Bartholomew Books

The characters are unique, the plot is something new (sort of like Stephen King meets Pastoral Formation 101), and the depth of ideas refreshing. It's a page-turner.

Fortune hunters, country bumpkins, foolish gentry, zealous Puritans, bawdy lower class elements, a pompous judge, purse snatchers and con men combine to make Bartholmew Fair one of the most popular plays by Ben Jonson.

Reading Ben Jonson does require some persistence, but the effort is always rewarded. Often his allusions to topical events prove obscure today, his penchant for having some characters quote Latin phrases can be a barrier (some characters misquote Latin, and we, the alert audience, are supposed to chuckle), and his use of unfamiliar colloquialisms and bawdy comments is yet another challenge.

In some ways I found Bartholmew Fair to be more difficult than either Volpone or The Alchemist. I needed to refer frequently to the cast listing to keep track of the multitude of characters (35 or so) that come and go at the fair. To complicate matters some characters insisted on wearing disguises and changing their names.

The dialogue, as I alluded earlier, nearly overwhelmed me at times, but I was rescued by the excellent footnotes by G. R. Hibbard in the New Mermaids edition. A second reading was much easier and I have even developed a liking for Bartholmew Fair.

Bartholmew Fair is notable for Jonson's unusual introduction in which he cautions his audience that the author is sensitive to criticism and it would be best that they behave. Jonson had not forgotten the acrimonious reception for his recent play, a tragedy titled Catiline, and he had no intention of having this play suffer likewise. Incredibly, Jonson had stagehands read a contractual agreement between the playwright and the audience defining rules for a proper and appropriate method of criticism. Fortunately for all, Bartholomew Fair proved to be quite popular.

In 2007 New Mermaids released a new edition, but I am not aware of any changes. The cover is identical to previous editions. There have been several re-printings in recent years (1991, 1994, and perhaps more). The first edition was published in 1977.

Bartholmew Fair can also be found in various anthologies like the inexpensive Oxford World Classics edition titled The Alchemist and Other Plays. This collection also has good footnotes.

Note: Bartholmew Fair is also spelled Bartholomew Fair. In the 1631 folio, the sole authority for the text of Bartholmew Fair, the title was spelled Bartholmew Fayre.

this is the first time matthew & his wife Joan stock go to London on the queens business, it shows elizabethan england at its bawdy best, great read, look for all the leonard tourney books, they're fun!!!

Who, despite travelling the globe, still forgets how to pronounce Bulgaria. I examined a number brands and this wee tiny atlas is the easiest to peruse and keeps me from embarrassing myself at dinner parties by saying Tanzania is where dracula lived.

A different kind of children's story. Lively and engaging characters. A lesson included that isn't obvious. Bartholomew uses his head and creative talents to solve a problem. Shows that intellegence is a valuable asset.

This is one of Joy Berry's "Survival Series for Kids" books and I have to confess that my son Devon and I like them all. I've had them in storage for years, way before Devon was a twinkle in my eye, or my gal Sara's, and I'm glad I saved them.

In this book Ms. Berry and illustrator Bartholomew, with your help, will teach your child the value of being careful. Your child will learn to be careful around electricity, gas, heat, fire, water, medications and other dangerous things, even clutter. They will learn to be careful at home and at school. He or she will learn not to accept rides from strangers, how to be careful riding a bike and even when swimming. Yes this is a book for a child bigger that a toddler, however my toddler and I like it just fine. Get 'em started early, that's my motto.

Though this book was written over twenty years ago, it still stands up. The excellent comic book type illustrations will keep your child interested as you read along with him or her. And for the life of me I don't know why these books are not easier to get. Joy Berry is good for children, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. If you can get a hold of her books and share them with your child, you'll both be better for it.

Jack Priest, Dad in Training

My 6 year old son really enjoyed this book even though he has already been introduced to Jesus and the Easter story. The book is set up so that the grown-up reads the regular typed paragraphs and the child reads the bold paragraphs; it's nice because it keeps the child involved in the story.

The age recommendation on the book is for 5-8, but unless the child is reading at a first or second grade level, he/she probably won't be able to read the bold-print paragraphs without considerable help from the grown-up. Still, the pictures are big and colorful enough that they should keep the child's interest even if he/she isn't reading along...

This book is really cute. Every child has an imagination and comes up with weird scenarios for everyday occurrences. If you have children who are scared of weird noises at night or even ones who let their imagination take everything to the next level, then this book is for you. I'm a teacher and I have a copy of this book in my library which is picked up very frequently. Children love it!

The Biographical Album of Western Gunfighters by Ed Bartholomew
"Containing more than 1,000 biographical entries together with over six hundred rare photographs of the most famous sheriffs, outlaws, marshalls, and celebrated personalities in the history of the western frontier"
1958
The Frontier Press of Texas, Houston, Texas

This is a large book measuring about 20.5 inches long by 13.5 inches tall and 0.5 inches thick. It contains photographs and short biographies of lawmen and outlaws and their female counterparts from the old American west. It is a one-of-a-kind book, collecting in one volume over 1000 biographical entries in alphabetical order with an accompanying photograph. Some photographs are death photos taken immediately after the outlaw was killed. This is not for sensationalism, but for documentary purposes. Also, in some instances, it is the only photo available of the person. This book does not go into extensive detail on each person, but does give enough known biographical information to whet the appetite and continue further research elsewhere.

But this book is more of a coffee table book anyway, a conversation piece, definitely a collector's item. Absolutely fascinating. As I understand the author was the complete printer, and typographer of this book. He had one other person contribute the title page artwork. It is not a professionally made book. The typography of each entry is definitely done on a typewriter and then each was pieced together on the page to make columns. But I find that such just increases the charm and uniqueness of the book. I admire the author who spent so much time in research and meticulous piecing together of each page to give to the world this wonderful book. He spent innumerable hours scouring history centers, libraries, courthouses and old newspapers to collect this information.

I may be going into misty memories right now, but I do believe that many years ago a family friend had the opportunity to purchase this book from the author himself. He couldn't find anyone to publish the book for him, so he published it himself and sold it from his own shop. They say that success is the greatest revenge. Well, his book may now be out of print, but like fine art, the price has greatly increased until now I see this book selling upwards of over $400. Kudos to the author. He created something unique and wonderful.

My three-year-old and I loved this book. What made us laugh were the illustrations. The picture of one of the boogeymen scared her but when I pointed out his funny hat and shoes she didn't seem so scared anymore. This is a really fun book and I wish I could find more in the series.