This was a fascinating look at several very old books which had been passed on by grandparents as prizes awarded at school to favourite tales and poetry. The books fell into two categories; adult reads such as The Complete Works of William Wordsworth dating from 1793 to 1850 which led to us reciting ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’; followed by looking at the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam which was gilt edged and dated back to 1859; translated by Edward Fitzgerald and beautifully illustrated with Persian art. Followed by the poetic works of Kahlil Gibran which included a reading and the poetry of Henry Longfellow published by the Walter Scott publishing company and finally a fascinating book entitled ‘George V1 King and Emperor’ which included many photographs of the Royal family and Princesses Elisabeth and Margaret.
The next category related to childhood and we enjoyed hearing about a much used book in childhood entitled ‘The Wooden Spoon’ which contained recipes on Easy French Cookery. Further books which had been received at school prize award ceremonies were Little Women and Good Wives by Louisa May Alcot; Little Dorritt by Charles Dickins and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. In later years What Katy Did Next had been a firm favourite and then we looked at The Hobbit. ( Originally published in 1937! ) One final favourite had been a ‘modern’ illustration of Pilgrim Progress. (The original had been written by John Bunyan when he had been imprisoned in Bedfordshire County Jail; published 1678 and the second part in 1684) . The smallest book shared is called Hoppity Elf and it dated back to the 50’s.