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Puck of Pook's Hill

by Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Rackham (Illustrations)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 909 ratings · 50 reviews

In the perfect bedtime reading, a mischievous imp called Puck delights two precocious youngsters with 10 magical fables about the hidden histories of Old England. Written especially for Kipling's own children, each enchanting myth is followed by a selection of the master storyteller's spirited poetry.

Paperback, 288 pages

Published October 27th 2006 by Dover Publications (first published 1906)

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May 05, 2012 Keely rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, short-story, uk-and-ireland, poetry, reviewed

The more familiar I become with Kipling's many short, fantastical works, the clearer it becomes that almost every fantasy author of the past century owes him a great debt. I have pointed out before that he has written works which lay out whole subgenres--blueprints which later authors like C.S. Lewis, H.P Lovecraft, Neal Gaiman, and Susanna Clarke have expanded upon.

And in this collection, we can see yet another branch of influence. In several stories spanning centuries of English history, Kipli...more

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Sep 02, 2012 dragonhelmuk rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Amazing book at the beginning, until it gets a bit strange and racist later on. All about two children who accidently summon Puck (Robin) the genius loci of the English countryside. Talk about creating a mythology for England – Tolkien would have loved this. Thanks to the children summoning him, he lets them meet people from England’s past, from Weland right the way down to some of the local heroes who helped shape the surrounding area.

(English barrow lore)
' Ah, but you are a fairy,' said Dan.
'...more Amazing book at the beginning, until it gets a bit strange and racist later on. All about two children who accidently summon Puck (Robin) the genius loci of the English countryside. Talk about creating a mythology for England – Tolkien would have loved this. Thanks to the children summoning him, he lets them meet people from England’s past, from Weland right the way down to some of the local heroes who helped shape the surrounding area.

(English barrow lore)
' Ah, but you are a fairy,' said Dan.
' Have you ever heard me use that word yet ' said Puck, quickly.
'No. You talk about "the People of the Hills," but you never say "fairies," ' said Una. 'I was wondering at that. Don't you like it?'
' How would you like to be called " mortal" or "human being" all the time?' said Puck; ' or " son of Adam " or " daughter of Eve " ?'
' I shouldn't like it at all,' said Dan. ' That's how the Djinns and Afrits talk in the Arabian Nights:
'And that's how I feel about saying—that word that I don't say. Besides, what you call them are made-up things the People of the Hills have never heard of—little buzzflies with butterfly wings and gauze petticoats, and shiny stars in their hair, and a wand like a schoolteacher's cane for punishing bad boys and rewarding good ones. I know 'em!'
' We don't mean that sort,' said Dan. ' We hate 'em too.'
'Exactly,' said Puck. 'Can you wonder that the People of the Hills don't care to be confused with that painty-winged, wand-waving, sugar-and-shake-your-head set of impostors? Butterfly wings, indeed! I've seen Sir Huon and a troop of his people setting off from Tintagel Castle for Hy-Brasil in the teeth of a sou'-westerly gale, with the spray flying all over the castle, and the Horses of the Hill wild with fright. Out they'd go in a lull, screaming like gulls, and back they'd be driven five good miles inland before they could come head to wind again. Butterfly-wings! It was Magic—Magic as black as Merlin could make it, and the whole sea was green fire and white foam with singing mermaids in it. And the Horses of the Hill picked their way from one wave to another by the lightning flashes! That was how it was in the old days!'

(Viking parrots)
I remember' — he laughed to himself—'when first we entered there a loud voice cried, "Out swords! Out swords! Kill, kill!' Seeing us start Witta laughed, and showed us it was but a great-beaked grey bird with a red tail. He sat her on his shoulder, and she called for bread and wine hoarsely, and prayed him to kiss her. Yet she was no more than a silly bird. But—ye knew this ?' He looked at their smiling faces.
'We weren't laughing at you/ said Una. ' That must have been a parrot. It's just what Pollies do.'
1 So we learned later. But here is another marvel. The Yellow Man, whose name was Kitai, had with him a brown box. In the box was a blue bowl with red marks upon the rim, and within the bowl, hanging from a fine thread, was a piece of iron no thicker than that grass stem, and as long, maybe, as my spur, but straight. In this iron, said Witta, abode an Evil Spirit which Kitai the Yellow Man, had brought by Art Magic out of his own country that lay three years' journey southward. The Evil Spirit strove day and night to return to his country, and therefore, look you, the iron needle pointed continually to the South.' (less)

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Oct 05, 2011 Mary Findley rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a children's story intending to teach some English history in an entertaining fashion, and it does a really good job of that. Certainly his child audience was a lot better educated than our sis today for the most part. The language and imagery is rich, even when he's not writing actual poetry. I found his religious perspective very disturbing, however, as I always do with Kipling. He is a humanist, but he also claims that Protestantism was an evil bringer of destruction and hatred to Eng...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, children, fairy-tales, fantasy, historical

When three children perform Midsummer Night's Dream three times, they accidentally open up the fairy mound behind them, but the only fairy left is Puck, the first fairy ever to come to England. He introduces them to several people from history, who relate their tales. There's Wayland, who came as a god and left as a blacksmith. There's Sir Richard, a Norman who conquered a Saxon estate with kindness and hard work, then he and a friend were captured by Vikings and taken on an amazing adventure to...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Smcleish rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

Originally published on my blog here in October 2000.

Of the classic children's books written by Rudyard Kipling, Puck of Pook's Hill has perhaps dated the most obviously. It remains a charming idea, much copied, but so much about it is a celebration of Victorian country life that in many ways it is not very relevant to the children of today. The idyllic upper class childhood of Dan and Una, full of enchanting places to play, has probably never existed outside fiction, and to be a child in the co...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Courtney Johnston rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, history, own, poetry

Puck of Pook’s Hill and Rewards and Fairies are two collections of children’s stories, based on English folktale and history. As stories, none are nearly as funny or moving as anything from the Jungle Book or the Just So Stories, but on re-reading them I was really struck by how the collections are structured.

There is the basic structure - two collections of about a dozen stories each, in which each story is bookended by two connecting poems. But then there’s a series of layers across the storie...more Puck of Pook’s Hill and Rewards and Fairies are two collections of children’s stories, based on English folktale and history. As stories, none are nearly as funny or moving as anything from the Jungle Book or the Just So Stories, but on re-reading them I was really struck by how the collections are structured.

There is the basic structure - two collections of about a dozen stories each, in which each story is bookended by two connecting poems. But then there’s a series of layers across the stories, that turn them into something deeper.

The first layer consists of a setting based on Kipling’s own home in Sussex, and Dan and Una, two characters based on his own children. Dan and Una have an enviable existence in an idyllic Edwardian country setting; there’s a touch of feudalism to the way they somewhat imperiously claim ownership of the surrounding farmland and the attention of the (slightly mysterious) woodsman Hobden, who poaches rabbits and shows them a dormouse in its woven nest. Dan and Una biggest problems are remembering that the nursery is now the ‘schoolroom’ and getting out of Latin lessons with their governess; they are leading a sunlit Swallows and Amazons kind of life filled with rowboats and playacting.

This playacting opens up the second layer. On Midsummer Eve Dan and Una ‘break open the hills’, by acting out the ‘fairy’ scenes from Midsummer’s Night Dream three times in a row in a fairy ring under Pook’s Hill. This brings forth Puck - ‘the Oldest Old Thing in England’ - who makes them an offer:

'You see, I can't let you into the Hills because the People of the Hills have gone; but if you care to take seizin from me, I may be able to show you something out of the common here on Human Earth. You certainly deserve it.'

'What's taking seizin?' said Dan, cautiously.

'It's an old custom the people had when they bought and sold land. They used to cut out a clod and hand it over to the buyer, and you weren't lawfully seized of your land - it didn't really belong to you - till the other fellow had actually given you a piece of it -'like this.' He
held out the turves.

'But it's our own meadow,' said Dan, drawing back. 'Are you going to magic it away?'

Puck laughed. 'I know it's your meadow, but there's a great deal more in it than you or your father ever guessed. Try!'

He turned his eyes on Una.

'I'll do it,' she said. Dan followed her example at once.

'Now are you two lawfully seized and possessed of all Old England,' began Puck, in a sing-song voice. 'By right of Oak, Ash, and Thorn are you free to come and go and look and know where I shall show or best you please. You shall see What you shall see and you shall hear What you shall hear, though It shall have happened three thousand year; and you shall know neither Doubt nor Fear. Fast! Hold fast all I give you.'

Puck’s magic is the second layer of the story. From this point forth he brings magic and history into the children’s everyday world - he is the gate between the past and the present. He is a self-effacing but powerful and knowledgeable character, melancholy and jovial in turn, who guides Dan and Una through their encounters. The mythical characters of the stories seem in particular to belong to him: the smith Weland, ‘the only Old Thing … who worked honestly for his living after he came down in the world. … I think he claimed kin with Thor of the Scandinavians’, the prehistoric flintworker who traded his human life to bring iron back to his people.

Puck and the children form the framing device for each of the stories. In each story, Puck appears with a companion while the children are going about their normal daily adventures, the story is told, and then the scene is closed when Puck skilfully introduces ‘the leaves of Oak and Ash and Thorn’ to wipe the children’s memories. (I remember the satisfaction I felt as a kid each time this closing device was used - the pleasure in Puck’s ingenuity, and the power of being able to retain the story myself when Dan and Una could not.)

The third layer are the stories of these legendary and historical characters. This is history - the thrills and spills of England, from life on the Roman wall to the Normans and the Saxons to Elizabethan intrigue; smugglers and astrologers and medicine-men; royalty and mastercraftsmen and Jewish moneylenders. Sometimes the stories are complex (the ones set in America in particular, featuring Talleyrand in disguise, still do my head in even at this venerable age) whilst others are more like rollicking adventure tales (such as ‘The Knights of the Joyous Venture’).

And the bottom layer is the allegory of England that is built up through all these actions. Not just an allegory, but a personality: a place where honour is more important than pride, loyalty more important than gain, good craftsmanship, bravery and and an adventurous spirit are valued. A land that has seen wave after wave after wave of occupying peoples, and slowly forged this into a single great nation - an Empire that was in its bloom when Kipling was writing at the beginning of the 20th century. It’s an allegory that we’ve been taught to distrust now, but it’s nonetheless a powerful and moving picture. (less)

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May 28, 2011 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, young-adult

I hadn't read any Kipling in a loooong time, but I got turned onto Peter Bellamy's text settings of his poems, and I remembered that he also wrote books. Puck of Pook's Hill reminded me a little of Watership Down, successful with the kind of pastoral charm that usually gives me a toothache, but it was also very dated. The conceit is that a brother and sister encounter Puck one Midsummer Day, and he brings them people from history to tell them the stories of their little corner of England. I like...more

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Aug 07, 2009 rr added it

This is an odd book! Kipling presents us with two small children, Dan and Una, who meet Puck once their abbreviated outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream frees the good fellow from centuries of bondage in the hills. In a series of episodes Puck introduces Dan and Una to a variety of figures from different historical periods. Dan and Una are made to forget each encounter, but readers acquire a layered view of Britain's past and the diversity of people who over time have identified them...more

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Oct 29, 2012 James Lyon rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you like Harry Potter, this book is for you!

The British have a wonderful tradition of excellent adult authors writing fantasy children’s books that are also fun reads for adults. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter”, C.S. Lewis’ "Alice in Wonderland" and "Chronicles of Narnia", and J. M. Barrie’s "Peter Pan" all spring to mind. Even J.R.R. Tolkien’s "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" were YA accessible and appropriate. But who would have thought Rudyard Kipling falls into this category?

The book Puck o...more

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Jul 02, 2012 g026r rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, childrens-and-young-adult, short-stories

There's a vague sense of Whiggish history to the tales which form the core of the work [The Sir Richard tales and the final tale, "The Treasure and the Law"], with a definite feel of progression from the pre-Norman Saxons through to Runnymede. (Which can be fun to contrast with the Toryism that runs through the tales, both these but particularly the Roman tales and their story of empire.)

Pity about that final tale though, as I had until that point been describing the book as reminding me of a mo...more

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Oct 05, 2007 Catherine Hill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

This is charming English history for kids and people who have been taught history is boring.

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Sep 30, 2011 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kipling really does write well. I loved the idea of this book, the framing device of the children meeting Puck, and those sections are excellent - I love the poems that top and tail the sections. But to the main point of the book, the historical figures telling their stories - you need to know the history before you read this because he does plunge in rather. Given that this book was written presumably for children, it makes you realise that education was very different one hundred years ago. I'...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Rachel Bonaccorso Lindsay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favorites

Fantastic! Has a little bit of everything fun. Anything by Kipling is bound for my all-time favorites pile. This series is a collection of stories lightly joined together by a common theme and a common place. In Puck of Pook's Hill, the theme is about what it means to be British: it shows the persistently noble and free character of the British people as it evolved from Roman times on. The main characters are children of Kipling's era, and each story they hear is narrated by someone who is intim...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As one might expect from Rudyard Kipling, the language in this book is clean and energetic. The basic story is surprisingly complex, though it seems simple on the surface. One midsummer's day, two children reenacting a scene from Shakespeare conjure up a being from the deep past - Puck, or Robin Goodfellow himself. Over the coming months, Puck shows Dan and Una scenes from the history of their house, beginning with the forging of a sword by the mythical Wayland Smith, and ending with the loss of...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Melinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, british-lit, juvenile-lit, worth-owning

Written by Rudyard Kipling to amuse his children, this book is a wonderfully entertaining little gem. A brother and sister stumble across Puck, the woodland sprite of English mythology also known as Robin Goodfellow. (Those up on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream" will recognize Puck as the jester to the King of the Fairies, Oberon). Puck teaches them about Old England from the time of William the Conqueror, to the Roman's guarding Hadrian's Wall against the PIcts, and even into the court...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Ms.candy rated it 4 of 5 stars

هذا الكتاب يتكلم عن كائنات غير بشرية تعيش في أرض خلف منزل بيت طفلين مُهتمين بالتاريخ الإنجليزي ..

القصة تبدأ حينما يخرجان للتنزه، ولن تنتهي أبداً كما أظن !
جمال هذا الكتاب في تبسيطه الشديد لعدة قصص قديمة لتكون ممتعة وسهلة الفهم "رغم لغة الكتاب القديمه المُتعبة في الفهم <.<"

جميلة ..

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Sep 20, 2010 Chrisiant rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Yay Kipling. This is actually the first Kipling besides Just So Stories that I've read through. I have more to say about the format in which I read it (DailyLit) than the actually book, which was quirky and interesting. I'm already familiar with many of Kipling's poems that have been set to music, so it was nice to run across them in context. I'm generally in favor of narratives that are broken up by bits of song and verse (a la Tolkien and others).
I grew quite fond of Sir Richard and Sir Hugh,...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Res rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sff

The one where two children meet Puck, the last fairy remaining in England, and he introduces them to dead Saxons, Normans, Romans, and stories that tell of British history.

Alas for period prejudices. The story starts with the tale of Weland Smith and the sword he made, and then introduces you to charming people from various historical periods, with mostly-lovely poetry between the sections -- and just about the time you're going, "Oh, ooh, all this is going to add up to the Magna Carta," in walk...more

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Dec 05, 2008 Jenne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-books, fairies, mythology, history, reviewed

The children were at the Theatre, acting to Three Cows as much as they could remember of Midsummer Night's Dream.”

So begins a time of magic for Dan and Una. It was Midsummer’s Eve and the children have performed the play three times, unwittingly, inside a fairy ring near their home in Sussex. The summoning calls up the mischievous Puck, the last of the People of the Hill left in merry old England. Puck gives them the gift “to see what they shall see and hear what they shall hear, though it shoul...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Kelli Heitstuman-Tomko rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is not one of Kipling's best written books, but it is my favorite. In a series of magical adventures, Avalon's Puck gives two children an interesting history lesson about their father's land near Pevensy Castle. I read this book almost twenty years ago and have since dreamed of going to England to visit the ruins of this castle and to see if maybe I could find must a little bit of that magic out there.

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May 31, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rudyard Kipling's take on English history for kids, this is a set of stories about historical figures, retold as good yarns. :) A lot of deep devotion to the roots of England, but mostly doesn't come off as overly chauvinistic. In fact, Kipling's treatment of a Jewish character late in the book surprised me--very, very sympathetic for the times he was writing in.

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Feb 23, 2011 Hazel rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nostalgia seekers

Such a delight. I can't wait 'til my niece is old enough for this. I've revisited a number of childhood reads in recent weeks, and this is the one that has worn best. I imagine that says something about my penchant for whimsy and nostalgia. There's nothing sophisticated about Kipling's take on what made Britain great, but for some reason I can overlook all his failings as he uses fairy tales as illustration for a history lesson. I can even tolerate the AntiSemitism. Go figure.

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Jul 31, 2011 Steve Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When Dan and Una act out a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Midsummer Eve inside a fairy circle at the foot of Pook’s Hill they inevitably summon Puck. Puck then proceeds to tell the two children stories of the Norman Conquest, Roman Britain and the signing of the Magna Charta to learn of their heritage.

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Jun 27, 2012 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, surprised-me, kindle, book-club-read

I think this is a charming way to learn about British history. There's a faun, an English soldier from the reign of Richard I, a Roman soldier from the seiges with the Picts, tales of faeries, and lots more. Besides, you have the beauty of Kipling's language and his lovely poetry. Recommended.

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May 24, 2010 Janet rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-fictional, fiction

I read this book and thought “Oh, what a charming story of childhood enchantment and fairies.” The editor read this book and thought “This is a grand allegory about Mankind and History and England. The main character is someone the reader hardly even meets at all. What a wonderful literary achievement!” Obviously, I missed something. Either that or the editor needs to cut back on his meds.

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May 03, 2012 Matt rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: shorts

I applaud what I think Kipling was trying to do. I'd've rather re-read Chaucer, though.

[2.5 stars for effort, and for the things I think of when I think of Kipling.]

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Feb 11, 2009 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, paranormal, kids

Two early 20th century children, living in Pevensey, England, have a chance encounter with the legendary Puck, who undertakes to bring them a series of first hand accounts of the history of their region. Fun combination of fact and fancy.

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Feb 16, 2009 Margaret rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book that made history seem like a continuity rather than a collection of interesting but discrete stories.

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May 11, 2012 Glas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently listened to the Librivox audio of Puck of Pook's Hill, which reminded me again how much I love Rudyard Kipling.

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Jun 04, 2009 Lila rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-ya

This was one of my father's favorite childhood books. He read it aloud to us when I was a little too old for it.

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About Rudyard Kipling

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."

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Quotes from Puck of Pook's Hill

“Cites and Thrones and Powers
Stand in Time's eye
Which daily die;
But, as new buds put forth
To glad new men,
Out of the spend and unconsidered Earth,
The cities will rise again” — 1 person liked it

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