This utterly charming book tells of a wondering minstrel, Martin Pippin, who is asked by a lovelorn youth to try and approach the object of his affections, a farmer's daughter, who is locked away and guarded by her six young milkmaids. Throughout the book Martin flirts gaily, sings songs and tells love stories in order to win the girls' trust and answer the central question: why is Gillian locked in the well house? Is she love-sick for a man she cannot have - or hiding from a love she does not want? Eleanor Farjeon weaves a beautiful tapestry in this marvellously evocative book, celebrating the Sussex countryside and tackling deep emotional issues in her deceptively simple stories. This carefully hand-edited version from Benediction Classics includes all the original delightful black-and-white illustrations by Richard Kennedy.

First published in 1935, Eleanor Farjeon's A Nursery in the Nineties is one of the most striking accounts of childhood ever written: a testament to a happy and creative upbringing from an author rightly renowned for her powerfully imaginative books for children. 'Nellie' was born in 1881, her father a popular novelist, her mother from a famous American acting family. She was never sent to school, was often in poor health and developed a crushing self-consciousness in company. The nursery at home therefore marked the limits of her universe through her formative years; yet it was in this hothouse atmosphere that 'Nellie' began to read, write stories and, with her three brothers, evolve the rituals and games that dominated their lives. Though she later admitted that such experience hampered her mature development, her imagination certainly flourished, a gift that was soon to communicate itself to legions of readers.

Eleanor Farjeon first met Edward Thomas in the late autumn of 1912, when her brother invited him to tea. It was the beginning of a deep friendship between the painfully shy 31-year-old woman and the reserved writer known for his prose works and literary criticism. Though he died at the Battle of Arras in April 1917, it was a friendship which for Eleanor did not end with his death, but lived beyond it in his letters, and his poems, many of which Edward had sent to her from the trenches of the First World War for her comments. This double memoir uses Edward's letters and Eleanor's diaries and linking commentary to provide an extraordinarily candid account of their developing friendship, and of the enthusiasms they shared - both loved walking, and it was during this period that Edward first found his way into poetry. Edward was often deeply depressed, a man who found in nature something fundamental and ideal, a soldier-poet who wrote about the war in a new way, but Eleanor also shows us another side to his character, capturing moments of joy and humour. She also offers a unique account of Thomas's development as a poet, including the momentous meeting in 1913 with the American poet Robert Frost, whose encouragement led to Thomas's first poems. Thomas describes for her his family, his friendships with other writers, D H Lawrence among them, and also provides an exceptionally detailed account of his experiences in the First World War with the Artists' Rifles. Edward Thomas: The Last Four Years, was widely acclaimed on its first publication in 1958 - this second edition, published on the 80th anniversary of Thomas's death, has an introduction by Anne Harvey, a selection of Eleanor's sonnets 'To E.T.', and 'Walking Tom', a hitherto little-known poem about Edward written by Clifford Bax and Herbert Farjeon. Also included are eight pages of black and white photographs.

Hop, skip and jump your way through this timeless tale of courage and community-spirit, with charming watercolour illustrations by Charlotte Voake. Elsie Piddock is a born skipper. By the age of seven, news of her skipping talents has reached the fairies and they invite her to Mount Caburn for lessons. The High Skip, the Slow Skip, the Skip Double-Double, the Long Skip, the Strong Skip, the Skip Against Trouble... Elsie Piddock learns them all, and soon there's not a mortal or fairy to touch her. Many, many years later, a greedy Lord buys Mount Caburn and threatens to build factories on its land. Can Elsie Piddock save the skipping ground for the next generation? Sparkling with charm and a liberal sprinkling of fairy dust, Elsie Piddock's story is one to be cherished.

Kings and Queens by Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon is a highly entertaining collection of poems about all forty-one English Kings and Queens since William I. Reissued in Puffin Poetry Kings and Queens is an authentic classic that has delighted young readers and adults alike. With wonderfully witty illustrations by Robin Jacques, history has never been so much fun! Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon were born in the 1880s into a highly literary family. Eleanor published nearly 70 books, mostly for children. Together with Herbert, her younger brother, she also wrote a children's panto, two operettas and a musical fairy story.