Aesop's Fables

Jan 2013 · Courier Corporation

About this ebook

Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, and don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs! These simple allegories — abounding in paradoxes, ambiguities, and ironies — embody great truths. Attributed to a legendary storyteller of ancient Greece, they speak to readers and listeners of all ages and cultures.
This enchanting edition of Aesop's morality tales features illustrations by Arthur Rackham. His thirteen full-color and fifty-three black-and-white images lend a perfect blend of humor and romanticism to the timeless fables. An illuminating Introduction by G. K. Chesterton complements V. S. Vernon Jones's sprightly, concise, and idiomatic translation.

About the author

Arthur Rackham was born in London, England. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art. In 1892 he left his job and started working for The Westminster Budget as a reporter and illustrator. His first book illustrations were published in 1893 in To the Other Side by Thomas Rhodes, but his first serious commission was in 1894 for The Dolly Dialogues, the collected sketches of Anthony Hope, who later went on to write The Prisoner of Zenda. Book illustrating then became Rackham's career for the rest of his life. Rackham invented his own unique technique which resembled photographic reproduction; he would first sketch an outline of his drawing, then lightly block in shapes and details. Afterwards he would add lines in pen and India ink, removing the pencil traces after it had dried. With color pictures, he would then apply multiple washes of color until transparent tints were created. Arthur Rackham died in 1939 of cancer in his home in Limpsfield, Surrey. Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London, England, in 1874. He began his education at St Paul's School, and later went on to study art at the Slade School, and literature at University College in London. Chesterton wrote a great deal of poetry, as well as works of social and literary criticism. Among his most notable books are The Man Who Was Thursday, a metaphysical thriller, and The Everlasting Man, a history of humankind's spiritual progress. After Chesterton converted to Catholicism in 1922, he wrote mainly on religious topics. Chesterton is most known for creating the famous priest-detective character Father Brown, who first appeared in "The Innocence of Father Brown." Chesterton died in 1936 at the age of 62.