A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales

by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Maxfield Parrish (Illustrator)

Classical myths retold by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the masters of American literature--King Midas with his Golden Touch, Pandora's Box, The Adventure of Hercules in quest of the golden apples, Bellerophon and the Chimaera, Baucis and Philomon, Perseus, and Medusa.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Childrens, Short Stories, Literature

358 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1851

About the author

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial history.

Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged to painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody the next year. He worked at a Custom House and joined a Transcendentalist Utopian community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before returning to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.

Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement and includes novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, the United States President Franklin Pierce.

Reviews

[Tosia Rogala]

Będę czytać swoim dzieciom

[Ана Хелс]

Всички помним мъчителните часове в училище, когато трябваше да запомним десетки гръцки богове, герои и свръхестествени събития, принципно интересни, но не и когато се налага да мъчиш Илиадата и Одисеята в стихотворна форма насред свежо тинейджърско лято, когато последната, ама сериозно последната ти мисъл е за Ахил и Хектор. За радост на образователната система, напоследък е по-скоро фешън да отбираш от древна митология покрай Рик Риърдън и Майкъл Скот, които напъхват легендите в реалността ни, и създават модерната приказка за скритите възможности на принципно почти всяко дете, съчетано с добрата стара история за богове и герои, тъпкали практически родната ни земя някъде около началото на света.

Но не си мислете, че опитите за поднасяне на младите на една суха и академична материя като класическата гръцко-римска митология е нещо, което сме го изнамерили сега. Хоторн е един от онези автори, които са се заели да доставят така досадната информация за безкрайния пантеон от цели и полу-богове под формата на симпатични приказки, издържани с лек готически уклон, и в нормите на доброто английско възпитание, където човекоядните великани просто се държат нелюбезно; герои и чудовища дискутират внимателно различията си, а дори и най-злите владетели не пропускат внимателното отношение към гостите си, ако и същите са пристигнали да ги изколят кротко в сумрака. Няма намеци за мръсотиите на Зевс, подлостта на Хера, наглостта на Хермес – главните герои са основно деца, като мотивацията да бъдат откраднати или наранени е по-скоро невинна, или поне доста лесна за обяснение без изчервяване; а насилието присъства, но в такива рамки, че все пак минава под радара на един викториански цензор, като да не забравяме, че едно време летвата е била малко по-ниска откъм какво е подходящо за доброто настроение на едно подрастващо.

Язон, Херкулес, Персей, Одисей, Тезей, Персефона, Медея, Церцея, Зевс, Хермес, Атина… – за който митологичен образ се сетите, е вече тук, внимателно настанил се за чая в пет, отпиващ от порцеланова чашка с вдигнато пръстче, и отхапващ нежно мини сандвич с краставичка, обсъждайки времето навън. Компания им правят едно ято хлапета, отдадени на безгрижно природосъобразно детство в спокойната английска провинция, а разказвачът е духовно извисен младеж с развинтено въображение, но липсващо уважение към пуританските норми. Повествованието се люлее така застрашително на ръба между приказката и смущаващата история с достатъчно интересен сюжет, че да предизвика полемики дори сега, а не само във времената, когато познанието по древна история и литература се е смятало за признак на висша култура и благородство, и всяко неприлично заиграване с тематиката на извечните митове се е считала за върла простащина, и била подлагана на интелектуално сумтене в доброто общество. Но все пак книгата за старите чудеса на Хоторн си е едно ведро развлечение за почитателите на винтидж литературата, когато думите са правили магията, а не техните вторични значения и обществени тежести на сивото ни ежедневие. Та, знаете си мантрата – забавен подарък за ценители, четете, мислете, радвайте се.

[Cheryl]

Open Library / Project Gutenburg, maybe more-WI

For Boys and Girls / For Girls and Boys - are longer titles of the same book (not followups to the original). Also part of Tales and Sketches, but not sure if any of these have Parrish's illustrations...?
---
MORE had an unillustrated version, and it turns out they're (all? I think so, yes) retellings of Greek myths, so def. I'm only interested in the art by Parrish. (Oct 2023)

[Renee]

Two books in one. There will always be authors who rewrite ancient myths for "today's" children, and this is Hawthorne's attempt. He does it by stripping out the sex, violence, and betrayals that are such a big part of those myths.
A Wonder Book isn't bad. Each myth gets a framing story where Eustice Bright tells stories to a bunch of kids. The stories are short and to the point.
Tanglewood Tales was a different story. Gone are the framing stories. Instead, Eustice shows up at Hawthorne's place with a manuscript of new retellings (so cutesy). The six stories meander on far too long except for the last one which ends so abruptly it feels like Hawthorne hit his word count and just stopped. In "Dragon's Teeth", Europa rides off on a bull (no Zeus here) and out of the story at the start and the rest is a boring basic fairy tale of boys going off to seek their fortunes. "The Pomegranate Seed" has Pluto kidnapping Proserpina to be his innocent playmate and not his wife. Pluto is the king of mines not the Underworld. It's so lifeless if you've ever read the unedited myths.

[Delie Dell Chua]

Was surprised that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote books for children.
These 2 book collection is Arabian nights meet Greek mythology but toned down version.

And instead of Scheherazade weaving tales for Sultan Shahriyar, it was Eustace spending time with his cousins through storytelling.

It’s a recommended classic for young readers who’s interested to know about Greek myths.

[Ellie Thomas]

I enjoyed the creative liberty Hawthorne took with some fairytales/myths; however, I did not agree with his criticism and conclusion about the point of fairytales. It was interesting to see how the beliefs and norms of society and literary movements during the late Enlightenment/Gothic era seeped through though.

[Gillian]

Hoping my grandson will love these tales as much as I did at his age.

[Rebekah Young]

My 7-year-old and I listened to this audiobook together. When it was done, she told me she wanted to listen to it again! My 4-year-old also seemed to enjoy it.

[Anne]

I've read MUCH better versions of these tales. And the narration was TERRIBLE.

[William Dury]

I really should rate this a 3 1/2; anyway…

“Wonder Book”- The Gorgon’s Head, The Golden Touch, The Paradise of Children (Pandora’s Box), The Three Golden Apples, The Miraculous Pitcher, The Chimera

“Tanglewood Tales”- The Minotaur, The Pygmies, The Dragon’s Teeth, Circe’s Palace, The Pomegranate Seeds, The Golden Fleece

I read a copy dated 1930 illustrated by Frederick Richardson, not Maxfield Parrish, although the cover had a Maxfield Parrish at one time. I guess when copyrights lapse you can do whatever you want.

“Once upon a time there lived a very rich man and a king besides, whose name was Midas; and he had a little daughter whom nobody but myself ever heard of, whose name either I never knew or have entirely forgotten,” p 39. The sly sense of humor is a constant and I don’t recall it from “The Scarlet Letter,” but I read “The Scarlet Letter” a long time ago.

[Ris]

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales intend to modernize renditions of Greek legends to the Christian child's taste and understanding. Personally, I think he failed. His retellings stripped the myths of their original meanings and morals in an attempt to "clean them up" and make them suitable for "civilized society." I think what bothered me most was his narrator's interjections, which often stamped out the imaginative properties of these myths by rendering fantastical creatures as a child's misunderstandings of antics retold by a relative. I felt the retellings mocked and insulted the ancient Greek culture without actually retelling or modernizing the myths at all.

[Katy]

Third reading, maybe? Hawthorne is gorgeous always. I never tire of his language. Every child should read these Greek tales "retold" for children for fun, but also to claim knowledge they will need reading literature the rest of their lives. I love the symbolism and parallels to Christianity, though you could read it all secularly and still find it inoffensive and good. It fits well with both upper-elementary and middle-schoolers, and each will glean the text differently. I'd probably read it out loud to anyone younger than 12, unless he were an advanced reader willing to look up some words! How I wish this had a good audio book!

[Maciej D]

Minusy:
- Mało tych najbardziej znanych mitów
- Bardzo długie i złożone zdania.
- Wtrącenia w zdania tak długie, że zapominasz o czym jest zdanie
- Dość słabe dialogi, dość nieumiejętnie napisane
- Nie podobały mi się wstawki z teraźniejszości
Plusy:
+ Odświeżone podejście do mitów
+ Napisane przystępnie dla dzieci

[Pat]

The language is modern for 19th century, the concepts are strangely I don't know what. I was going to put it down when I remembered he wrote the Scarlet Letter, which I remember as being strangely compassionate in a harsh time. The stories have a similar flavor.

[Rachel]

A classic read. Some stories were harder to digest than others. I enjoyed reading some of the classics (King Midas for example) in full length. Some tales were new and intriguing. Some I didn't care for. Overall, I'm glad I read it.

[Literary Lion]

Entertaining intro to mythology for children by one of the greats