And the Spin #45 number is...
18!
This gives me a doozy that I've long wanted to read: The Well at the World's End, by William Morris. It's a knightly adventure through trackless forest, an imitation of Malory and of Spenser, I'd say. Sir Ralph decides to search for, guess what, the Well at the World's End, and has many adventures along the way, often about the Castle of Abundance and so on. I got an ebook from Gutenberg and it's looking pretty lengthy, being divided into four books of many chapters each. PLUS Morris went for the full Victorian/Howard Pyle style, observe this random paragraph:
Therewithal they gat to horse and rode away through that stony land, wherein was no river, but for water many pools in the bottoms, with little brooks running from them. But after a while they came upon a ridge somewhat high, on the further side whereof was a wide valley well-grassed and with few trees, and no habitation of man that they might see. But a wide river ran down the midst of it; and it was now four hours after noon. Quoth Roger: "The day wears and we shall by no means reach harbour before dark night, even if we do our best: art thou well used to the water, lord?" "Much as a mallard is," said Ralph. Said Roger: "That is well, for though there is a ford some mile and a half down stream, for that same reason it is the way whereby men mostly cross the water into the wildwood; and here again we are more like to meet foes than well-wishers; or at the least there will be question of who we are, and whence and whither; and we may stumble in our answers." Said Ralph: "There is no need to tarry, ride we down to the water."
Luckily I have no problem reading this kind of thing, though it might get wearing after a while. When I was eight, I decided I wanted to read Howard Pyle's Adventures of Robin Hood, which was written in the same way. It took me all summer, and I probably didn't understand half of it, but I did indeed read it!
Confession: I did in fact make a stab at reading this story quite a few years ago, in my early days of having a tablet to read books on. The format was unfamiliar, which didn't help, but really, my main problem -- and a very dumb problem it was -- was the hero's name. I'm going to have to train myself to think Rafe, which I'm sure is how it's supposed to sound. If it was Ralf he could be a Germanic hero, Rafe is easier to read, but no...it's Sir Ralph, and having grown up on Happy Days reruns I have a really, really hard time imagining a bold, handsome, chivalric hero named Sir Ralph.
Well, at least I don't have to read the original Kelmscott printing, which is of course insanely valuable and beautiful, but definitely not easy to read.



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