The first major retelling of the Greek myths and legends, A WONDER-BOOK was published in 1852. The American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne was a friend of the poet Longfellow and had much earlier suggested they collaborate on a story for children based on the legend of Pandora's Box, but this never materialized. Hawthorne went ahead on his own, adding five other myths which he adapted very freely in a romantic and readable style, used deliberately to remove the classical tales from what he called 'cold moonshine. ' Hawthorne's book was criticized by adults for his bowdlerization, but it has always been popular with children and has attracted many illustrators, none more distinguished than Arthur Rackham who made his pictorial contribution in 1922.

 

This book features in the following series: Children's Classics, Everyman's Library, Everymans Library Childrens Classics .

There are 288 pages in this book. This is a short story book. This book was published 1994 by Everyman .

Nathanial Hawthorne was the author of many classics, such as "The Scarlet Letter "and "The House of Seven Gables. " Arthur Rackham is acknowledged as one of the leading lights of the golden age of children's book illustration in the 1920s, winning gold medals at both the Milan and Barcelona exhibitions.