![]() ![]() Reynard was once the most popular and beloved character in European folklore, as familiar as Robin Hood, King Arthur or Cinderella. How will he pit his wits against his accusers – greedy Bruin the Bear, pretentious Courtoys the Hound or dark and dangerous Isengrim the Wolf – to escape the gallows? He has been summoned to the court of King Noble the Lion, charged with all manner of crimes and misdemeanours. Reynard – a subversive, dashing, anarchic, aristocratic, witty fox from the watery lowlands of medieval East Flanders – is in trouble. Avery has turned the fable into a wonderful book which I picture people reading to others sitting by an open fire perhaps. I found myself reading certain passages out loud. The way Anne Louise Avery retells the story is exceptional. … sit back and let yourself be taken by the paw into Reynard’s world, and enjoy. - Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Country Studies Adding mischievous contemporary twists, she has wonderfully refreshed and revivified the medieval collection and shows how these traditional animal fables, with their large and lively cast of characters and their wicked and seductive protagonist, have lost none of their truth-telling power. - Marina WarnerĪ new/old tale based on meticulous, extensive scholarship, painstaking attention to detail, intimate knowledge of the manifold traditions that have gone into the making, through the ages, of this unfathomable fox and all his works. Anne Louise Avery communicates throughout sheer pleasure in the material and luxuriates in its lexical exuberance. This is marvellously spirited and adroit storytelling and an exciting example of innovative translation. Quite possibly the Book of the Year - .uk Avery deploys a scholar’s fluency with medieval language, literature and religion and a raconteur’s ease with anecdote. The immersive reading experience is lovely.Anne Louise Avery presents the full, complicated glory of the silver-tongued predator and his milieu in Reynard the Fox, a tour de force of storytelling and a beautiful object in itself. 'Anne Louise Avery has done a new translation of the Caxton tale for the Bodleian Library, but has amplified the relatively brief traditional tales with her own prose.By all means, give this book to someone you love as a gift, but be sure to buy one for yourself. Adding mischievous contemporary twists, she has wonderfully refreshed and revivified the medieval collection and shows how these traditional animal fables, with their large and lively cast of characters and their wicked and seductive protagonist, have lost none of their truth-telling power.' - Marina Warner ![]() Anne-Louise Avery communicates throughout sheer pleasure in the material and luxuriates in its lexical exuberance. 'This is marvelously spirited and adroit storytelling and an exciting example of innovative translation. With its themes of protest, resistance, and duplicity led by a personable, anti-heroic Fox, this gripping tale is as relevant and controversial today as it was in the fifteenth century. His character spoke eloquently for the voiceless and disenfranchised, but also amused and delighted the elite, capturing hearts and minds across borders and societal classes for centuries.īased on William Caxton's bestselling 1481 English translation of the Middle Dutch, this edition is an imaginative retelling of the Reynard story, expanded with new interpretations and innovative language and characterisations. How will he pit his wits against his accusers - greedy Bruin the Bear, pretentious Courtoys the Hound, and dark and dangerous Isengrim the Wolf - to escape the gallows? Reynard was once the most popular and beloved character in European folklore, as familiar as Robin Hood, King Arthur, or Cinderella. ![]() Reynard - a subversive, dashing, anarchic, aristocratic, witty fox from the watery lowlands of medieval East Flanders - is in trouble. ![]()
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