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Forgotten Author of the Week - Howard Pyle

Just like many of my previous forgotten authors, you do know Howard Pyle even if you don't realize it. His 1883 classic The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print to this day and his other books often have some of the same themes. 

 

Howard Pyle was born in 1853. Although he w

as born in Wilmington , Delaware, he spent most of his life living in Florence Italy. In 1894, Pyle began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry. In 1883 he wrote The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. He also wrote an original work called Otto the Silver Hand (1883), and a four-volume set in King Arthur. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and St. Nicholas Magazine. His Men of Iron book was made into a movie in 1954 called The Black Shield of Falworth.

Pyle's most famous work distilled many Robin Hood legends and ballads, making them suitable for the child audience that the sought to appeal. Pyle was not so concerned with historical accuracy as he was about storytelling. Although, none of the tales in the book were Pyle's own making, he wove them together to form a unified story.


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