Valentine & Orson

by Nancy Ekholm Burkert

Traveling players act out a folk play about twin brothers separated at birth, one raised by King Pepin and the other by a bear.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Poetry

48 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1989

Reviews

[Abigail]

The only book both written and illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert - whose beautiful artwork has graced such publications as Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach (the original edition, before Quentin Blake got a hold of it) and Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm , chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1973 - Valentine and Orson is a retelling of a medieval chivalric romance (part of the Carolingian cycle) concerning twin brothers, separated at birth. Divided into nine scenes, it is presented as a play being given by a village theater troupe in sixteenth-century Flanders, and is written in iambic pentameter couplets!

This is all explained in the most informative afterword, in which Burkert reveals that her interest in the tale was first sparked by seeing Pieter Bruegel the Elder's print, The Masquerade of Valentine and Orson , which inspired her to set her "play" in Flanders. The poetic form is taken from Chaucer, as a tribute to The Canterbury Tales . You might think that such high-brow antecedents would make Burkert's retelling rather inaccessible, but nothing could be further from the truth - her story is immensely engaging, and reads well.

The illustrations, which appear in every other two-page spread (the text-only spreads are enlivened by a highly decorative initial number, corresponding to the scene, and each paragraph is separated by a little motif, but they are otherwise plain), depict the Flemish players enacting their medieval French (and Greek?) tale, and are simply gorgeous! Full of life and vitality, color and humor, they are a fairy-tale-lover's dream - I enjoyed poring over them, and picking out Burkert's brush-strokes!

This is a beautiful volume, with every detail - from the poetic narrative to the page-layout - presented with care and artistry. Even the type-face (Dante) is well-chosen! The story itself is exciting, with everything from giants to magicians, and young readers with a taste for adventure-tales will enjoy rooting for Valentine and Orson's reunion, and the proving of Empress Bellisant's innocence. I found myself, as always with such tales, as indignant with the faithless misogyny of the husband - so willing to believe the worst of his wife, with no evidence - as I was with the false accuser, but there you have it - western literature abounds with such unfortunate themes.

Definitely not one for the youngest fairy-tale crowd, Valentine and Orson is a book I would recommend to independent young readers with a taste for epics and poetry. Just beautiful!

[Judy]

The full-page color illustrations may prompt people to think that this is a picture book for young kids. But it is a tale of royalty and arranged marriage, of deceit and trickery, of mistaken identity and honor. There is even a little bit of magic. The narrator is a dwarf. Some versions may be written for kids, but this one definitely targets an older age group.

This info is printed on the inside cover flap:
Cast as a folk play, narrated by Pacolet and performed by itinerant players in 16th century Flanders, This tale revives the narrative rhythms of the great medieval romances. ... In rhythmic paintings and verse, Nancy Elkholm Burkert recreates the spirit and essence of this epic romance with its message for all ages and all times.

In the author's note about the story, Burkert writes:
"Henry Watson's translation [c1504] has been my constant reference. After several drafts in prose, it was Chaucer's Canterbury Tales that prompted me to try the story in iambic pentameter couplets. It has been a lengthy and daunting process. Two hundred pages of Middle English prose have been winnowed in this interpretation to emphasize what is for me the essence of the story. I incorporated many expressions and phrases verbatim and echoed the text, but felt free to introduce variations."

The tale begins:
We bring before you now a play, by means
Of pantomime, in nine momentous scenes.
The present year is 1555, a day
In Flanders, after planting time, in May.
Our story, though, is found in ancient lore,
Two hundred years ago, or long before.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and appreciated the art which captures the views on stage as might have been seen by Renaissance viewers.

In 'A Christmas Carol,' when Scrooge visits his past, he remembers reading this story:
And Valentine," said Scrooge, "and his wild brother, Orson; there they go!"

[Kai Joy]

Really interesting that they went with the play within the book concept, I feel it worked quite well. Was a treat scanning all the illustrations, noticing details in the sets and costuming of the play. Feels so classic, twins separated at birth, one wild (grew up in the forest) and one royal. The courtly one sent to kill the wild one only for them to find out they have this connection. Its very much giving Gilgamesh and Enkidu with a little less homoeroticism. Overall a fun and rewarding read.

[Chris Jamison]

This is a beautiful book, beautifully written.
I was not familiar with this tale prior to reading it.

[Marta]

Trobar-me aquest llibre en una ciutat austríaca, perquè la gent el llegís entre molts d'altres, m'ha sorprès molt i me l'he quedat i se'n torna a casa.

[Seema Rao]

Lovely colored pencil illustrations show medieval actors performing the play of Valentine and Orson, which is also told in Troubadour style poetry. It is wonderful to read aloud, but long for a child to listen to.

[Maia]

The story of Valentine and Orson dates back to the mid-1400s if not before. The creator of this book fell in love with the tale and condensed it down into a 9 chapter poem in iambic pentameter, clarifying its central themes. Her gorgeous illustrations show a travelling family of actors performing the story on a small makeshift stage, in the era and style of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The story starts when Bellisant, the sister of King Pepin of France marries Alexander, the Emperor of Greece and goes to live in his capital city of Constantinople. A terrible betrayal occurs, and the Emperor casts out the pregnant Bellisant believing that she has been unfaithful. With only one trusty servant, Blandyman, she tries to make her way back to her brother's court. She gives birth to twin boys all alone in the forest, and one of them is stolen by a bear. Chasing after her stolen son she leaves his twin behind. He is found and adopted by a squire of King Pepin. It takes twenty years, and many plot twists and turns, before the unlucky mother is once again reunited with her children.

[Moe]

This was pretty boring. It had way too many thous and tis and words I've never even heard of before. I wanted to see how it ended and sometimes it was cool to listen to what rhymed but it was just okay.

[Mckinley]

Longer than you might think.