Andrew Lang’s Story Books

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Andrew Lang's Story Books & Poetry series

On this page: Introduction | FAQ | Shelf Appeal | Complete List of Titles

About Andrew Lang's Story Books

The best known of Andrew Lang and his wife’s books for children are those in his Rainbow Fairy Book series. However, those 12 fairy books formed only part of a total of 25 books for children that were written by the Langs and released by their publisher Longmans & Co in uniform bindings throughout the same period (between 1889 and 1913). This page is dedicated to these “other” lesser-known books in the series, most of which are collections of ‘true’ or non-fiction stories.

Shelf Appeal

The beautiful gilt cover and spine designs by H. J. Ford make the first editions of these titles very striking on the shelf, and extremely collectible.

FAQ

What books are in the Andrew Lang Story Books series?

The Blue Poetry Book (1891)
The True Story Book (1893)
The Red True Story Book (1895)
The Animal Story Book (1896)
The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments (1898)
The Red Book of Animal Stories (1899)
The Book of Romance (1902)
The Red Romance Book (1905)
The Book of Princes and Princesses (1908)
The Red Book of Heroes (1909)
The All Sorts of Stories Book (1911)
The Book of Saints and Heroes (1912)
The Strange Story Book (1913)

Complete list of Andrew Lang's Story Books

Title	Author	Publication	Contents
The Blue Poetry Book Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by HJ Ford and Lancelot Speed	1891: Longmans	Includes poems by: "Anonymous"; Richard Barnfield; Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Minstrel Burn; Robert Burns; Lord Byron; Samuel Taylor Coleridge; William Collins; William Cowper; Charles Dibdin; Michael Drayton; John Dryden; Jean Elliot; Oliver Goldsmith; Thomas Gray; Robert Herrick; Thomas Heywood; James Hogg; Thomas Hood; Ben Jonson; John Keats; Charles Lamb; Mary Lamb; Walter Savage Landor; Lady Anne Barnard; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Richard Lovelace; Thomas Babington Macaulay; Christopher Marlowe; Andrew Marvell; William Julius Mickle; John Milton; Thomas Moore; Carolina Nairne; Thomas Nashe; Thomas Love Peacock; Edgar Allan Poe; Winthrop Mackworth Praed; Walter Scott; William Shakespeare; Percy Bysshe Shelley; James Shirley; Philip Sidney; Robert Surtees; Charles Wolfe; William Wordsworth; Henry Wotton
The True Story Book Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by L. Bogle, Lucien Davis, H. J. Ford, C. H. M. Kerr and Lancelot Speed	1893: Longmans	Contains 24 ‘true’ stories, mainly drawn from European history: A Boy among the Red Indians; Casanova's Escape; Adventures on the Findhorn; The Story of Grace Darling; The 'Shannon' and the 'Chesapeake'; Captain Snelgrave and the Pirates; The Spartan Three Hundred; Prince Charlie's Wanderings; Two Great Matches; The Story of Kaspar Hauser; An Artist's Adventure; The Tale of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift; How Leif the Lucky found Vineland the Good; The Escapes of Cervantes; The Worthy Enterprise of John Foxe; Baron Trenck; The Adventure of John Rawlins; The Chevalier Johnstone's Escape from Culloden; The Adventures of Lord Pitsligo; The Escape of Caesar Borgia from the Castle of Medina del Campo; The Kidnapping of the Princes; The Conquest of Montezuma's Empire; Adventures of Bartholomew Portugues, a Pirate; The Return of the French Freebooters.
The Red True Story Book Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by HJ Ford	1895: Longmans	Contains 30 'true' stories, mainly drawn from European history: Wilson's Last Fight; The Life and Death of Joan the Maid; How the Bass was held for King James; The Crowning of Ines de Castro; The Story of Orthon; How Gustavus Vasa won his Kingdom; Monsieur de Bayard's Duel; Story of Gudbrand of the Dales; Sir Richard Grenville; The Story of Molly Pitcher; The Voyages, Dangerous Adventures, and Imminent Escapes of Captain Richard Falconer; Marbot's March; Eylau. The Mare Lisette; How Marbot crossed the Danube; The Piteous Death of Gaston, Son of the Count of Foix; Rolf Stake; The Wreck of the 'Wager'; Peter Williamson; A Wonderful Voyage; The Pitcairn Islanders; A Relation of three years' Suffering of Robert Everard upon the Island of Assada, near Madagascar, in a voyage to India, in the year 1686; The Fight at Svolder Island; The Death of Hacon the Good; Prince Charlie's War; The Burke and Wills Exploring Expedition; The Story of Emund; The Man in White; The Adventures of 'The Bull of Earlstoun; The Story of Grisell Baillie's Sheep's Head; The Conquest of Peru.
The Animal Story Book Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by HJ Ford	1896: Longmans	Contains 65 stories about animals (many taken from Alexandre Dumas): 'Tom': an Adventure in the Life of a Bear in Paris; Saï the Panther; The Buzzard and the Priest; Cowper and his Hares; A Rat Tale; Snake Stories; What Elephants can Do; The Dog of Montargis; How a Beaver builds his House; The War Horse of Alexander; Stories about Bears; Stories about Ants; The Taming of an Otter; The Story of Androcles and the Lion; Monsieur Dumas and his Beasts; The Adventures of Pyramus; The Story of a Weasel; Stories about Wolves; Two Highland Dogs; Monkey Tricks and Sally at the Zoo; How the Cayman was killed; The Story of Fido; Beasts Besieged; Mr. Gully; Stories from Pliny; The Strange History of Cagnotte; Still Waters Run Deep; or, the Dancing Dog; Theo and his Horses: Jane, Betsy, and Blanche; Madame Théophile and the Parrot; The Battle of the Mullets and the Dolphins; Monkey Stories; Eccentric Bird Builders; The Ship of the Desert; Hame, hame, hame, where I fain wad be; Nests for Dinner; Fire-eating Djijam; The Story of the Dog Oscar; Dolphins at Play; The Starling of Segringen; Grateful Dogs; Gazelle; Cockatoo Stories; The Otter who was reared by a Cat; Stories about Lions; Builders and Weavers; More Faithful than Favoured; Dolphins, Turtles, and Cod; More about Elephants; Bungey; Lions and their Ways; The History of Jacko I.; Signora and Lori; Of the Linnet, Popinjay, or Parrot, and other Birds that can Speak; Patch and the Chickens; The Fierce Falcon; Mr. Bolt, the Scotch Terrier; A Raven's Funeral; A Strange Tiger; Halcyons and their Biographers; The Story of a Frog; The Woodpecker Tapping on the Hollow Oak Tree; Dogs Over the Water; The Capocier and his Mate; Owls and Marmots; Eagles' Nests.
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by HJ Ford	1898: Longmans	Contains 34 stories from the Arabian Nights, adapted for children: The Arabian Nights; The Story of the Merchant and the Genius; The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind; The Story of the Second Old Man, and of the Two Black Dogs; The Story of the Fisherman; The Story of the Greek King and the Physician Douban; The Story of the Husband and the Parrot; The Story of the Vizir Who Was Punished; The Story of the Young King of the Black Isles; The Story of the Three Calendars, Sons of Kings, and of Five Ladies of Bagdad; The Story of the First Calendar, Son of a King; The Story of the Envious Man and of Him Who Was Envied; The Story of the Second Calendar, Son of a King; The Story of the Third Calendar, Son of a King; The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor; First Voyage; Second Voyage; Third Voyage; Fourth Voyage; Fifth Voyage; Sixth Voyage; Seventh and Last Voyage; The Little Hunchback; The Story of the Barber's Fifth Brother; The Story of the Barber's Sixth Brother; The Adventures of Prince Camaralzaman and the Princess Badoura; Noureddin and the Fair Persian; Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp; The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad; The Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla; The Story of Sidi-Nouman; The Story of Ali Cogia, Merchant of Bagdad; The Enchanted Horse; The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister.
The Red Book of Animal Stories Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by HJ Ford	1899: Longmans	Contains 46 stories about real and mythical animals: The Phœnix; Griffins and Unicorns; About Ants, Amphisbænas, and Basilisks; Dragons; The Story of Beowulf, Grendel', and Grendel's Mother; The Story of Beowulf and the Fire Drake; A Fox Tale; An Egyptian Snake Charmer; An Adventure of Gérard, the Lion Hunter; Pumas and Jaguars in South America; Mathurin and Mathurine; Joseph: Whose proper name was Josephine; The Homes of the Vizcachas; Guanacos: Living and Dying; In the American Desert; The Story of Jacko II; Princess; The Lion and the Saint; The Further Adventures of 'Tom,' a Bear, in Paris; Recollections of a Lion Tamer; Sheep Farming on the Border; When the World was Young; Bats and Vampires; The Ugliest Beast in the World; The Games of Orang-Outangs, and Kees the Baboon; Greyhounds and their Masters; The Great Father, and Snakes' Ways; Elephant Shooting; Hyenas and Children; A Fight with a Hippopotamus; Kanny, the Kangaroo; Collies or Sheep Dogs; Two Big Dogs and a Little One; Crocodile Stories; Lion-Hunting and Lions; On the Trail of a Man-eater; Greyhounds and their Arab Masters; The Life and Death of Pincher; A Boar Hunt by Moonlight; Thieving Dogs and Horses; To the Memory of Squouncer; How Tom the Bear was born a Frenchman; Charley; Fairy Rings; and the Fairies who make them; How the Reindeer Live; The Cow and the Crocodile.
The Book of Romance Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by HJ Ford	1902: Longmans	Contains 19 stories from various medieval and Renaissance romances of chivalry, adapted for children (including stories about King Arthur, Charlemagne, William of Orange, and Robin Hood): The Drawing of the Sword; The Questing Beast; The Sword Excalibur; The Story of Sir Balin; How the Round Table began; The Passing of Merlin; How Morgan Le Fay tried to kill King Arthur; What Beaumains asked of the King; The Quest of the Holy Graal; The Fight for the Queen; The Fair Maid of Astolat; Lancelot and Guenevere; The End of it All; The Battle of Roncevalles; The Pursuit of Diarmid; Some Adventures of William Short Nose; Wayland the Smith; The Story of Robin Hood; The Story of Grettir the Strong.
The Red Romance Book Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew Lang, illustrated by HJ Ford	1905: Longmans	Contains 29 stories from various medieval and Renaissance romances of chivalry, adapted for children (including stories about Don Quixote, Charlemagne, Bevis of Hampton and Guy of Warwick): How William of Palermo was carried off by the Werwolf; The Disenchantment of the Werwolf; The Slaying of Hallgerda's Husbands; The Death of Gunnar; Njal's Burning; The Lady of Solace; Una and the Lion; How the Red Cross Knight slew the Dragon; Amys and Amyle; The Tale of the Cid; The Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance; The Adventure of the Two Armies who turned out to be Flocks of Sheep; The Adventure of the Bobbing Lights; The Helmet of Mambrino; How Don Quixote was Enchanted while guarding the Castle; Don Quixote's Home-coming; The Meeting of Huon and Oberon, King of the Fairies; How Oberon saved Huon; Havelok and Goldborough; Cupid and Psyche; Sir Bevis the Strong; Ogier the Dane; How the Ass became a Man again; Guy of Warwick; How Bradamante conquered the Wizard; The Ring of Bradamante; The Fulfilling of the Prophecy; The Knight of the Sun; How the Knight of the Sun rescued his Father.
The Book of Princes and Princesses Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew & Mrs Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford	1908: Longmans	Contains 14 stories about the childhoods of European monarchs (including Napoleon, Elizabeth I, and Frederick the Great): Napoleon; His Majesty the King of Rome; The Princess Jeanne; Hacon the King; Mi Reina! Mi Reina!; Henriette the Siege Baby; The Red Rose; The White Rose; Richard the Fearless; Frederick and Wilhelmine; Une Reine Malheureuse; The 'Little Queen'; Two Little Girls and their Mother; The Troubles of the Princess Elizabeth.
The Red Book of Heroes Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew & Mrs Lang, illustrated by Wallis Mills	1909: Longmans	Contains 12 ‘true’ stories about role models for children (including Hannibal, Florence Nightingale, and Saint Thomas More): The Lady-in-Chief; Prisoners and Captives; Hannibal; The Apostle of the Lepers; The Constant Prince; The Marquis of Montrose; A Child's Hero; Conscience or King; The Little Abbess; Gordon; The Crime of Theodosius; Palissy the Potter.
The All Sorts of Stories Book Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew & Mrs Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford	1911: Longmans	Contains 30 stories on a variety of subjects, including true stories, Greek myths, and stories from Alexandre Dumas, Walter Scott and Edgar Allan Poe: How a Boy became first a Lamb and then an Apple; The Battle of the White Bull; The Serpents' Gift; Meleager the Hunter; The Vanishing of Bathurst; In the Shadow of the Guillotine; The Flight of the King; The Real Robinson Crusoe; How the Russian Soldier was Saved; Marbot and the Young Cossack; Heracles the Dragon-Killer; Old Jeffery; The Adventures of a Prisoner; What became of Old Mr. Harrison?; Aunt Margaret's Mirror; The Prisoner of the Chateau d'lf; The Hunt for the Treasure; The Story of the Gold Beetle; Loreta Velazquez, the Military Spy; The Farmer's Dream; The Sword of D'Artagnan; The Bastion Saint-Gervais; Little General Monk; The Horse with Wings; The Prize of Jeanne Jugan; Unlucky John; How the Siamese Ambassadors reached the Cape; The Strange Tale of Ambrose Gwinnett; With the Redskins; The Wreck of the Drake.
The Book of Saints and Heroes Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew & Mrs Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford	1912: Longmans	Contains 23 stories about saints: The First of the Hermits; The Roses from Paradise; The Saint with the Lion; Synesius, the Ostrich Hunter; The Struggles of St. Augustine; Germanus the Governor; Malchus the Monk; The Saint on the Pillar; The Apostle of Northumbria; St. Columba; Brendan the Sailor; The Charm Queller; Dunstan the Friend of Kings; St. Margaret of Scotland; St. Elizabeth of Hungary; Saint and King; The Preacher to the Birds; Richard the Bishop; Colette; The Apostle of the Japanese; The Servant of the Poor; The Founder of Hospitals; The Patron Saint of England.
The Strange Story Book Check availability at Abes \| eBay	Andrew & Mrs Lang, introduced by Leonora Blanche Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford	1913: Longmans	Contains thirty-four stories on a variety of subjects, including ghost stories, Native American legends, true stories, and tales from Washington Irving: The Drowned Buccaneer; The Perplexity of Zadig; The Return of the Dead Wife; Young Amazon Snell; The Good Sir James; Rip van Winkle; The Wonderful Basket; The Escape of the Galley-slaves; The Beaver and the Porcupine; An Old-world Ghost; The Gentleman Highwayman; The Vision of the Pope; Growing-up-like-one-who-has-a-grandmother; The Handless Brigade; The Son of the Wolf Chief; Blind Jack of Knaresborough; Blind Jack Again; The Story of Djun; What Became of Owen Parfitt?; Blackskin; The Pets of Aurore Dupin; The Trials of M. Deschartres; Aurore at Play; How Aurore learned to Ride; Land-Otter the Indian; The Disinheriting of a Son; The Siege of Rhodes; The Princess of Babylon; The Adventures of Fire-Drill's Son; The Strange Story of Elizabeth Canning; Mrs. Veal's Ghost; The Chief's Daughter; The Boyhood of a Painter; The Adventures of a Spanish Nun.