Questing Knights of the Faerie Queen

by Geraldine McCaughrean

Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queen" was written in 1596 for Queen Elizabeth 1st. Award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean re-tells this famous romantic text in a gripping and accessible way. Lavishly designed and brilliantly illustrated by Jason Cockcroft, this is a perfect and a wonderful present.

Genres: Fantasy, Picture Books, Fiction, Audiobook, Fairy Tales, Childrens

144 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Julia]

When reviewing a retelling, do you judge it by its source material or its new adaptation?

For a plain retelling, I can't complain about McCaughrean. Her use of the English language is playful. But that's the only positive thing I have to say about this book. The source material is woefully outdated, the characters extremely one-dimensional, the plots filled with deus ex machina, the topics bordering on irrelevant in modern age. I know it's from medieval times but the misogyny is soooo tiring. I can't think of a single character I cared about.

I think McCaughrean could have saved this by giving herself freer reigns: only loosely base her story on the originals. The movie 10 Things I Hate About You, a modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (a very sexist play), manages to take the problematic source material and turn the stereotypes on their heads. McCaughrean could have attempted to do the same.

[Adam Rodgers]

A retelling of Edmund Spencer's The Faerie Queene, this illustrated collection recounts the tales of four knights, and their exploits to prove worthy of knighthood and their patron.

Although simplified, McCaughrean hits most of the same moral story points as the allegorical epic poem source. While some of the tales come across as a bit twee, this is a pleasant collection of fables, accompanied by Jason Cockcroft's colourful artwork. The scenes depicted are often some of the more mundane elements of the stories, rather than the battle scenes etc but are frequent and diverting enough. While some of the chivilaric actions of the knights read slightly chauvanistic to a modern reader, in context most audiences should enjoy this adptation of Arthurian myth and English legends.

[Astroretro]

A dose of old fashioned knight tales for young readers.

[Darcy]

Enjoyed listening to this audiobook with the kids. Adventure, love, and chivalry.

[Heather]

3.5 stars

[scarlettraces]

Let's face it this is the only way I'm ever going to consume Spenser.

Audiobook went down nice and easy, good accompaniment to pulling up weeds.

[Dylan]

This was a cool way to see an overview of the various stories of The Faerie Queene. It's strange that some of the books were cut down so much, while Book I was kept mostly intact. I have only read Book I and part of Book II, as of now, but I'll have to see how the original epic poem compares to this.

The illustrations were magnificent. I would have loved to have read this as a kid.

[Laura Morrigan]

I really enjoyed this modern retelling including the vivid illustrations, my only real problem was with one of the original stories. It frustrated me how chauvanistic Britomart's love was, and the fact that, although she was as tough as any male knight and saved him, she still agreed with him that men were superior to women. Still, a great collection, apart from that one sour note.

[Fusspot]

With a name like Britomarte, I should love the Faerie Queen... but I can't do it. I just can't do it. I have hated every adaptation, every rewrite, that I've ever tried to read.

McCaughrean did a decent job with the source material, and four stars for that, but I hated every single character so much that I couldn't finish the book.

[Reetta Saine]

I usually like reruns and rewrites, but this was a disappointment. Why don't I like McCaughrean, why, o' why? I want to like her.



Please, recommend me one of her great books!