6 h 44 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the fields near home could introduce you to the people who shaped them centuries ago?
Dan and Una are playing near their Sussex home when a scene from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream brings them face to face with Puck. This ancient countryside spirit opens their familiar world to visitors from England's past. Each arrives with a life to tell, not just a lesson to teach.
Rudyard Kipling's linked stories and poems move from Weland, a smith once worshipped as a god, to Parnesius and his service at Hadrian's Wall. Sir Richard Daltingridge tells of conquest and friendship; Kadmiel brings Jewish life in medieval England into view. Through these encounters, the children discover how different origins and loyalties shape the land they call home.
What you’ll discover
- Magic close to home Follow Puck as he brings distant centuries into the children's own Sussex countryside.
- Skill and fading powers Meet Weland in a tale of craftsmanship, service, and the passing of ancient gods.
- Duty on the frontier Stand with Parnesius at Hadrian's Wall, where friendship and loyalty face threats and struggles for power.
- Many lives, one land Discover knights, soldiers, craftsmen, and outsiders whose experiences give England's past a human face.
- Stories joined by poems Move through seafaring adventure and departing fairies, with poems linking individual lives to shared memory.
Who will love it
Readers who love the English countryside, old legends and history told as adventure will enjoy it.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Puck steps out when the children break the Hills
- A fallen god learns to work for his living
- A young Norman learns to hold a manor
- Two old friends sail south among pirates
- A pen can defend England's gate
- A Roman captain holds the Wall with few men
- A craftsman remembers his village
- The children learn through questions
- The same hill holds many people and many ages
Who’s who
- DanA farm boy who loves facts and books, and who spots that a knight's Devils might be gorillas.
- UnaDan's younger sister, kind and quick, who wins the trust of the people from the past.
- PuckThe last of the People of the Hills, mischievous and wise, who gives the children a way to see old England.
- Sir Richard DalyngridgeA Norman knight who comes with William the Conqueror and learns to love the Sussex valley he is given.
- HughA Saxon novice who becomes a knight, Richard's closest friend, and owner of a singing sword.
- ParnesiusA British-born Roman centurion who guards Hadrian's Wall with his friend Pertinax.
- Hal DaweA proud master craftsman who must rebuild his village church and learn humility.
- KadmielA learned Jewish physician who plans to turn gold into law in the days of King John.
Formats and delivery
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- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Puck de la Colline de Pook
by Rudyard Kipling · 1906
Two children act a play on Midsummer Eve, and Puck steps out of the bushes to show them England's past.
Easy read5–10 hours to readfrançais
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In short
Two children act out a play on Midsummer Eve, and a small brown stranger steps out of the bushes. He is Puck, the oldest Old Thing in England, and he has a gift for them.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Puck steps out when the children break the Hills
Dan and Una live on a Sussex farm. On Midsummer Eve they act scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream inside a fairy ring in a meadow called the Long Slip, right beneath Pook's Hill. Without knowing it, they have done something no one has managed for a thousand years.
Puck appears, small and broad-shouldered. He is the last of the People of the Hills. He cuts turf from the ring and gives a piece to each child. This old custom, called taking seizin, lets them see and hear the past.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1906
- Language
- français
- Level
- Easy read
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What is Puck of Pook's Hill about?
It follows two Sussex children, Dan and Una, who meet Puck. He summons people from the past, such as a Norman knight and a Roman soldier, to tell them stories of the land where they live.
Who is Puck in Puck of Pook's Hill?
Puck is the last of the People of the Hills, a mischievous spirit who says he came to England with oak, ash and thorn. He guides the children and blurs their memories with magic leaves after each tale.
Is Puck of Pook's Hill a true story?
The frame is invented, but the tales are woven around real events such as the Norman Conquest, Hadrian's Wall and the time of King John.
The author
Rudyard Kipling
1865–1936 · English novelist and poet
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was an English writer and poet born in Bombay, India. He lived in India, England and the United States. He wrote The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), Kim (1901) and Just So Stories (1902). He died in London in 1936.
More by Rudyard Kipling
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