Samuel Phillips Day

Published in 1872, this extraordinary retelling of the history of Reynard the fox, and of his son Reynardine, is related entirely in words of one syllable. The only exceptions to this are the proper names of the characters, and even these are divided with hyphens: Rey-nard, Is-grim, Grim-bard, and so on. Using this unusual format, Samuel Phillips Day relates all of the major incidents of Reynard's story, as he mistreats the other animals and then defends himself against charges at the court of the lion king. The story of Reynardine is next told, as the son turns out every bit as villainous (but perhaps not as clever) as his father, killing his enemies through stealth, but coming to a bad end himself...

The Rare Romance of Reynard the Fox, The Crafty Courtier: Together with the Shifts of His Son Reynardine: In Words of One Syllable is one of a number of titles in the "One Syllable Library," a collection of classic retellings from London-based publisher Cassell, Petter & Galpin, all produced for children using a lexicon of one-syllable words. Other works to be given the one-syllable treatment include: the fables of Aesop, Pilgrim's Progress (also done by Day), The Swiss Family Robinson, and Sandford and Merton. Although it's obvious that this method is intended to produce children's versions of classic texts, versions more easily read and digested by beginning readers, I'm not sure if there was some further didactic aim. Whatever the case may be, the result, at least here, is a sometimes awkward but always interesting text. The form necessitates the occasional inclusion of words long out of common use in English, even at the time of publication. Words like "sneap" (to blast or blight with cold), "gyve" (fetter or shackle), "dight" (to dress, or adorn), and "mulet" (mule). The inclusion of these unexpected words was interesting, and it was fun to track down their meaning, although I'm not sure how this accords with the aim of making the text easier for child readers. Also interesting is the fact that this is one of the only children's Reynard retellings, that I have encountered, that includes the story of Reynardine. Recommended to fellow Reynard fans, or to anyone interested in the oddities of Victorian children's literature.… (plus d'informations)