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King of the Copper Mountains (The) by Paul Biegel

Title: King of the Copper Mountains (The)

Author: Paul Biegel

Translator: Gillian Hume and Paul Biegel

Illustrator: Sally J. Collins

Publisher: Pushkin Children's Books

Date Published: 2022

Format: Paperback

Genre: Classic

Book Category: Fiction

Age Range: 9-11

Original Title: First published in Dutch as Het Sleutel-kruid, Uitgeversmaatschappij, Holland in Haarlem, The Netherlands, 1964

Country of Origin: Netherlands

King of the Copper Mountains (The)

by Paul Biegel
Age Range: 9-11

Beloved old King Mansolain has reigned for a thousand years over his kingdom of animals and dwarves but his health is failing and the Wonder Doctor has been sent for. The King has an irregular heartbeat, his heart is slowing down and the only cure is a potion made from the rare life-giving Golden Speedwell. As the Wonder Doctor prepares to set off in search of this rare plant, he gives strict instructions to the King’s attendant, a hare, the only creature that now looks after him, that every night, the king’s interest must be stimulated so that he will live until morning. On his long and arduous journey, the Wonder Doctor sends all the animals he meets back to the Copper Castle to tell the king a story to keep his heart beating, allowing him time to find and return with the Golden Speedwell.

Each night a new visitor arrives to tell their story to the king: a fearsome wolf, a lonely rabbit, a duck, sheep, a fire-breathing three-headed dragon, a beetle and even a team of singing bumble bees. Are these magical tales going to be enough to keep King Mansolain’s heart beating until the cure arrives?

An international bestseller by Dutch author Paul Biegel, this is a timeless classic, written in 1933, translated by Gillian Hume and the author himself with accompanying expressive black and white illustrations by Sally J. Collins and an introduction by Leonie, Paul Biegel’s daughter.

There is often a moral to these sometimes funny, sometimes serious and sometimes moving magical stories. Wise and gentle King Mansolain with his long floor-length white beard ensures the animals in his kingdom live in harmony together and treat each other with compassion and friendship. Each storyteller is given a special place to sleep the night they arrive in the castle full of copper corridors and exquisite rooms and their obvious love for King Mansolain is heart-warming.

A beautifully poignant set of stories that can be read by any age.

Paul Biegel (1926-2006) was one of Europe’s most acclaimed and best-loved storytellers and the author of more than fifty books for children. Born in the Netherlands, he studied law and worked as a comic-strip writer before writing his first novel, The Golden Guitar, in 1960. He wrote at a rate of almost a book year for nearly forty years.

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