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The book introduces readers to two collections of English fairy tales by the famous writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) — "Puck of Pook's Hill" and "Rewards and Fairies." The texts of all twenty-three fairy tales are presented in the translation of Irina Gavrilovna Gurowa. Along with "The Jungle Book," these English tales are among Kipling's most famous works. The publication is adorned with illustrations by the talented Scottish graphic artist Harold Robert Millar (1869–1942).
We are familiar with many literary characters created by Rudyard Kipling since childhood. It is no exaggeration to say that Mowgli, the wolf Akela, the panther Bagheera, the bear Baloo, the Bandar-log monkeys, the elephant Hathi, the Cat that walked by itself, the mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and other characters became the inheritance of all humanity. It is no coincidence that Kipling became the first Englishman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He began writing early, while still at a private Devon school, where his parents sent him in the hope that this educational institution would serve as a springboard for Rudyard's admission to the military academy. Kipling did not become an officer, but the world gained a talented writer. The author did not take his fairy tale characters too seriously, preferring to write novels, novellas, short stories, poems, and travel notes. The complete works of Kipling amounted to 35 volumes. However, it was the fairy tales that brought him worldwide fame. "The Jungle Book" was written in 1894, "The Second Jungle Book" a year later, and "Just So Stories" in 1902. Slightly less known are "Tales of Old England," which this publication introduces to readers. The entire cycle of fairy tales is united by their storyteller— the elf Puck. This character was borrowed by Kipling from Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Kipling's Puck weaves together English folklore, the fairy tales of this country, its history, and mythology. As a result, a charming atmosphere of "the old good England" is born. The book is adorned with illustrations by the outstanding Scottish graphic artist Harold Robert Millar. He was born in 1869 in the small village of Thornhill and received his initial education at the Wolverhampton School of Art. Then he studied at the Birmingham School of Arts (now it is the Faculty of Art and Design of the local Polytechnic Institute). Millar soon became well-known in publishing circles. He started collaborating with many British periodicals, including the magazines "Strand" and "Punch." He loved illustrating fairy tales and fantastic stories. In particular, Millar created illustrations for an anthology of fairy tales that included four volumes: "The Golden Book of Fairy Tales," "The Silver Book of Fairy Tales," "The Diamond Book of Fairy Tales," and "The Ruby Book of Fairy Tales." His illustrations adorned "The Book of Fairy Tales of the New World" and "The Book of Canadian Fairy Tales" by Howard Kennedy. Harold collaborated for a long time and fruitfully with the famous English writer and poetess Edith Nesbit, who wrote more than 60 works for children. Millar also illustrated books by other British authors of his time, including Robert Louis Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling.