A Dish of Apples - Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

By Eden Phillpotts and Arthur Rackham

This charming collection of poems written by Eden Phillpotts (1862-1960) is written on a theme of nature and harvest, with the greater part of the collection being poems in homage to varieties of orchard fruits. Many of the earliest children's books, particularly those dating back to the 1850s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Pook Press are working to republish these classic works in affordable, high quality, colour editions, using the original text and artwork so these works can delight another generation of children. About the Illustrator: About the Illustrator: Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was one of the premier illustrators of the early 20th Century. He illustrated many books, the first of which was published in 1893. His humour, romance and soul made him the leading illustrator of the early twentieth century and his work is to be found in versions of almost every classic from Hansel and Gretel to The Tempest, from The Pied Piper to Peer Gynt. Characteristic of his work are gloomy forests of sinuous trees, nubile fairy maidens, and unsightly ogres and trolls. Throughout his career he developed a very individual style that was to influence a whole generation of children, artists and other illustrators. His haunting humour and dreamlike romance adds to the enchantment and fantasy of children's literature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pook Press
• Release date: Jan 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781528782081

Eden Phillpotts

Eden Phillpotts was an English author, poet, and dramatist. Born in Mount Abu, India, he was educated in Devon, England, and worked as an insurance officer for ten years before studying for the stage and eventually becoming a writer. Over the course of his career, he published scores of novels, many of which were mysteries. He died in 1960.

Book preview

The Wassailing

I

OLD Christmas Eve’s the proper night

For wassailing the apple-trees;

And though the snow came to their knees,

Our fore-fathers done what was right,

Poured out their cider, sang their song

And fired their guns the boughs among,

With Ned and Fred and Jeremy,

And Jonah Moss and Billy Blee,

And gran’fer Budd, up home four score,

And Sammy Meek, back from the war.

II

The girls their cider pitchers bring,

With liquor steaming on the air

And toast and spices floating there.

Then come a score of boys to sing,

And at the gate, awaiting us,

Jan Bassett with his blunderbus,

And Lil and Jill and Minnie West,

Jane Mortimer and Henry Best,

And Benny Tutt and Saul