Tales of the East – C. H. Jarvis (1936) (1st ed)

Despite its title, the book is really a collection of episodes from Greek history, with a section on Biblical tales, and is not what we would typically think of as “the East”. It was intended to be children’s introductory book of history, and is the first in the publisher’s “Stories from History” series. In this slim volume, written in easy language for children, Jarvis retells famous episodes from the Iliad and the Odyssey in the first section. Following that, a section dedicated to the Old Testament, with stories of Joseph, Solomon, and the Jewish exile from Babylon. In the third and last section, he recounts the stories of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians, and the rise of Alexander the Great. With 8 black-and-white plates that include illustrations from various artists.