Illustrated by Charles Green
78 pages
Published 1869
Read December 5
Rating: 1.5 out of 5
Another largely forgotten Victorian children’s tale that (like Goblin Market and Wanted—A King) I found in the 1973 anthology Beyond the Looking Glass. I’ve been burning through these tales in a shameless bid — shameless! — to pad my reading numbers, and tie or break the record of books I read in 2013.
The titular Tinykin — actually named Uluf — is a young Saxon boy whose father, a woodsman, has newly moved the family to a lodge near Tilgate Forest. Titania, queen of the fairies, reposes in a special glade in the wood, which is now troubled by the axes of his woodsmen. But Titania discovers (as the fae are wont to do) a special love for Tinykin, and in a series of vignettes, changes him into an ouzel, a silvery fish, a fawn, and a pink mole. In this last form, he applies the instincts of his previous shapes to help win the freedom of an enchanted princess. Pretty standard stuff, and not retold with any special interest.
There’s a lot of Christian doggerel about the perfection of Man and his mighty dominion over the lesser beasts, and an even greater amount of spousal abuse. Once again, the illustrations are the best part of this tale. The rest probably should have stayed forgotten.
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