3 h 44 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 44 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A king forgets the cakes, a boy holds his post, and a wish for gold brings trouble.
In Fifty Famous Stories Retold, James Baldwin gathers short tales from ancient Greece and Rome, English and Scottish history, and old legend. King Alfred hides from invaders. Robert Bruce faces defeat and doubt. Each story turns on a choice, with courage, patience, kindness or honesty at its heart.
Meet Cornelia, a Roman mother asked to show her jewels, and Androclus, a runaway slave who encounters a suffering lion. In Casabianca, a boy stays at his post during a sea battle. Baldwin keeps the words plain and the action direct, giving each person’s decision room to make its mark.
What you’ll discover
- A king brought low Follow Alfred into hiding, where a herdsman’s hut becomes a place to learn humility.
- Courage after defeat Stay with Robert Bruce as he searches for a reason to try once more.
- Friendship put to proof Meet Damon and Pythias, whose trust in each other faces a tyrant’s test.
- A wish gone wrong Discover how King Midas’s love of gold turns a treasured wish into trouble.
- Small choices that matter Consider what a cup of water means to the wounded Sir Philip Sidney.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy short tales you can tell again, stories of brave deeds and clever answers, or fireside reading to share with children.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- English kings learn the limits of power
- Outlaws, patriots and fools in old Britain
- Ordinary people face great danger with courage
- Rome honors duty, loyalty and a lion's gratitude
- Greek wisdom in short answers and strange habits
- Anger, kindness and wit in tales from many lands
- Children, courage and kindness in the last stories
- How the book is built and what it teaches
Who’s who
- King AlfredThe English king who flees the Danes, forgets the woodcutter's cakes while planning his return and gathers his scattered men.
- Robin HoodThe green-clad outlaw of Sherwood Forest who helps the poor and sets out to rescue a young man's bride.
- HoratiusA Roman guard who holds the road at the bridge over the Tiber so his friends can cut it down.
- CincinnatusA poor Roman farmer who leaves his plow when the city needs a leader to save its trapped army.
- Grace DarlingThe lighthouse keeper's daughter who insists on rowing out to a wreck in a storm to save the crew.
- AndroclusA runaway Roman slave who removes a thorn from a lion's paw in a cave and gains an unlikely friend.
- Dick WhittingtonA poor orphan boy who walks to London hoping for gold streets and sends his only cat on a merchant's ship.
- MignonA small dancing girl, rescued by Wilhelm, who sings of a distant land and dances blindfolded among eggs.
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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Fifty Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin · 1896
A king burns the cakes, a girl rows into a storm, and a boy carves a lion from butter in these fifty tales.
Easy read2–5 hours to readfrançais
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In short
Why would a king hiding from his enemies let a stranger's cakes burn to a crisp on the hearth? Because his mind is busy with plans for winning back his country.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
English kings learn the limits of power
The book opens with King Alfred, who rules England while Danish raiders win battle after battle. After one defeat his army scatters, and he runs alone through woods and swamps until he reaches a woodcutter's hut. The woodcutter's wife asks him to watch her cakes while she milks the cow. Alfred is so busy planning how to gather his men that the cakes burn, and she scolds him as a lazy fellow, not knowing he is the king.
In a second tale a ragged beggar asks Alfred for food. The king has only one loaf and a little wine, yet he orders half of it given away. Later King Canute grows tired of officers who say nothing would dare disobey him. He has his chair set at the water's edge and orders the tide to stop. The sea does what the sea always does, and Canute lays his crown aside to teach his men who truly rules.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1896
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 2 h 25 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Baldwin, James. Fifty Famous Stories Retold. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/fifty-famous-stories-retold.
Baldwin, J. (2026). Fifty famous stories retold. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fifty-famous-stories-retold (Original work published 1896)
Baldwin, James. Fifty Famous Stories Retold. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fifty-famous-stories-retold.
@book{baldwin2026fifty,
author = {Baldwin, James},
title = {Fifty Famous Stories Retold},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fifty-famous-stories-retold},
note = {First published 1896}
}
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What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold about?
It is a collection of fifty short tales drawn from history, legend and old folk stories. They cover kings of England, heroes of Rome and Greece, brave ordinary people and a few gentle children, each with a clear point.
Are the stories in Fifty Famous Stories Retold true?
Some rest on real people and events, such as Alfred, Raleigh and Grace Darling, while others are legends or folk tales. Baldwin says some have a little historical value and others are products of the imagination meant to entertain.
Who wrote Fifty Famous Stories Retold and for whom?
James Baldwin wrote it for young readers in the middle primary grades at school. He hoped children would enjoy the tales and want to read more, and the clear, short stories also suit listeners of any age.
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