A Masque of Days - From the Last Essays of Elia - Newly Dressed and Decorated by Walter Crane

What a delightful book! It reminded me of J. R. R. Tolkien or C. S. Lewis at their most piquant, reaching back to the old calendar to people a mythology with the days of the year. The story is simple; it's a party. The New Year comes into his father's estate by Calendar Law, "as soon as the breath is out of the old man's body," at which point "nothing would serve the young spark but that he must give a dinner upon the occasion, to which all the Days in the year were invited" (1). Thus begins a deliciously clever imagining of how all the days of the year would interact if they were people.In Walter Crane's hands, the days of the year provide a cast as varied as humanity itself. There is the old incendiary, the Fifth of November, who is banished to the cellar for being a firebrand. There is Valentine's Day making love to May — and of course, April Fool, who makes several appearances. We even get some good old English politics in the 12th of August, a "zealous old Whig gentlewoman," and the Twenty-Third of April, "a newfangled lady of the Tory stamp," who argue over the right to give the toast (23). Lady Day appears, though she "kept a little aloof and seemed somewhat scornful" (7–8). And there is Christmas Day plying Ash Wednesday with the Wassail bowl, and the Last of Lent "spunging Shrove-tide's pancakes," and all manner of other Days feasting (or not, in the case of the Fasts) right merrily.That has probably given you a taste of the clever fun of the story, and there's plenty more:"Pay Day came late, as he always does; and Doomsday sent word—he might be expected" (12).Or the way the table was set:"Covers were provided for three hundred and sixty-five guests at the principal table; with an occasional knife and fork at the sideboard for the Twenty-Ninth of February" (4).:)I must also say a word about the wonderful illustrations. Colorful, humorous, and imaginative, Crane's work is a delight and perfectly complements the quirky fun of the narrative. The attention to detail is very rewarding to the reader; each character is lovingly rendered in attitudes and dress entirely in accordance with his or her description. I especially like the long, flowing dresses of the elegant women.I sometimes fall into the chronological snobbery of assuming that people in previous centuries didn't have nearly the sense of the comedic that we have nowadays. But the more I read their books, the more I am inclined to think it's the other way around, that they had the real humor and all we have is a pale imitation in coarse buffoonery. If you tend to think of 1901 as a stuffy time inhabited by stuffy people, you should attend the New Year's feast too and meet some of his guests for yourself. I enjoyed the festivities very much!

The premise of A Masque of Days is that the Old Year has passed on and the New Year is coming of age. All the Days have gathered for a feast to honor them all. April Fool's plays jester. The Hours are moth-winged pageboys. Lent is a dour family dressed in black. Guy Fawkes Day is a villainous rogue. This personification of the calendar is a delight and Walter Crane's lively, intricate drawings are what you would expect from a master of the Golden Age of children's illustrations.The idea of personified holidays is still alive today as we still have New Year's represented by a baby replacing the old, wizened outgoing year. We also have holiday "mascots" like Santa, the Easter Bunny, and Cupid. Many of the holidays featured are antiquated, so those who love Victorian-era references will have a lot of fun discovering new traditions.Pook Press has done a splendid job restoring the beautiful color and line art of this book. They are a relatively new company with the mission of reprinting rare, hard to find classics of children's literature, often ones that would be too expensive for the average reader to be able to enjoy. I cannot think of a better purpose for a publishing company to have.

My editition of this book is from Pook Press, a company which is republishing some of the early gems of children's literature in affordable editions. This particular choice certainly shows why Walter Crane is considered one of the leading lights of children's illustrated literature. His art is spectacularly beautiful, capturing and in some places extending the humor of the text. That text, by Charles Lamb, is sprightly and witty. I am so glad this book has been reprinted. I am so glad to own it. But I have some trouble wondering just what the audience will be for it. Most children, for whom the press is ostensibly reprinting these editions, are not likely to get much of the humor, as references abound to holidays in the Roman Catholic calendar, and habits and customs which were already 100 years in the past when the book was first printed in 1901. Students of illustration would do well to get it, as would old book enthusiasts, but I hope the company has a few books in the pipe which will appeal to a broader audience, as I would really like to see them succeed.

I knew absolutely nothing about this, and just googled it, to discover that the text was written by Charles Lamb (which immediately makes me think of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society); for some reason Lamb is not credited at all here, except as Elia.This is a slim paperback, an allegorical banquet in which participate all the days of the year, with particular mention for New Year's Day, Ash Wednesday, Pay Day, Doomsday, April Fool, Shrove Tuesday, Christmas Day, and so on. The text is set in black and red calligraphy, in cartouches, one per page, and each one delicately and gracefully illustrated by Walter Crane. It is delightfully old-fashioned, charmingly witty, but I can't imagine what modern-day children would make of it.Thank you to pook press for sending this to me.

I am very excited about Pook Press reprinting some of these wonderful old books for children, especially with such lovely illustrators as Walter Crane. This tale is charming, though it might have been nice to include some information on the side about the various "Days" for those of us who are not English and not familiar with many of the Holy Days. I have some Googling ahead of me because there are many innuendos which I can see but not perceive.

The Old Year has died; the New Year is giving a dinner, a masque, to mark the occassion and all the Days of the year are invited!A masque was an elaborate and festive courtly ball in the 16th and 17th centuries, in which costumes were worn and an allegory theatrically presented. In this masque, the 365 Days (and their meanings) are presented to the reader, who is in turns amused and educated by their appearance. The reader encounters the familiar: Rainy Days with their dripping wet stockings, and Wedding Day and April Fools Day; and the unfamiliar (to this modern American, anyway): Lord Mayor's Day. And regular old 12th of August and May 29th. And June 21st (a beautiful lady) and December 22nd (an old man). These Days are delightfully imagined and illustrated, both brightly and delicately by the eminent children's book illustrator, Walter Crane. While I was familiar with Crane, I wasn't with this particular book, nor with Pook Press, a publisher that is republishing classic children's books. There are definitely several ways to read this slender book. You can read it in a casual and light way, reading the text and looking at the pretty pictures, or, stop on every page, where you can delve deeper into history and derive an education; who exactly are these Days? What do some of these terms, which are not encountered very often today, mean? What did they mean then, and what do they mean now? Think about all the Paydays, the Rainy Days, the Christmas Days of your life; what did they mean to you? A child reading this today might appreciate a parent or teacher who could be on hand to help explain some of these unfamiliar terms and words that will be encountered. I'm an adult, and some of this went right over my head; I know that I would derive a deeper appreciation of it if I did a little research. Reading this book could be a good educational experience, but also a fun one--it's fun to imagine all the Days of the Year being invited to a fancy dinner party at the beginning of a New Year; how would they dress, and what would they eat and how would they act?The text is a little difficult to read, because of Crane's calligraphy style (he often cuts off words in an odd fashion; I get the feeling he didn't really plan out how he would start writing the words, he just started, and if they got cut off, so be it). But it's readable, and enjoyable, and his illustrations are lovely.This book was designed and printed beautifully too. I think it's a print-on-demand book, from the self-publisher Lulu. It's wonderful that Pook Press is publishing these hard to find (and very expensive in their original editions) books.

This book was a "breath of fresh air" for me as it totally captivated my attention from the first page. I loved the illustrations as they suited the text perfectly. The text itself harkens back to the time when Holidays included Candlemas, May Day and The Lord Mayor's Day. Days such as Pay Day and Wedding day were included as well (Pay Day was late, as usual!).It does not take much time to read the 40 illustrated pages, but I found myself lingering over the elegant drawings of Mr. Crane. They appear to be water colours on ink outlines and are very bright and cheery.When my grandchildren get a little older I will introduce this book to them, and I can recommend it to other grandparents and parents.Good Job, Pook Press!

What a delightful book! It reminded me of J. R. R. Tolkien or C. S. Lewis at their most piquant, reaching back to the old calendar to people a mythology with the days of the year. The story is simple; it's a party. The New Year comes into his father's estate by Calendar Law, "as soon as the breath is out of the old man's body," at which point "nothing would serve the young spark but that he must give a dinner upon the occasion, to which all the Days in the year were invited" (1). Thus begins a deliciously clever imagining of how all the days of the year would interact if they were people.In Walter Crane's hands, the days of the year provide a cast as varied as humanity itself. There is the old incendiary, the Fifth of November, who is banished to the cellar for being a firebrand. There is Valentine's Day making love to May — and of course, April Fool, who makes several appearances. We even get some good old English politics in the 12th of August, a "zealous old Whig gentlewoman," and the Twenty-Third of April, "a newfangled lady of the Tory stamp," who argue over the right to give the toast (23). Lady Day appears, though she "kept a little aloof and seemed somewhat scornful" (7–8). And there is Christmas Day plying Ash Wednesday with the Wassail bowl, and the Last of Lent "spunging Shrove-tide's pancakes," and all manner of other Days feasting (or not, in the case of the Fasts) right merrily.That has probably given you a taste of the clever fun of the story, and there's plenty more:"Pay Day came late, as he always does; and Doomsday sent word—he might be expected" (12).Or the way the table was set:"Covers were provided for three hundred and sixty-five guests at the principal table; with an occasional knife and fork at the sideboard for the Twenty-Ninth of February" (4).:)I must also say a word about the wonderful illustrations. Colorful, humorous, and imaginative, Crane's work is a delight and perfectly complements the quirky fun of the narrative. The attention to detail is very rewarding to the reader; each character is lovingly rendered in attitudes and dress entirely in accordance with his or her description. I especially like the long, flowing dresses of the elegant women.I sometimes fall into the chronological snobbery of assuming that people in previous centuries didn't have nearly the sense of the comedic that we have nowadays. But the more I read their books, the more I am inclined to think it's the other way around, that they had the real humor and all we have is a pale imitation in coarse buffoonery. If you tend to think of 1901 as a stuffy time inhabited by stuffy people, you should attend the New Year's feast too and meet some of his guests for yourself. I enjoyed the festivities very much!