• For Your Consideration:
• A VG+ HARDCOVER:
• From THE NEW YORK REVIEW CHILDREN’S COLLECTION:
• “ALFRED OLLIVANT’S BOB, SON OF BATTLE: THE LAST GRAY DOG OF KENMUIR”
(NYR Children’s Collection, 2014) (Hardcover, First Edition Thus)
• A NEW VERSION BY LYDIA DAVIS
• ILLUSTRATED BY MARGUERITE KIRMSE
• First Published in 1889
• “BOB, SON OF BATTLE has long been a beloved classic of children’s literature both in America and in England. Here the celebrated author and translator LYDIA DAVIS, who first read and loved this exciting story as a child, has rendered the challenging idioms of the original into fluent and graceful English of our day, making this tale of rival dogs and rival families and the shadowy terrain between Good and Bad accessible and appealing to readers of all ages.”
—THE PUBLISHER
• “I am always interested when someone says they passionately loved a book as a child, as LYDIA did in this case, and I was intrigued by the whole concept of such a great writer taking on something very different from what she’s known for, though of course LYDIA is a great translator. This is a very different kind of book than we’ve done in this series, and we’re very pleased with it.”
—EDWIN FRANK, FOUNDER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, NYRB CLASSICS
• “More than a dog story; it is a dog epic.”
—E. V. LUCAS
• “Probably the greatest dog story ever written, and one you will love as long as you live.
—LIFE
• “The greatest dog story I ever read: it is like HAMLET with HAMLET left out, all the more noticeable because the Great Dane is included.”
—WILLIAM LYON PHELPS
• “Like DAVIS, I fell under the spell of this book when I was a child, and I remember very well the feeling of moving through OLLIVANT’s thorny sentences—a dark pleasure…. Thus I met this new version with some dismay. But as I read DAVIS and reread OLLIVANT, I have come to appreciate her subtle rearrangements and small decisions, which, even if I wouldn’t have made all of them, scrape away some taxing overgrowth without smoothing the rough beauty of the whole. It is a wonderful achievement, and I already have children in mind who’ll get it as a present, lucky children….”
—ALEXANDRA MULLEN, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
• “OLLIVANT is a master storyteller, and he plays a veritable fandango on the heartstrings…. Popular in its day, the work is now virtually unknown. DAVIS’ intention with her adaptation is to bring this worthy tale to new generations of readers. Her major change is the transposition into modern English of OLLIVANT’s extensive use of the Cumbrian dialect. Other unfamiliar English and Scottish words and expressions are also modernized. Is this effort successful? Indeed, yes. The power and sweep of the original remain, and those changes made are thoughtfully and sensitively executed…. Welcome back, OWD (OLD) BOB!”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
• “What's a childhood without dog stories, such as LASSIE, OLD YELLER, and SHILOH? With this new version…DAVIS ensures that BOB, SON OF BATTLE, is a name to be added to that list. First published in 1889, OLLIVANT's work follows two sheepdogs and their masters…. DAVIS translates the Cumbrian and Scottish dialect of the original into modern English, ensuring that this classic canine tale will once more find a home among readers.”
—SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
• “A classic tale skillfully revived for a new generation.”
—WALL STREET JOURNAL
• “BOB, SON OF BATTLE is a true classic, highly recommended for its beautiful writing, its page-turning suspense, its insightful portrayal of vice and virtue and its wisdom. It is also a great portrayal of a way of life that has developed over centuries in a harsh and hostile landscape…. I find [DAVIS’s] retelling simple and beautiful.”
—BOOKS FOR CATHOLIC KIDS (WEBSITE)
• “OLLIVANT’s book was for me, as a child, one of those powerful works of the imagination. It is not perfect; it is not irreproachable. But it does certain things very well—well enough to have had a lasting effect on its readers…. I felt as though I had lived through it myself.”
—LYDIA DAVIS
•
• For other details about this book, please see below.
•
SERIES: THE NEW YORK REVIEW CHILDREN’S COLLECTION
TITLE: “ALFRED OLLIVANT’S BOB, SON OF BATTLE:
The Last Gray Dog of Kenmuir”
A NEW VERSION BY: LYDIA DAVIS
DRAWINGS: MARGUERITE KIRMSE
COVER ART: LAUREN NASSEF
TYPE: HARDCOVER
NUMBER OF PAGES: 312+
PUBLISHER, LOCALE, & YEAR: NYRB (New York), 2014
ORIGINAL VERSION FIRST PUBISHED: 1889
EDITION: FIRST EDITION THUS*
*RE: On the Copyright Page, this Number Row: “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.”
NOTE: This copy is NOT ex-library NOR a book-club edition.
ISBN: 978-1-59017-729-7
CONDITION of COVERS & INTERIOR: VERY GOOD PLUS.
Not issued with DJ. Book is square. Boards are clean with light scratches & faint smudging. There’s a dent on the top edge of the back. The bottom corner of the back is bumped; other corners are sharp. Spine is tight & uncreased with bumped tips. Text & imagery on all sides (inc. spine) are bright. Text-block edges are v. lightly scuffed. Endpapers are fine. You can tell this book has been read but it was read respectfully & all the pages remain bright & clean with no writing, no underlining, no doodling, no stains, no foxing, no tears, etc.
SHIPPING NEWS: This book will be wrapped with care before being shipped in a cushioned and sturdy box. THANK YOU!
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