The Faerie Queene is Edmund Spenser’s magnum opus, composed for Queen Elizabeth I. The epic poem is incomplete, as only six of the intended twelve books were published before his death. Despite that, it stands as one of the longest poems in the English language. During its composition, Spenser invented a new type of verse form: the Spenserian stanza. The form consists of eight lines in iambic pentameter followed by a line in iambic hexameter, with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. He purposely included archaic language and spelling to make the work feel comparable to the Arthurian myths written during the Middle Ages. Spenser used Aristotle’s list of virtues as the foundation for his work. Each of the six books follows a different knight who symbolize a unique virtue: the Knight of the Redcross for Holiness, Guyon for Temperance, Britomartis for Chastity, Cambell and Telamond for Friendship, Artegall for Justice, and Calidore for Courtesy. Fragments of an unfinished seventh book—the “Cantos of Mutability”—would have centered on the virtue of Constancy. In a letter to Sir Walter Raleigh, Spenser reveals that King Arthur represents the virtue of Magnificence, “the perfection of all the rest.” The first book opens with the Redcross Knight on a quest ordered by Queen Gloriana to defeat a horrible dragon. Traveling with him is Lady Una and her dwarf servant, who are leading the knight to the land where the dragon dwells. A terrible storm forces the travelers to shelter in the nearest cave—and a monster’s den. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Edmund Spenser's vast epic poem The Faerie Queene is the most challenging masterpiece in early modern literature and is praised as the work most representative of the Elizabethan age. In it he fused traditions of medieval romance and classical epic, his religious and political allegory creating a Protestant alternative to the Catholic romances rejected by humanists and Puritans. The poem was later made over as children's literature, retold in lavish volumes and schoolbooks and appreciated in pedagogical studies and literary histories. Distinguished writers for children simplified the stories and noted artists illustrated them. Children were less encouraged to consider the allegory than to be inspired to the moral virtues. This book studies The Faerie Queene's many adaptations for a young audience in order to provide a richer understanding of both the original and adapted texts.

This version of Edmund Spenser's classic tale is retold in an accessible manner, bringing stories of knights, dragons, sorcerers and princesses to a new generation.

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a music prodigy, who’s about to find out she can see faeries. Two mysterious (and cute) guys enter her life. Trouble is, Luke is a soulless faerie assassin and Aodhan is a dark faerie soldier. Their orders from the Faerie Queen? Kill Deirdre.

Magnificent collection of medieval illustrations and decorations created by famed Victorian-era artist to illustrate a sumptuous limited edition of The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser's 16th-century allegorical epic poem. Over 300 superb images — including full-page plates, headpieces, borders, vignettes, and decorative initials — depict knights, maidens, dragons, unicorns, angels, and a host of decorative elements.

Concentrating on major figures of women in The Faerie Queene, together with the figures constellated around them, Anderson's Narrative Figuration explores the contribution of Spenser's epic romance to an appreciation of women's plights and possibilities in the age of Elizabeth. Taken together, their stories have a meaningful tale to tell about the function of narrative, which proves central to figuration in the still moving, metamorphic poem that Spenser created.