HERO TALES FROM THE BRITISH ISLES

The eleven heroes hail from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The only weak narrations are the most familiar tales in the collection: ""Arthur, King of Britain"" and ""Robin Hood"". While the account of Arthur is detailed, it is poorly integrated and the glorious pageantry is sadly missing. Robin Hood is more lively, but the hero loses a little color because of necessary brevity. However, the nine remaining tales, gathered from beyond the bounds of England, more than make up for this; here are some unusually rich stories well told (e.g. ""Pwyll and hiannon"", ""Talusin"", and ""Deirdre and the Sons of Usna"") which are seldom included in juvenile anthologies. The author's notes serve to fill in dates and backgrounds. By the author of Tales of the British People (1961, p. 793, J-27), well reviewed title.