Philip Burton (1) (1904–)

Expatriate Welsh theatre director Philip Burton and American artist and illustrator Robert Andrew Parker joined forces in this original fairy-tales, first published in 1974. Set in medieval Wales, when Norman conquerors had driven the Welsh princes and their followers into the hills, the story concerns the forbidden love between Geraint, a humble Welsh shepherd, and Lady Eleanor, the daughter of Norman Count Henri of Gismond. Their love develops as they each save the other - she from the warriors of Prince Llewellyn, he from Count Henri's dungeon, when their love is discovered. Eventually the pair escape to the magical green isle that they have seen from shore - a land of peace and love, where they can finally be together...

The Green Isle was an interesting book. I don't think I've encountered another picture-book, that wasn't a traditional folktale, set in medieval or ancient Wales. Burton's "Romeo and Juliet" style story was engaging, and reminded me of similar Norman-Saxon love stories I have encountered in various Robin Hood retellings. No doubt this is owing to the similar time period, and the presence of the Normans as antagonists. There are elements here that are very dark - the use of Geraint's mother as a hostage, the attempt to kidnap Eleanor, the whipping and imprisonment of Geraint - so parents of very sensitive young children might want to proceed with caution. That said, the goings on here, although mostly historical, are certainly no gorier than those found in many traditional fairy-tales. The accompanying watercolor artwork by Parker, is striking. I don't know that I found it beautiful, necessarily, but I certainly found it engrossing, and thought it adeptly captured the alternately dark and light themes of the story. Recommended to anyone looking for original fairy-tales set in Wales, or to those seeking stories about people who dare to love, in times of war.… (meer)