Best Selling Books by Walter de la Mare

De la Mare''s capacity to both disturb and charm is demonstrated in a compilation of verse from earlier published volumes that chronologically arranges poems dating from 1906 to 1953.

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"This fictional account of Miss M., a Victorian woman who is also a little person, offers a highly personalized narrative about being different in a world where such distinctiveness is viewed as a freakish handicap. With a ladylike sensibility, Miss M. conveys her feelings about being unable to participate in the activities of her friends and being treated as a curiosity. Concluding that she can either tolerate her difference or grow callous to it, Miss M. resolves to be independent by offering herself up as a spectacle for money. Unsettling and vivid, this allegory of difference offers readers an interior perspective on coping with diversity in a society wrought with expectation that a certain size is “normal” and all others are deviant."

Walter de la Mare''s *Songs of Childhood* is a finely wrought collection of poems that enters the imaginative world of children without reducing it to mere innocence or moral instruction. Through lullabies, songs, dramatic monologues, and miniature narratives, de la Mare explores solitude, wonder, fear, dream, memory, and the mysterious life of ordinary things. His musical diction, patterned rhythms, repetitions, and deceptively simple rhymes recall the oral tradition of nursery verse, while the poems'' shadows, silences, and uncanny shifts place them within the late Victorian and early modernist fascination with the psychological and supernatural. The collection therefore addresses young readers while offering adults a subtle study of consciousness and perception. De la Mare (1873–1956) was an English poet, novelist, and editor whose lifelong interest in fantasy, folklore, dreams, and the borderlands between waking and sleep shaped his distinctive literary vision. His experience writing for both children and adults encouraged him to treat childhood not as a vanished stage but as a privileged mode of apprehending reality—one capable of revealing the strange within the familiar. This book is especially recommended to readers interested in children''s literature, lyric poetry, and the literary uses of the uncanny. Its graceful surface makes it approachable, yet its emotional ambiguities and philosophical depths reward sustained, scholarly attention. This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience. - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works'' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work''s strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author''s overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection''s central themes.

In The Three Royal Monkeys, Walter de la Mare weaves a magical and deeply poetic fable that captures the innocence, wonder, and mystery of the imagination. First published in 1910, this enchanting tale follows three young monkeys — the children of the exiled royal family of their kind — on a perilous quest to reclaim their lost kingdom. Along their journey through lush forests, hidden valleys, and the haunting landscapes of de la Mare''s imagination, they encounter strange creatures, wise hermits, and the eternal struggle between light and shadow. Though written for younger readers, the novel resonates with the dreamlike lyricism and philosophical depth that made de la Mare one of the great stylists of English literature. Beneath its whimsical surface lies a meditation on courage, loyalty, and the mysterious workings of fate. His delicate prose and vivid imagery transform the animals'' adventure into a symbolic odyssey — a reflection on the endurance of hope and the search for one''s rightful place in the world. The Three Royal Monkeys stands as one of de la Mare''s earliest and most imaginative works, foreshadowing the poetic vision that would later define Peacock Pie and Memoirs of a Midget. At once fairy tale, allegory, and adventure story, it remains a timeless treasure of children''s literature — one that speaks as powerfully to adults as to the young, reminding readers that even in exile, the spirit of royalty endures.

Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) was one of the best-loved English poets of the twentieth century, his verse admired by contemporaries including Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost, W. H. Auden and T. S. Eliot. This volume presents a new selection of de la Mare''s finest poems, including perennial favourites such as ''Napoleon'', ''Fare Well'' and ''The Listeners'', for a twenty-first-century audience. The poems are accompanied by commentaries by William Wootten, which build up a portrait of de la Mare''s life, loves and friendships with the likes of Hardy, Rupert Brooke, Edward Thomas and Katherine Mansfield. They also point out the fascinating references to literature, folklore and the natural world that embroider the verse.

An anthology of poems for children.

DIVGripping and poignant tale of psychic possession by one of the great practitioners of the genre concerns Arthur Lawford, who appears to have been possessed by the spirit of a long-dead 18th-century pirate. /div

A collection of major Bible stories of the Old Testament, delightfully re-told in modern English, from the Garden of Eden to David and Goliath! Although geared towards the young, this book is a delight for all ages...