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Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, was King of the Franks from 768 until his death in 814. Often married, and father of at least 18 children, Charlemagne gained the mythical status that Bulfinch explores. The stories blur the line between historical events and fictional embellishments and include tales of Charlemagne’s most loyal knights. Themes of love, betrayal, loyalty, and magic are central to these narratives, along with encounters with fantastical creatures and enchanted objects.

This edition of the “Legends of Charlemagne” features cover art, endpapers, title page and 8 color plates designed by N.C. Wyeth, a towering figure in American art who is celebrated for his dramatic contributions to book illustration. His work brings stories to life and has captured the imagination of readers across generations.

Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, was King of the Franks from 768 until his death in 814. Often married, and father of at least 18 children, Charlemagne gained the mythical status that Bulfinch explores. The stories blur the line between historical events and fictional embellishments and include tales of Charlemagne’s most loyal knights. Themes of love, betrayal, loyalty, and magic are central to these narratives, along with encounters with fantastical creatures and enchanted objects.

This edition of the “Legends of Charlemagne” features cover art, endpapers, title page and 8 color plates designed by N.C. Wyeth, a towering figure in American art who is celebrated for his dramatic contributions to book illustration. His work brings stories to life and has captured the imagination of readers across generations.

“Ogier dismounted and took some steps along the stream, but was soon stopped by meeting a young beauty, such as they paint the Graces.”

Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, was King of the Franks from 768 until his death in 814. Often married, and father of at least 18 children, Charlemagne gained the mythical status that Bulfinch explores. The stories blur the line between historical events and fictional embellishments and include tales of Charlemagne’s most loyal knights. Themes of love, betrayal, loyalty, and magic are central to these narratives, along with encounters with fantastical creatures and enchanted objects.

This edition of the “Legends of Charlemagne” features cover art, endpapers, title page and 8 color plates designed by N.C. Wyeth, a towering figure in American art who is celebrated for his dramatic contributions to book illustration. His work brings stories to life and has captured the imagination of readers across generations.

“Legends of Charlemagne,” the third volume of Bulfinch’s Mythology, delves into the legendary tales surrounding a real historical figure, Charles the Great, or Charlemagne (c. 742-814), and his knights. Charlemagne was the King of the Franks and later crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD. He played a crucial role in shaping medieval Europe – he expanded his empire through military conquests, promoted education, and fostered a revival of art, culture, and learning known as the Carolingian Renaissance.

The mythology surrounding him grew over time, largely because of the impact of his reign and the cultural significance of his court. Bulfinch’s “Legends” weave together medieval romances and epic poetry that highlight chivalry, heroism, and mythical adventures. The stories blur the line between historical events and fictional embellishments. They include notable figures such as Roland, one of Charlemagne’s most loyal knights, and tales of their valor, battles, and quests. Themes of love, betrayal, loyalty, and magic are central to these narratives, along with encounters with fantastical creatures and enchanted objects.

Bulfinch’s writing aimed to make mythology and classic literature more accessible to the general reader, and this volume reflects his signature style – rich in detail yet easy to follow. It serves as an engaging introduction to the myths and legends of medieval Europe.

“The country before us was now thronged with buffalo, and a sketch of the manner of hunting them will not be out of place. There are two methods commonly practiced, ‘running’ and ‘approaching.’ The chase on horseback, which goes by the name ‘running,’ is the more violent and dashing mode of the two, that is to say, when the buffalo are in one of their wild moods; for otherwise it is tame enough. A practiced and skillful hunter, well mounted, will sometimes kill five or six cows in a single chase, loading his gun again and again as his horse rushes through the tumult. In attacking a small band of buffalo, or in separating a single animal from the herd and assailing it apart from the rest, there is less excitement and less danger. In fact, the animals are at times so stupid and lethargic that there is little sport in killing them. With a bold and well-trained horse the hunter may ride so close to the buffalo that as they gallop side by side he may touch him with his hand; nor is there much danger in this as long as the buffalo’s strength and breath continue unabated; but when he becomes tired and can no longer run with ease, when his tongue lolls out and the foam flies from his jaws, then the hunter had better keep a more respectful distance; the distressed brute may turn upon him at any instant; and especially at the moment when he fires his gun. The horse then leaps aside, and the hunter has need of a tenacious seat in the saddle, for if he is thrown to the ground there is no hope for him . . .” [Page 312]

“I laid me down flat on my belly on the ground, and began to look for the place.”

“— and no sooner had he the arms in his hands but, as if they had put new vigor into him, he flew upon his murderers like a fury”

“— and then he kneeled down again, kissed the ground, and taking me by the foot, set my foot upon his head.”

“For a mile, or thereabouts, my raft went very well – “

NOTTINGHAM

“Based on the Paul Creswick telling of Robin Hood and drawing from the rich and varied lore surrounding the beloved outlaw, this spirited reworking of Robin Hood’s many adventures is a vibrant introduction to Friar Tuck, Little John, Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and, of course, Robin Hood, the hero whose generosity and sense of justice has captivated readers for eight hundred years.” [Source: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Robin-Hood/Paul-Creswick/S...]

“Their arrows flew together, marvellous shots, each finding its prey.”

Illustration by N. C. Wyeth for the 1917 David McKay edition of “Robin Hood” by Paul Creswick.

“Based on the Paul Creswick telling of Robin Hood and drawing from the rich and varied lore surrounding the beloved outlaw, this spirited reworking of Robin Hood’s many adventures is a vibrant introduction to Friar Tuck, Little John, Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and, of course, Robin Hood, the hero whose generosity and sense of justice has captivated readers for eight hundred years.” [Source: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Robin-Hood/Paul-Creswick/S...]

Robin Hood trains a young archer.

“Based on the Paul Creswick telling of Robin Hood and drawing from the rich and varied lore surrounding the beloved outlaw, this spirited reworking of Robin Hood’s many adventures is a vibrant introduction to Friar Tuck, Little John, Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and, of course, Robin Hood, the hero whose generosity and sense of justice has captivated readers for eight hundred years.” [Source: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Robin-Hood/Paul-Creswick/S...]

“At last he made a dart upon Roger and the chase grew furious. Dishes, plates, covers, pots and pans – all that came in the way of them went flying.”

Illustration by N. C. Wyeth for the 1917 David McKay edition of “Robin Hood” by Paul Creswick.

“The beggar dealt his foe a back-thrust so neatly, so heartily, and so swiftly that Nat was swept off the stage into the crowd as a fly off a table.”

Illustration by N. C. Wyeth for the 1917 David McKay edition of “Robin Hood” by Paul Creswick.

Young Jody Baxter lives with his parents, Ora and Ezra “Penny” Baxter, on a small farm in the animal-filled central Florida backwoods in the 1870s. Jody loves the outdoors and his family and he has wanted a pet for as long as he can remember. His mother says that they barely have enough food to feed themselves, let alone a pet, but he convinces his parents to allow him to adopt a fawn – named Flag – and it becomes his constant companion.

The book focuses on Jody’s life as he matures along with Flag and on Jody’s struggles with strained relationships, hunger, death of beloved friends, and the capriciousness of nature through a catastrophic flood. He experiences tender moments with his family, his fawn, and their neighbors and relatives. Along with his father, he comes face to face with the rough life of a farmer and hunter.

First published in March, 1938, “The Yearling” became the best-selling novel of 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939. It was adapted into a 1946 film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr. (as young Jody), Chill Wills and Forrest Tucker.

Movie Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es3J3nOahnE

From the text on the dustjacket:

In this classic story of the Baxter family of inland Florida and their wild, hard, satisfying life, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings has written one of the great novels of our times. A rich and varied story – tender in its understanding of boyhood, crowded with the excitement of the backwood’s hunt, with vivid descriptions of the primitive, beautiful hammock country, with lusty humor and earthy philosophy – “The Yearling” is a novel for readers of all tastes and ages. Its glowing picture of life that is far and refreshingly removed from modern patterns of living becomes universal in its revelation of simple, courageous people and the abiding beliefs they live by. When the Pulitzer Awards were announced, Lewis Gannett, literary critic of “The New York Herald Tribune,” wrote, “There are few novels more likely to delight succeeding generations than “The Yearling.”

It was natural that N. C. Wyeth, illustrator of so many classics and great modern novels, should create the paintings which embody in living color the land and people of this modern classic. Mr. Wyeth visited Mrs. Rawlings at her orange plantation in Florida where she has lived for the past ten years. He studied the luxurious verdure of the near-by scrub and met the people about whom Mrs. Rawlings wrote in “The Yearling.”

“The people who live on these endless sandy roads,” Mr. Wyeth says, “are as interesting and authentic types of American pioneers, hunters and trappers as I ever saw. I’ve watched ‘gators’ slide into the dark streams, caught a glimpse of a black bear and actually heard the scream of a panther last night. I was standing in one of those ‘bays’ of live oaks and pines. There was a light wind which moved the great festoons of Spanish moss back and forth spectrally, and through this the moonlight poured. The moving shadows made the ground we were standing on writhe and undulate as though it were actually alive. The distant fearful call of that cat added the last touch of blood-chilling accompaniment to the scene.”

“The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path” (1841) was James Fenimore Cooper’s last novel in his “Leatherstocking Tales.” Its 1740-1745 time period makes it the first installment chronologically and in the lifetime of the hero of the “Leatherstocking Tales,” Natty Bumppo (or Hawkeye). The novel’s setting on Otsego Lake in central, upstate New York, is the same as that of “The Pioneers,’ the first of the tales to be published (1823). “The Deerslayer” is considered to be the prequel to the rest of the series. It should have been the opening book, for in that work Natty Bumppo is seen just emerging into manhood as a young hunter among the Delaware Indians; to be succeeded by “The Last of the Mohicans,” “The Pathfinder,” “The Pioneers,” and “The Prairie.” Fenimore Cooper relates the astonishing advance of civilization in New York State, which is the setting of four of the five “Leatherstocking Tales.” “The Deerslayer” is a rousing story of warfare between the Indians and the white settlers around Otsego Lake. [Source: Preface to the Book and Wikipedia]