Book excerpt: 'The Violet Fairy Book - Illustrated by H. J. Ford' forms part of Andrew Lang's 'Coloured' Fairy Books series - a series of twelve collections of fairy tales, published between 1889 and 1910. Each volume is distinguished by its own colour, and all in all, 437 tales from a wide array of cultures and countries are presented. Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912) was a Scots poet, novelist and literary critic, with a passion for folkloric story telling.Most of his volumes (including this, 'The Violet Fairy Book') were beautifully illustrated by Henry J. Ford (1860 - 1941), an inordinately talented artist who came to public attention with his illustrations for Lang. The books captured the imagination of British children, and later became worldwide bestsellers in the 1880s and 1890s. This 'Violet Book' contains many traditional fairy tales such as 'The Finest Liar in the World', 'The Lute Player', The Two Frogs', The History of Dwarf Long Nose', 'The Monkey and the Jellyfish', 'The Boys with the Golden Stars', 'Virgilius the Sorcerer', 'Morgarzea and his son' and many more. This book forms part of our 'Pook Press' imprint, celebrating the golden age of illustration in children's literature - a period of unparalleled excellence in book illustration.