Pook Press celebrates the great Golden Age of Illustration in children's literature. 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. 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. Throughout his career he had developed a very individual style that is 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.

Tales of the Punjab (1894) is a collection of stories translated and collected by Flora Annie Steel. Collected while Steel lived with her husband in the north of the Indian subcontinent, Tales of the Punjab was a successful introduction to legends and stories from the Punjab region for children and adults back home in England. Published while India remained under the control of the British Empire, Steel's collection puts a decidedly Western twist on the stories she learned from local women while advocating for education reform. In a village in the Punjab, as the sun sets on an exceedingly hot day, the local people return from the fields to prepare dinner and settle down for the evening. As they await the cooling winds of midnight in order to sleep outside, the villagers gather around a local storyteller. Possessing a wide knowledge of legends, tales, and history, he calmly begins to speak to his gathered audience. "Sir Buzz" is the story of a woman and her son who are left in dire poverty following the death of her husband, a soldier. Although young, the boy dreams of setting out into the world in order to bring something home for his mother. Finding six shillings in the pocket of an old coat, he leaves his home only to run into an injured tigress. Unable to remove a thorn from her paw, she asks the boy for his assistance, and offers him a mysterious reward. In "The Rat's Wedding," a rat takes shelter underground during a steady rainstorm. In his digging, he discovers a root, which he takes with him on his journey homeward once the rain subsides. Looking forward to using the root for himself, he encounters an old man struggling to light a fire with wood soaked through with rain. Exchanging his root for a piece of food, the generous rat continues on his way. Tales of the Punjab is a collection of forty-three instructive, humorous, and authentic stories translated by Flora Annie Steel. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Flora Annie Steel's Tales of the Punjab is a classic of Anglo-Indian literature reimagined for modern readers.

"Chop off my head, my hinny, my heart,
Chop off my head, my own darling . . ."

What is a poor girl to do, when the Frog of the Well of the World's End demands such a thing of her?

Or what of the bride-to-be who spies this above the door she must enter:

"Be bold, be bold, but not that bold,
Lest that your heart's blood should run cold!"

These forty-one traditional English tales abound with such odd, wonderful and often mysterious characters as Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar, Mr. Fox, and Nix Naught Nothing -- as well as a bevy of wicked stepmothers, fairy queens and beautiful rose-cheeked maidens.

This book contains over forty of the best-loved fairy stories, retold by Flora Annie Steel, and beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Favourites such as Jack the Giant-killer, Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, The Three Little Pigs and The Babes in the Wood are all here among many others, but stories from different traditions also make their appearance, including The Three Bears and Little Red Hiding Hood.

Tales of the Punjab (1894) is a collection of stories translated and collected by Flora Annie Steel. Collected while Steel lived with her husband in the north of the Indian subcontinent, Tales of the Punjab was a successful introduction to legends and stories from the Punjab region for children and adults back home in England. Published while India remained under the control of the British Empire, Steel's collection puts a decidedly Western twist on the stories she learned from local women while advocating for education reform. In a village in the Punjab, as the sun sets on an exceedingly hot day, the local people return from the fields to prepare dinner and settle down for the evening. As they await the cooling winds of midnight in order to sleep outside, the villagers gather around a local storyteller. Possessing a wide knowledge of legends, tales, and history, he calmly begins to speak to his gathered audience. "Sir Buzz" is the story of a woman and her son who are left in dire poverty following the death of her husband, a soldier. Although young, the boy dreams of setting out into the world in order to bring something home for his mother. Finding six shillings in the pocket of an old coat, he leaves his home only to run into an injured tigress. Unable to remove a thorn from her paw, she asks the boy for his assistance, and offers him a mysterious reward. In "The Rat's Wedding," a rat takes shelter underground during a steady rainstorm. In his digging, he discovers a root, which he takes with him on his journey homeward once the rain subsides. Looking forward to using the root for himself, he encounters an old man struggling to light a fire with wood soaked through with rain. Exchanging his root for a piece of food, the generous rat continues on his way. Tales of the Punjab is a collection of forty-three instructive, humorous, and authentic stories translated by Flora Annie Steel. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Flora Annie Steel's Tales of the Punjab is a classic of Anglo-Indian literature reimagined for modern readers.

'an Indian household can no more be governed peacefully, without dignity and prestige, than an Indian Empire' InThe Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook (1888) Flora Annie Steel and her co-author Grace Gardiner provide practical, and often highly opinionated, advice to young memsahibs in India. They explain how to 'make a hold' over servants, how to establish and stock a storeroom, how to plan a menu, manage young children, treat bites from 'mad, or even doubtful dogs', and teach an Indian cook how to make fish quenelles. The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook promised its reader a comprehensive guide to domesticitiy in India, even if she found herself living in camps or in the jungle, on the hills or in the plains, whether she was the wife of an influential Indian Civil Servant or a missionary. This new edition, complete with its stimulating introduction and substantial notes, makes available a classic domestic work that in detailing the memsahib's role in the household sheds light on the entire imperial experience. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.