sequel to the brilliant children's fantasy 'The Princess and the Goblin'. In both books, MacDonald displays his incredible talent as a story-teller for children, by crafting a tale that makes great reading aloud material for children. Curdie, a miner's son, is sent by a magical princess on an urgent quest to save the king and his kingdom. His companion is Lina, an ugly monster of a dog who proves to be a steadfast, powerful and courageous companion. Curdie discovers that evil and wickedness threaten to overthrow the good kingdom of the king and his daughter Irene, and it is only when Curdie and Lina escape perils and dangers and marshal together the forces of good that the dangers can be overcome.

In the process of telling the story, MacDonald entertains a few curious notions rather surprising for a Christian. Especially surprising are the ideas of a mountain being bubbles of heat thrust from the center of the earth (p.2), and the earth being a cooled body that flew off the sun (p.3) ' ideas more akin to evolutionary thinking than Christian faith in the Biblical teaching about creation. This book is also somewhat different from 'The Princess and the Goblin' on a literary level, because in this book MacDonald's story-telling at times employs vocabulary and sentence structure that is overly complex for children, and at times he waxes overly philosophical.

But those weaknesses aside, it's a thrilling and captivating story of an exciting quest, enhanced by deeper underlying Christian themes. MacDonald describes the king as 'a real king ' that is, one who ruled for the good of his people and not to please himself.' (p.5). True citizens of this kingdom, such as Curdie's parents, are those who 'always loved what was fair and true and right better, not than anything else, but than everything else put together.' (p.35) In contrast there are many false citizens who have open doors but closed hearts, and who live a life of wickedness, chiefly characterized by lying, drinking, stealing and unkindness. These seeds of corruption also contain the seeds of destruction, and threaten to overthrow the kingdom. The morality is clear and solidly Christian.

Particularly fascinating is the concept that all humans are either noble human beings, or else slowly turning into animals on the inside. By putting his hands into a magical fire, Curdie is given the ability to perceive the inner layer of man by means of a handshake: 'you will henceforth be able to know at once the hand of a man who is growing into a beast.' (p.73) One cannot help but wonder if MacDonald has too much faith in human nature, since he does not spell out that it is only the regenerating Spirit that makes a heart true and noble. But the underlying truth is valid: all men's hearts are inclined to be beastly because of sin, but by the grace of God some hearts are changed to be noble and truly human. It echoes the truth of the teaching of Jesus Christ: where your heart is, there your treasure is, and ultimately you cannot serve both God and Mammon. Those who are overwhelmed by wickedness and by love of Mammon, are eventually destroyed, whereas those with a pure heart and love of God establish the kingdom of righteousness. The pessimism of the final ending raises many questions, but perhaps can be best explained as a growing wickedness among men leading to a complete and final judgment, similar to the flood and the end of the world. MacDonald's tale is in the end very reminiscent of the Biblical pattern of the Judges and Kings: in times of wickedness, God raised up judges and kings to ensure the establishment of a kingdom where justice and righteousness reigned.

Just as in the 'The Princess and the Goblin', Irene's great-great-grandmother plays a central and decisive role. She is also known as 'The Mother of Light', 'the Lady of the Silver Moon' and less affectionately as 'Old Mother Wotherwop'. MacDonald attributes to her both omniscience ' 'I am always about' ' and a measure of omnipotence (p.53). She is the Light that guides the way in darkness (p.50), and she it is who commissions Curdie for his quest and ensures its success.

These timeless tales contain enduring truths, as well as delightful stories. What they've done for over 100 years is something that they are still doing today - pleasing imaginative children and adults with a tale of lasting significance.

George MacDonald has the gift of expressing a deep theological idea through the form of a story.I grew up with his fairy stories,as a Adult,I am still affected by the skillful and beautiful portrayal of the quest for wisdom of a pure heart.The Princess and Curdie,is a story of just that.Curdies own journey is a story of the Christian walk and if one wishes can learn much from it.Do not get the idea that The Princess and Curdie is dull however!This book pays tribute to George MacDonalds fantastic imagination,as a child and as an "grownup" once picked up this book is difficult to put down.Perhaps the deepest things are also the most interesting.

A truly powerful story the first time I read it was this year for U.E English. As a child of Maori lineage it fits right into being part of my culture. But mostly I found this novel both enjoyable and interesting, with a backdrop set in the early 1950's in the small rural community of Waituhi just a half hour outside of Gisbourne. Of a family who lived toegether with a christian basis and yet ruled over by a satirical rouge of a dictator type character. Tamihana Mahana better known through the novel as 'Bulibasha' just as his title suggests, Tamihana is a controversial character you found God or was rather found by God while in a field. The Lord's messenger in the form of a 'european angel' uses the typical contrast of the early Maori attitude of 'mistrust' as a basis for Tamihana's first encounter with the almighty. Suggesting that he was never truly a religious man until well, he 'wrestled' with an angel who was sent forth to bring him a message. Quite similar to Joseph and Mary being given a heavinly message from above. Tamihana use the biblical in a negative terminology, using the teachings of the bible to subjugate his 'own' seeds of the sown. His family, except Tamihana is no saint. Raping his wife 'Ramona' and kidnapping her from her engagement and impending marriage to her truelove Rupeni Poata at the tender age of seventeen. Tamihana is a literal 'monster' with little feelings and a typical selfishness and arrogance of his own strengths. Fantastic in the sporting arena, he had trophys from various sporting exploits, from rugby to track and field events. He is the borne athlete.

But even physical strength only takes one so far as Tamihana like many young Maori prior to the 1950's did not complete his schooling in 'school' raised on a farm, he may have exceeded in the sports lifestyle but he falls second intellectually as he grows older with a ripening Ramona giving birth to three sons in less than four years. Tamihana develops a nasty adversity to education, refusing to approve of any such form. In a changing world when european ideals transformed much if early Maori lifestyles and values through a changing period of early New Zealand History, Witi Ihimaera had superbly captured and set his story of Bulibasha.

With a Maori man of Tamihana's stature expressing many of the common views and attitudes of the traditional Maori values, yet Tamihana as a character though physically strong and content in a world he can mould and shape with his hands as a shearer, he is doomed for the future. Where Maori would have to change and adapt to survive.

Tamihana meets his match in the youngest grandson Simoen Mahana, a rebellious youth. Who is the exact opposite of Bulibasha, the 'new-age' against the 'old-age'. He is a representation of the 'next-generation' striving for an identity in one topsy-turvy world of mixed traditions and culture.

He is proud, honourable and educated. Simeon goes to school educates himself and is a threat and seen as little more than a kennel-dog by his grandfather the oppressor in the novel.

He works his tail off at the family homestead, cleaning, baby-sitting, butchering meat and the usual farm duties. From a rural family with a sheraing history, Simeon wants something more for himself and his own family's futures. Seeking education above the domestic-labour of his grandfather's lifestyles.

Bulibasha, is a complex novel that touches many heartstrings from being comical to serious and tear-streaking it is a masterpiece of Maori literature that I am proud to have read and digested.

My compliments to Witi Ihimaera on yet anither award winning best seller that touches the mind, the heart and the soul with each and every word.

I loved this book. As an American living in Auckland, New Zealand, I wanted to read some fiction by New Zealand authors. Now that I have read Bulibasha, I am working my way through Ihimaera's other books.

"Bulibasha" is a fascinating novel about two feuding Maori clans, told by the grandson of the patriarch of the Mahana clan. It is a brilliant portrayl of Maori family life in the 1950's. I won't give away any more. A must read for anyone interested in New Zealand, and a great read for anyone! It is required reading in our household.

Great Maori story on courage, standing up against authority and leadership.

King George III of England was a tyrant. Thomas Jefferson said so when he wrote the Declaration of Independence and that was why we had the American Revolution and the rest was history. Except that most elementary school American History textbooks have very little to saw about King George III, a defect that Jean Fritz seeks to correct in this comic but historical view of the famous tyrant. Young readers will learn that King George III collected clocks and ate sauerkraut (the house of Hanover hailed from Germany after all), became a king when he was only twenty-two, married Princess Charlotte and had sixteen children, and tried to be a frugal monarch when it came to managing the money of his country (they are some very interesting examples of how he did this). Consequently, Fritz gives his readers an entirely different view of the taxation (without representation) that was a key catalyst for American independence.

"Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?" is one of a series of books by Fritz that teach young students about the major figures and events of the American Revolution (e.g., "Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?", "Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?). There are historical facts and easy humor in equal measure in this volume, but I think that the most important aspect of the book remains that it gives us the British perspective on the American war for independence. There is also a footnote about the King's problems with porphyria, which will be important if young readers are interested enough in the life of this kill to check out the film version of "The Madness of King George," the only film to feature George III in a prominent role. This book has pictures by Tomie De Paola in keeping with the tone of the book, which shows that even if George III was a tyrant, that did not mean he was a bad person. After all, this was a king who made buttons.

I learned all kinds of things about King George, Queen Charlotte and others. It really helped me with my research on the Revolutionary war. In this book you get to learn the funny things about King George and things that happened during his time.

Jean Fritz has created many fabulous books for children. "Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?" is one of my favorites. It shows the beginning of the American Revolution from the eyes of King George. The book is humerous and historically correct. Kids and adults will enjoy reading it together!

Outstanding Bible. Loaded with information to help people in various crisis situations. Very importantly, this Bible provides lots of scripture so that people in these situations can turn to several places in the Bible and see how God delivered those in similar situations. This Bible is also great for pastors, lay counselors, and others who desire to help people build a spiritual foundation as they address their life issues.

This Bible is a great asset to anyone in a counseling ministry. Articles about specific counseling issues such as raising children, divorce recovery, sexual abuse, guilt, eating disorders, and many more are included in the text. Even more numerous are the "soul notes" interspersed throughout the text. These notes explain how certain verses pertain to the counseling topics. Another outstanding feature of the Bible is the extensive index which enables the reader to locate the articles, soul notes and verses about a given topic. Definitely a wonderful version of the Bible.

Covers a wide variety of topics which a lay counselor might encounter. Format is easy to follow and very effective at getting the point across. Great resource for anyone wanting to help people.

This book was written in response to French monarchy's slaughter of some 30,000 French Huguenots. As it best translates from Latin, it is a vindication of opposition to tyrants and a Biblical defense of the right of revolution or rebellion to a corrupt king/leader. If you want to understand the covenant origins of the American polity and the influence of Biblical, Puritanical or Calvinistic political thought on the American founders, than this book is worth a read.

This is a very valuable historical piece in the struggle for liberty... Secularists have deemphasized the signficance of this tract's influence in the American Revolution, because of an affinity for the humanistic enlightenment.

This book was even more influencial than Thomas Payne's Common Sense, in molding the American mind and preparing it for the war for independence. Much of our Declaration of Independence reflects its wisdom and thought. Written in by a French Huguenot to give Biblical and civil justification for fighting against a government that was illegally killing it own people during the relgious wars on France between 1540s-late 1700. A must reading for those who want to understand religious and political history of Europe, or want to better understand the Biblical justification sought by our own founding fathers in their fight for independence. A must read!

I loved this book. It offers so much concrete proof on the subject of UFOs and visitors from space. It is hard to ignore the evidence. It is really simply written and the kind of book you can quote to people.

I was fascinated by this book. I have always been interested in the concept of advanced intelligences living on the other planets and visiting mankind. However, this book gives evidence which is very convincing. It also explains that there is a huge Cosmic plan of which we are part that really makes sense. I think anyone who thinks about things would be interested in reading this book: it really is unusual but very believable.

It makes you re-live, one-by-one, all those magical moments from the best baseball team ever (125-50).

Let me just say that I picked it up and it was awsome! I didn't put it down, and know, a year after it happened, it still remains one book that I will re-read untile I basiclly knew it from memory!

I am not an avid reader but i read this book for school. I love the yankees and i loved this book. It was very fast reading and i would recomend it to everyone. Yankees Rule!

This book is not only beautifully written and perfect for all ages, "The Princess and the Goblin" is also morally strong and uplifting. Children of either sex will be interested in it, with a loving and beautiful grandmother, a strong and intelligent young girl, and a young boy who is intent on protecting his loved ones and uncovering the evil goblin plot. I have read this countless times, and each time I discover something new. The sequel, "The Princess and Curdie," is also worth reading. I love this book!

So you love C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles? There people who don't are few and far between. One of the biggest influences on C.S. Lewis was this man, George MacDonald (1824-1905). It was MacDonald's talent for telling fairy stories that inspired Lewis in writing his own. Like Lewis, MacDonald has a remarkable ability to tell a delightful and enchanting story for children, layered with strong Christian themes and imagery by means of allegory and symbols. 'The Princess and the Goblin' is one of his most beloved works for children, and an excellent introduction to his style and success.

'The Princess and the Goblin' features a heroine ' a princess called Irene ' and a hero ' a simple miner's son called Curdie. While working overtime in the mines to earn money to buy his mother a red petty-coat, Curdie chances upon the goblins who live in the mountain, and discovers that they are hatching an evil plot against the king and his palace. Meanwhile the princess makes a discovery of her own ' high in the castle she finds a wonderful old lady who is her great-great-grandmother. The problem is, nobody else knows of her grandmother, and nobody believes her. But the princess does believe, and it is by her faith in her grandmother and the magic thread that she receives from her, that she is able to rescue Curdie. Together they rescue the entire palace from disaster at the hands of the goblins.

In telling the story, MacDonald has an enchanting conversational style, wonderfully suitable for reading aloud to enraptured children ' an ability perfecting in telling stories to his own eleven children. But 'The Princess and the Goblin' is more than just a story. Before pursuing a literary career, MacDonald was a Congregationalist minister, and so integrates important underlying Christian themes. Believing in the great-great-grandmother despite the fact that many cannot see her, is a symbol of believing in God. MacDonald uses this to show how the Christian faith involves believing without seeing, and that not everyone has to 'see' something for it to be true. The grandmother's lamp and magic thread are the guides on which the princess must depend, much like the Word which is a lamp on our path. It may sound tacky, but it works.

Children are not likely to grasp the deeper underlying themes that MacDonald is working with. Nonetheless the story has a clear message for children. The clear conflict between the royal powers of light against the goblin powers of darkness is unmistakable. Moreover, the princess is presented as a model of virtue, and MacDonald frequently asserts the importance of moral virtues such as always telling the truth, keeping your word, and admitting your faults ' moral virtues that are equally important for princes and princesses of God's kingdom. Courage, honesty, grace, dignity and beauty are timeless ideals for children of all times to strive for. If you love Narnia, you're sure to like this one, and you'll find yourself quickly grabbing the sequel, 'The Princess and Curdie.' 'The Princess and the Goblin' was one of J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood favorites, highly regarded by C.S. Lewis, described by W.H. Auden as 'the only English children's book in the same class as the Alice books', and generally considered as a classic example of nineteenth century children's literary fairy tales. So if you haven't yet read this book, it's about time you did. With admirers such as Tolkien, Lewis and Auden, if you become a MacDonald's admirer you'll find yourself in good company!

I cant believe I haven't read this untill now, its such a great book! A princess lives in a castle all her life, never knowing of the great dangers that go on in the mountain. One day(being about 7 years old) she finds a stairway in her house that she has never seen and it leads her to her great, great grandmother. After she meets her grandmother she is shown the dangers of the goblins and meets a boy named Curdie who mines in the mountain with his father. Throughout the book Curdie and the princess have many encounters with the goblins. This is a great book I highly recommend it for readers of all ages.

"Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" literally had me writhing. At least my toes curled and I kept saying, "Ouch," as chapter after chapter critiqued yet another one of my cherished writing habits ('Tom Swifties' for one). I have two suggestions for potential readers: (1) bypass "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" completely if you have a delicate ego; (2) if you do read it, stock up on several different colors of magic markers and keep your manuscript nearby. It will soon be streaming with color.

Renni Browne and Dave King also explain why self-editing, "is probably the only kind of editing your manuscript will ever get." Many publishing houses have eliminated the tedious step of editing a promising manuscript to bring it up to its full potential. If they like it coming in the door, the manuscript is published 'as is'!

I'm sorry, Renni and Dave. I had to use an exclamation point to end that last sentence. Your book explains why I've been struggling through so many bloated fantasy novels, lately. The editors who used to take a red pencil to them are now gone missing, probably in the interests of 'cost cutting'. And if there is anyone out there who still believes fantasy novels do get edited, read "Rhapsody: Child of Blood" by Elizabeth Haydon.

"Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" is not just for the unpublished. The authors take examples of bad dialogue mechanics or second-hand reporting right out of the classics and show us how to rectify them. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and P.D. James all take their lumps in this book, and once you've seen how Renni and Dave improve these authors' paragraphs, you will probably agree with them (I did). You also get to practice on "The Great Gatsby" yourself in one of the exercises that follows the chapter on "Dialogue Mechanics".

Each chapter except the last in "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" has a checklist that you can take to your own manuscript. I used all eleven of the checklists on mine, and all I can say is, thank God for the 'cut and paste feature' in word processors. This novel of mine originally started out on a typewriter, and I would have been forced to commit hara-kiri if I'd read this book before 'cut and paste' was invented.

Seriously, this is a most helpful book for would-be 'published' authors of fiction. I'll give it five stars for now, but I'm going to hack in to Amazon.com and up its rating to seventeen stars if I actually do get published. Right now, I've got a few more changes to make to my manuscript....

A lot of succesful published authors could learn from this book. It's written by two gifted editors who worked for major publishing houses and edited writers like Erica Jong and Sol Stein. I'm a professional writer (nonfiction)and writing teacher with a master's in language arts and I learned more about writing fiction from this text than any other source. It can't give you what you don't have in the way of ideas or talent, but it can make your writing much better and help you avoid the kinds of 'errors' (or weaknesses, shortcomings, and distractions where the author gets in the way of the story) that authors like Jane Smily, Le Carre,and Ruth Rendell DON'T make but that some popular writers I've really enjoyed (like Mary Higgins Clark and Ridley Pearson) DO sometimes make. Applying Browne and King's techniques has made my fiction so much stronger and given me answers to questions I've had for years about how to show characters' emotions without 'telling,' how to handle attributions and 'beats,' and other points of craft that can be learned. This is a wonderfully written, succinct, even brilliant book from people who really know what they're talking about. If my novel gets published it will be in large part because of the editing and final polish I was able to give it after studying this book. The first two editors and one agent I have approached want to read more chapters, and I think that's because of the improvements SELF EDITING showed me how to make.

After you've written the best story you possibly can and you're ready to send it to an agent- read this book and go back to the drawing board. Don't let the comic book illustrations fool you, this is a serious writing tool. The examples and techniques given by Renni Browne and Dave King in SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS are priceless. It will highlight the amateur mistakes unwittingly made by many first-time authors, which are screaming red flags to agents and an acquisitions editor. Your manuscript will then gain that extra mark of professionalism. The distinction between a first draft and a story they want to see published. I found the chapter on characterization and exposition most beneficial. I learn something new about my growth as a writer and areas I can excel each time I read it. I consider it to be as valuable a reference as my dictionary or thesaurus. I hope to see more collaborative efforts from professionals in the field of editing and publishing for the benefit of writers in the future that are as easy to understand and readily applicable.

This was a play first published in 1593, with the theme of King Edward's struggle against the Welsh prince Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, otherwise known as Llewelyn the Last. Llewelyn was a prince of Gwynedd who adopted the style Prince of Wales in 1258 and was formally recognised in this role by King Henry III at the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Edward I became King of England in 1272 but it was only on his return from the Crusades in 1274 that he had to confront the problem of Wales. In 1277 he invaded Wales and Llewelyn was forced to pay homage. Several years of comparative peace followed but hatred of English laws and settlers caused the Welsh to rise again in 1282. The king crushed the revolt and Llewelyn was killed. These events prompted a Welsh bard to ask "Is this the end of the world?" and another to yearn "Ah God, that the sea would drown the land!".

Llewelyn is rarely mentioned in English literature so I read the play with interest. This edition is edited by the late G. K Dreher who wrote an interesting introduction and modernized the spelling and punctuation. I did not expect to find new historical insights into Llewelyn but was interested to see how he was portrayed to an Elizabethan audience. In fact, George Peele is surprisingly sympathetic in his presentation of the man who posed such a threat to the English crown. As Dreher points out, the play was written for an audience of people who "under Elizabeth were enjoying health, expansion, new knowledge, relish and hope". They were citizens of a country in the midst of becoming a great power and enjoying a cultural renaissance. Peele knew that they would sympathize with King Edward's desire to unite Britain under one monarch but would also respect the motives of the Welshman who fought for the rights and dignity of his own people.

Although practically unknown today, George Peele was highly respected by his literary contemporaries. He was an Oxford "Maister of Artes" and the play contains a sprinkling of the Latin tags and classical allusions that we expect from an educated writer of his time but my own favourite passage is a homely one:

(The Friar's novice responds to his master's command to visit town in order to buy food and wine)
"Now, master as I am true wag,
I will be neither late nor lag,
But go and come with gossip's cheer
Ere Gib our cat can lick her ear ."

This new edition of the play published by the Iron Horse Free Press in Texas.

George Peele's King Edward the First Modernized & Illustrated

Peele, George. King Edward the First. Ed. G. K. Dreher. Midland, TX: Iron Horse Free Press, 1999;
ISBN: 0-9601000-7-5 (hardcover, 224 pages with illustrations).

The publication history of George Peele's chronicle play, Edward I, begins in 1593, as the Stationers' Company register tells us:

Die Octobris./. [1593] Entred for his Copie vnder thandes of bothe the wardens an enterlude entituled the Chronicle of Kinge Edward the firste surnamed Longeshank with his Retourne out of the Holye Lande, with the lyfe of Leublen Rebell in Wales with the sinkinge of Quene Elinour [.]

Alternately called Longshank, Longshanks, and Prince Longshank, Peele's Edward I was performed fourteen times by the Lord Admiral's Men between August 29, 1595, and July 14, 1596. The play's successful stage history occasioned the printing of a second edition, which appeared in 1599.

At least eleven modern editions have been published since R. Dodsley's 1827 text, the most recent of which is: King Edward the First, a retroform edited by G. K. Dreher, published by Iron Horse Free Press. Publisher George R. Dreher, son of G. K. Dreher, notes that the "aim of this edition is to provide . . . a few unriddles in the text, modern spelling and punctuation, and an introduction for readers who are not familiar with the play." Partly a celebration of Peele's life and works and partly a tribute to Dreher's father's scholarship, the volume brings together G. K. Dreher's previous editions of Peele's Edward I (Adams Press, 1974) and David and Bethsabe (Adams Press, 1980). The new edition also includes an introduction, a commentary, and 23 images: 8 medieval illustrations from the British Library, plus 1 each from the Public Records Office, Eton College, and the Beinecke Rare Book Collection (featured in Edward I); 12 illustrations from museums around the world by the artists Raphael, Michelangelo, Salviati, Rembrandt, Chapron, Berton, Beckmann, Picasso, and Chagall (featured in David and Bethsabe). Together these components fashion a useful volume for a general reading audience; indeed, this text does more than any previous edition to popularize Peele's work. Although not a critical edition, the book will perhaps be most valuable as a teaching text for undergraduate studies.

George Peele (1556-96), born in London, was one of the principal writers of chronicle history plays in the Elizabethan literary movement, which culminated in Shakespeare's Henry IV plays and Henry V. Peele was educated at Christ's Hospital, Broadgates Hall (Pembroke College), and Christ Church, Oxford where he won praise as a translator of one of the Iphigenias of Euripides. In 1580 Peele married Anne Cooke, daughter of an Oxford merchant. With Ann he returned to the environs of London in 1581 where he pursued an active literary career in association with the "University Wits", a group of playwrights that included John Lyly, Robert Greene, Thomas Lodge, Thomas Nashe, Christopher Marlowe, and Thomas Watson. Peele's works concern courtly and patriotic themes and can be classified according to three main categories: plays, pageants, and miscellaneous verse. In 1589, in a vitriolic preface to Greene's Menaphon, Nashe suspends his condemnation of most late-sixteenth-century English writers to praise Peele as the "chiefe supporter of pleasance now living, the Atlas of Poetrie, and primus verborum Artifex" who "goeth a steppe beyond all that write." In 1592 Greene considered him "no lesse deserving" than Marlowe and Nashe; "in some things rarer, in nothing inferiour." Peele's surviving plays are: The Araygnement of Paris (1584); Edward I (1593); The Battle of Alcazar (1594); The Old Wives' Tale (1595); and David and Fair Bethsabe (1599). His miscellaneous verse includes The Tale of Troy (1589), Polyhymnia (1590) and The Honour of the Garter (1593), an epideictic poem to the Earl of Northumberland. Excerpts from Peele's writings were first anthologized in 1600 in Englands Helicon and Englands Parnassus.

Peele's Edward I combines three narratives, each announced by the original text's full title: the Chronicle of Kinge Edward the firste surnamed Longeshank with his Retourne out of the Holye Lande, with the lyfe of Leublen Rebell in Wales with the sinkinge of Quene Elinour. Peele derives the first story, the return from the Holy Land of King Edward I (1272-1307), from at least four different chronicles, but chiefly those of Grafton and Holinshed. Peele shapes his account of the life of Llywelyn (?-1282) from popular tales of Robin Hood. The third story is an unhistorical account of Queen Elinor portrayed as a divinely judged murderess. Peele subordinates the second and third narratives under the first in order to frame the play's central plot of Edward's glorious military victories over the Scots and Welsh, especially his devastating campaigns of 1277 and 1282-83 in which he conquered the Welsh principality of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.

Edward I resounds with nationalistic pride at a time when England's victory, in 1588, over the Spanish Armada continued to fuel public celebrations. Edward's first speech in the play, for example, invokes a providential design for England's history:

O God my God, the brightnes of my daye,

How oft haft thou preferu'd thy feruant fafe, By fea and land, yea in the gates of death, O God to thee how highly am I bound, For fetting me with thefe on Englifh ground?

G. K. Dreher's modern edition standardizes the text's spelling, punctuation, and stage directions, thus achieving a very readable version:

O God, my God, the brightness of my day, How oft hast thou preserved thy servant safe, By sea and land, yea in the gates of death. O God, to thee how highly am I bound For setting me with these on English ground.

This latest return of Longeshank will certainly contribute to George Peele's popular reputation as one of the most important chronicle playwrights in Elizabethan England. In addition to Peele's Edward I, Iron Horse Free Press currently offers three other books by G. K. Dreher: Samuel Huntington, Longer Than Expected (an illustrated essay on the Presidency of Samuel Huntington, first president of The United States in Congress Assembled); Now the Dog is Quiet (a novella written in opposition to world hunger); and Ourselves & One Other (a collection of Christian devotional meditations).

Author George Peele was in a group of London playwrights, precursory to Shakespeare, known as the "university wits" as were Marlowe, Lyly, Nashe, and Greene. In 1587 Thomas Nashe called Peele "The chief supporter of pleasance now living, the Atlas of poetry, and primum verborum artifex (most excellent artist of words)," and "one who goeth a step beyond all that write." Editor George Kelsey, through extensive research of primary sources at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, has provided a retroform of KING EDWARD I, solving several riddles in the text that he discusses in the 43 page introduction covering Chronicle History Plays, Sources, Structure, Theme, Characterization, and Diction. In the special insert of DAVID AND BETHSABE (SAMPLES) Dreher juxtaposes Peele's verse with parallel Bible passages from the 1525 translation by Miles Coverdale and demonstrates that Peele worked directly from the Latin and used as sources the Psalms as well as Samuel II. Dreher offers a 35 page discussion of Peele's viewpoint, emotional involvement, and style. The book is 6 x 9, 224 pp., with color printed case, 20 illustrations from the finest museums around the world, a Foreword, Introduction, Comments, and Bibliography.