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. ( )