Felix Summerly (1808–1882)

Published in 1846, only three years after his The Pleasant History of Reynard the Fox. Told by the Pictures of Aldert Van Everdingen, this children's retelling of the Reynard story from Felix Summerly (AKA Sir Henry Cole) presents the full story of the crafty fox at the court of the lion king, with all of the main incidents. Unlike the earlier 1843 Summerly retelling, which saw the fox hanged at the conclusion of the story, here the original ending, in which Reynard triumphs, is retained. That said, all of the episodes with sexual or scatalogical content have been edited, in order to tone them down. Reynard is simply described as "assaulting" the children of Isegrim the wolf, for instance, rather than pissing on them. When Tibert the cat attacks the priest, he is described as injuring him in "so dread a manner," that the priest swoons. This careful description avoids any mention of testicles and castration. So it is that, although the main structure of the story is retained, its bodily physicality is made more restrained...

Summerly's The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox is an interesting addition to the body of English children's Reynard retellings, which was the subject of my masters dissertation. The Victorian discomfort with overt sexuality, and other bodily functions, is very much evident here, and those elements deemed indelicate have been removed or toned down. This is very different from the approach taken in the 1775 The pleasant and entertaining HISTORY of REYNARD the Fox; Represented in a Moral Light, widely considered the first explicitly children's retelling of Reynard in English, where the bawdiness of the 18th century is still very much in evidence. It's interesting also to note, that although Summerly opined in his introduction to his 1843 volume, that a full retelling of Reynard would not be appropriate for children, here he has undertaken just such a retelling. Perhaps the changes mentioned above, were his compromise, making the tale more suitable, in his mind, for a young audience. The question of why he felt it necessary, for didactic purposes, to kill the fox in the earlier book, and not here, is not addressed in any way in his introductory "Epistle to the Reader," although he does maintain that the purpose of the book is the "overthrow of vice, and the advancement of the good and virtuous."

Whatever one makes of that dubious interpretation, this was still a fascinating book, whether read in conjunction with the earlier Summerly, or with the uncredited 1775 volume mentioned above. It contains the illustrations of Aldert van Everdingen, whose etching illustrations of the Reynard story were the entire reason for the earlier, 1843 Summerly Reynard retelling in the first place. Recommended to readers who enjoy Reynard stories, if such a creature exists.… (meer)

Released in 1843, as part of publisher Joseph Cundall's "Home Treasury" series, this volume is more of a vehicle to celebrate the Reynard etchings of seventeenth-century Dutch artist Allaert (Aldert/Allart) van Everdingen, than a serious retelling of the story itself. A very brief, thirteen-page version of the history of Reynard is presented in the first portion of the book, and the remaining unnumbered pages contain forty of the fifty-seven Reynard etchings the artist produced...

The Pleasant History of Reynard the Fox. Told by the Pictures of Aldert Van Everdingen is quite a lovely book, if one enjoys etching illustration, which I do. The artwork is beautiful, whether the reader is a fan of the figure of Reynard, or just appreciates the style. I picked it up as part of the research I undertook for my masters thesis on three centuries of Reynard retellings for children in the Anglophone world, and it proved an engaging book from that perspective as well. Edited by Felix Summerly (a pseudonym used by Sir Henry Cole, 1808-1882), it was explicitly intended for children, something the editor makes plain in his introduction. Not only did he change the ending of the traditional tale, in order to "do poetical justice to the fox" - Reynard is hung by the Cat at the end of this telling - but he implies that this change was necessary, given the audience. He then went on to maintain that the full Reynard story would be inappropriate for children, who would only partially understand its satire. This is particularly interesting, because a scant three years later, in 1846, Summerly/Cole would release The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox, also as part of his "Home Treasury" collection for children, which presented the full Reynard story. What changed in three years? Did the editor change his mind?

Whatever the case may be, I enjoyed this volume, and would recommend it, both to those who are interested in etching illustration, and to those who enjoy Reynard stories.… (meer)