"Queen Summer; Or, The Tourney of the Lily and the Rose" by Walter Crane may be a short book, but it's a beautiful one that was almost lost to time. A short story where flowers are knights and Summer is queen, this book is accentuated with gorgeous illustrations that help bring the magic and whimsy of the story to life. It would be too simple to classify this book as a children's story when readers of all ages have been captivated by its charm for many years.

Queen Summer; Or, The Tourney of the Lily and the Rose By Walter Crane

A revolutionary reaction to traditional nineteenth-century art, the turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau movement drew much of its inspiration from nature. Applying its sinuous, curvilinear motifs to the decorative arts, graphics, architecture, sculpture, and painting, artists and craftspeople attempted to create a style suitable for a "modern" age. In this absorbing, exceptionally detailed, and well-researched book (one of the first scholarly works to revive interest in the style after World War II), a noted Norwegian authority on the subject examines the movement in depth. Stephan Madsen offers a wealth of facts and insights about the origins and development of the style; trends leading up to Art Nouveau, including the influence of Blake and the Pre-Raphaelites; early Art Nouveau posters and book illustrations; and its use in architectural ornamentation, furniture, jewelry, wrought-iron, glass, and other applied arts. A magnificent selection of 264 photographs and line drawings accompanies the text, which gives broad coverage to the movement, as well as insightful discussions of such important artists as Emile Gallé, Alphonse Mucha, Walter Crane, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Aubrey Beardsley, Henry Van de Velde, Victor Horta, William Morris, and Eugène Grasset. Artists and students, admirers of Art Nouveau, and anyone interested in this enduring and influential style will welcome Professor Madsen's expert, fully documented study.

Excerpt from Queen Summer, or the Tourney of the Lily and the Rose Au Address in School Hygiene. By Clement Dukes, M.D. Bits and bearing-reins, and Horses and Harness. By E. F. Flower. The Old Fairy Tales. With Illustrations. Cloth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.