The Fables of Aesop

According to legend, Aesop was born mute but was granted the power to speak and craft fables in return for his generosity to one of the attendants of the goddess Isis. His stories were passed down for centuries as spoken tales before they were eventually written down for posterity. From ’The Hare and the Tortoise’ to ’The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’, Aesop’s fables remain the most widely read and beloved children’s tales of all time.

The majority of Aesop’s 300-odd fables are narrated by animals, as is common across many tales with a moral undertone. However, although they display animalistic traits, the protagonists reflect the actions and reactions of humans and are the mouthpieces of reasoning and moral stance. In ‘The Wolf and the Crane’, a wolf hires the bird to dislodge a bone from its throat but refuses to pay his debt.

In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains.

1. From ‘The Wolf and The Crane’

When pigeons call upon a hawk to protect them from a kite, many of them end up slain; more than could possibly have been killed by the hawk. Aesop’s moral conclusion is to ’avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease’.

Our edition reproduces the classic 1909 text and is illustrated with 23 stunning colour plates and 20 black-and-white illustrations by the famed Victorian natural history illustrator Edward J. Detmold. Detmold, in collaboration with his brother, had achieved great success with his illustrations of The Jungle Book in 1903 – also available in a Folio edition –  and his otherworldly style lent itself perfectly to Aesop’s tales. Here, the animals’ faces are, by turn, doleful, contemplative and mischievous, and the illustrations themselves evoke period atmosphere with sepia tones and delicate strokes. A proud eagle adorns the two-colour binding, perching inside a blocked floral border, which has been redrawn for this edition by David Eccles.

Edward Julius Detmold (1883–1957) was born in London, England. He had a twin brother, Charles Maurice Detmold. They came from a family of art connoisseurs and painters, and were encouraged in their interest in natural history and art. They both exhibited from an early age and collaborated on their first book in 1899, Pictures from Birdland. They subsequently collaborated on a number of books, including The Jungle Book (1903) and became two of the great illustrators of the period. Maurice took his own life in 1908 and Edward continued to work as an illustrator. In 1909, he completed the illustrations for The Fables of Aesop, one of his most famous works. Edward died in 1957, aged 73.