Don Quixote of the Mancha, retold by Judge Parry, illustrated by Walter Crane. London: Blackie & Son Limited; Manchester: Sheratt & Hugues, 1900. Classmark: Waddleton.c.9.615

Toy books became a big market success in the Victorian era. Mainly intended for the middle and upper classes, they were held in high regard for their artistic value, colour printing and quality paper.

The illustrator of this fine item, Walter Crane, belonged to the Arts and Crafts movement and was considered one of the leading artists for children’s books. The book indeed integrates the idea of the useful and beautiful, one of the movement’s chief principles.

This abridged version of Don Quixote presents itself as a less moralizing one. It is offered in a “simple narrative” told as if “around the fireside”, for the young to gather its “humour and wisdom”.