A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys

Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

Series Everyman's Library Children's Classics Series

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Six legends of Greek mythology, retold for children by Nathaniel Hawthorne, with illustrations by Arthur Rackham

In 1838, Hawthorne suggested to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that they collaborate on a story for children based on the legend of the Pandora’s Box, but this never materialized. He wrote A Wonder Book between April and July 1851, adapting six legends most freely from Charles Anton’s A Classical Dictionary (1842). He set out deliberately to “modernize” the stories, freeing them from what he called “cold moonshine” and using a romantic, readable style that was criticized by adults but proved universally popular with children.

Included are “The Gorgon’s Head,” “The Golden Touch,” “The Paradise of Children,” “The Three Golden Apples,” “The Miraculous Pitcher,” and “The Chimaera,” with…

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1805–64) was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and graduated from Bowdoin College. His first novel, Fanshawe, was published anonymously in 1828, followed by several collections of short stories, including Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an Old Manse. His later novels include The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, and The Marble Faun.