"I Serve a Ruler Greater Than Yours, for I Serve My Music..."

books:

	• The Foundling: And Other Tales of Prydain (The Chronicles of Prydain) Lloyd Alexander Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks, 2006 - 128 pages average customer review:based on 28 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An excellent companion to the Chronicles of Prydain

The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain is a collection of several short stories by Lloyd Alexander that flesh out his fantasy world of Prydain, a world introduced through the five-books of the Chronicles of Prydain. Because these stories represent glimpses at the world and its characters rather than an extended exploration, the book is a little less compelling than the longer series but still an excellent read.

The Foundling tells tales of Prydain from before the events of the Chronicles of Prydain. Many of the stories here, such as Dallben's acquiring of The Book of Three or Fflewdur Fflam gaining his truthful harp, were hinted at in the series and expounded upon here. As a stand alone book, The Foundling has the same vibrant world but lacks the character development found in the larger series - after all, this book presents a group of short stories, not an epic five-book journey. However, the tales are still charming and form an excellent way to revisit Prydain after one has finished The High King. With many minor secrets of Prydain explored in depth here, the stories are guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of readers who fondly remember Lloyd Alexander's wonderful series.

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Possibly the most excellent read-aloud for your elem.kids

The Prydain chronicles, endling in the Foundling, are perhaps one of the best children's series ever written. The quality of the writing is outstanding, Alexander's descriptive abilities are wonderful, his characterization is flawless and his stories are enchanting. I read them all as a kid, and recently just finished them as a read-aloud series to my two oldest (7 and 9). They were as enthralled by them as I was as a kid. Great old themes of good vs evil. Fabulous suspense. As far from modern day trash writing as you can imagine. Go and fill your kids brains on a diet of this!!

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"I Serve a Ruler Greater Than Yours, for I Serve My Music..."

After the five-part "Chronicles of Prydain" came to a close, fans of the series requested more stories from Lloyd Alexander, and he obliged with this anthology. There are eight short stories in all, set in Alexander's Welsh-inspired land of Prydain in the time before our favourite Assistant Pig-Keeper was born, and each one includes familiar characters or legendary circumstances from the original books. In particular, many of the tales pit the forces of light and life against the main antagonist of the saga: Arawn, the dark Lord of Death.

The first and last stories, "The Foundling" and "The Truthful Harp" deal with the backgrounds of two major characters in the original books: Dallben and Fflewddur Fflam respectively. Dallben is the foundling of the title, who is discovered as an infant by the three mysterious crones and raised as their own. However, when he reaches adolescence he accidentally tastes of a magical brew and his eyes are opened to the true nature of his guardians. He sets out to find the meaning of wisdom, with a tome titled "The Book of Three" as his only possession.

"The Truthful Harp" is a beautiful, humourous story about the king of a tiny kingdom "so small he could almost stride across it between midday and high noon" and how he desired to become a bard. But when Fflewddur Fflam approaches the Chief Bard with his request, he is given a mysterious harp that does something rather odd whenever he stretches the truth.

Likewise, "Coll and his White Pig" recounts the youth of a major character in the saga. It tells the tale of Coll, who gives up fighting for farming, and the adventure that was briefly mentioned in The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain). When Coll's beloved white oracular pig is stolen by forces of Arawn, Coll undertakes a mission to save him, calling on allies in the forest to aid him in his infiltration of Annuvin. It also recounts Coll's meeting with Dallben, and how the two men came to live under the same roof.

"The Rascal Crow" and "The Smith, the Weaver and the Harper" also deal with Arawn's greedy reach for power and his attempts to steal away that which benefits mankind. In the former he sends his Huntsmen out to corrupt or destroy those of the animal-kingdom. The wise Medwyn calls his animals to his secret valley in order to warn them of the threat, but Kadwyr the crow finds the whole thing amusing, particularly the efforts of the gnat, the spiders and the lumbering tortoise. But in typical Aesopian fashion, it is these overlooked creatures that will be his salvation when Kadwyr finds himself the target of one of the Huntsmen.

The second story is more of a cautionary tale, in which master-craftsmens loss their gifts through their own greed. Both a blacksmith and a weaver are masters of their arts, but tricked into giving up the tools of their trade when Arawn offers to take their own hammer and shuttle in exchange for more "magical" items. But when Arawn approaches Menwy the bard, something quite different happens...

Out of all the stories "The Sword" and "The True Enchanter" are probably the most valuable in adding depth and background to the mythos of Prydain. They are to the series what The Magician's Nephew Color Gift Edition (Narnia) was to The Chronicles of Narnia in terms of acting as prequels to what follows.

"The True Enchanter" recounts the meeting of Princess Elionwy's parents; Geraint and Angharad. When Princess Angharad of Llyr is told to find an enchanter for a husband, she is unimpressed with her first two suitors. But when Geraint steps forward, they both know it's love: "He stood waiting, saying nothing more, while his glance and the glance of Angharad touched and held each other." It's nearly impossible to pull off the `love at first sight' trope, but naturally Alexander does, and the lovers' escape (that includes a familiar golden bauble) is made especially bittersweet in knowing the eventual fate of Elionwy's mother as discovered in Taran Wanderer (The Chronicles of Prydain).

Meanwhile, "The Sword" is the tragic, haunting story of Dyrnwyn's history and the creation of Spiral Castle. King Rhitta's slaying of a simple shepherd sets off a chain reaction that leads to the King's downfall and the circumstances behind Dyrnwyn's resting place where Taran and Elionwy find it in The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain). The story even explains why the sword is black and why the engraving on the scabbard has been scratched away.

Finally, "The Stone" is a light little story about a farmer who, on meeting an old man on the side of the road (strongly hinted to be Dallben) begins to dread the onset of old age. So when he rescues a member of the Fair Folk from a fallen log - Doli, before he was able to make himself invisible - he wishes that he'll remain young forever. But of course, such a wish has grave side-effects.

It is worth saying that I came to this anthology with somewhat of the wrong impression as to what to anticipate from these stories. They are entertaining and enlightening, but not what I expected in terms of their importance to the history of Prydain. With the exception of "The Sword" and "The True Enchanter," the stories are better described as fairytales that just happen to include familiar faces from the original "Chronicles of Prydain."

Of course, this in no way detracts from my enjoyment of the book, and with their use of talking animals, threefold obstacles, wishes gone wrong, the advantages of cunning over physical strength and the moral lesson to be extracted from each one, its clear that Alexander has taken his inspiration not just from Welsh mythology, but from traditional fairytales, Aesop's fables and even Shakespeare (the bloodstains on Dyrnwyn that cannot be scoured off reminded me of Lady Macbeth's "out, out, damned spot!" It is a lovely anthology, but sheds little light on the history of Prydain, of which there was plenty of material to be mined: such as the coming of the Children of Don, the dark relationship between Achren and Arawn, and the origins of the Horned King. I was also a little disappointed that there wasn't a story concerning Gwydion (who surely had some adventures in his time!)

But as always, Alexander infuses his words with warmth and vitality. Alexander knows life's priorities, and his wonderful storytelling ensures that the simple pleasures of life are always triumphant over not just evil, but more human foibles. Reflecting on the simple wonders of nature, the preciousness of tools over jewels, and the comfort of hearth and home, Alexander manages to insert an innate truthfulness and wisdom into his tales that never comes across as preachy. This is an essential companion book to "The Chronicles of Prydain," and can be read before, after or during your reading of the original five books without fear of spoilers.

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I am so glad I found these...

A friend loaned me her copies of this series. I enjoyed them so much I wanted my children to be able to read them, but I was apprehensive about having them read her autographed copies, and they weren't available at our local library. I was so delighted to find them at amazon.com and at such a great price I just couldn't pass them up. This is one of those true classics, great for both kids and adults. Enjoy!

Everything and more

The book I bought was exactly as the seller described it, "almost new". I had a small shipping problem with the book too, which they corrected for me as soon as they could. They also emailed me back the same day about the shipping error. Definitely a company I would use again.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Newbery-winning fantasy series now available in gorgeous new paperback editions!

Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the curmudgeonly Doli?all of whom have become involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of Prydain. Released over a period of five years, Lloyd Alexander?s beautifully written tales not only captured children?s imaginations but also garnered the highest critical praise.

The Black Cauldron was a Newbery Honor Book, and the final volume in the chronicles, The High King, crowned the series by winning the Newbery Medal for ?the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.?

Henry Holt is proud to present this classic series in a new, redesigned paperback format. The jackets feature stunning art by acclaimed fantasy artist David Wyatt, giving the books a fresh look for today?s generation of young fantasy lovers. The companion book of short stories, The Foundling is also available in paperback at this time.

In their more than thirty years in print, the Chronicles of Prydain have become the standard of excellence in fantasy literature for children.

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