Puck of Pook’s Hill is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling. It contains a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It counts both as historical fantasy and contemporary fantasy.
The stories are narrated to two children living near Burwash, East Sussex, England in the area of Kipling’s own house – “Bateman’s, ” by people magically plucked out of history by the elf Puck.
Synopsis: When Dan and Una stage a performance of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a fairy ring, they are astonished by the appearance of Puck in person. He explains that he is the last of the People of the Hills, who started as gods before descending into this world. Puck leads the two children in a series of extraordinary historical adventures in which they meet, Romans, Crusaders, Saxons and Vikings.
Puck calmly concludes the series of stories: ‘Weland gave the Sword, The Sword gave the Treasure, and the Treasure gave the Law. It’s as natural as an oak growing’ and herein lies the magic.
Kipling’s charming songs and verses, including the famous
Smuggler’s Song are placed between each thrilling story. The book is beautifully illustrated by H.R. Millar and Arthur Rackham.
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