Australian expatriate painter and illustrator Margaret Early, whose small number of picture-books include a retelling of such tales as Robin Hood and the Sleeping Beauty, here turns to the historical legend of William Tell, the hero of Swiss independence. Relating the tale of how the three Swiss countries of Schwytz, Uri and Unterwalden were crushed under the tyrannical heel of the occupying Austrians, the story describes the behavior of Governor Gessler of Altdorf, whose brutality led to the famous incident in which William Tell was forced to shoot an apple off of his own son's head. The narrative also includes the incident in which Tell jumps from the boat carrying Gessler and his soldiers, as well as the killing of Gessler by Tell. The book concludes with the information that William Tell has remained a hero in his native Switzerland to this day...

A symbol of resistance against tyrannical rule, William (Wilhelm) Tell is a legendary figure often associated with the Rütlischwur (the Rütli Oath), an incident said to have occurred in 1307 AD, in which representatives of the three Swiss cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden met and swore an oath of mutual protection and rebellion against outside rule. Although uncorroborated in contemporaneous sources (the first written record dates from 1470), this is widely held to be the foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy, the forerunner of the modern nation of Switzerland. This incident (which is also included in Friedrich Schiller's classic 1804 play, Wilhelm Tell) is incorporated into Early's narrative, which is quite dense for a picture-book, but which makes for an engaging read all the same. The book is divided between pages of text, on the left-hand side of each two-page spread, and full-page illustrations, done in a medieval style, on the right-hand side. Both the textual and illustrative panels are enclosed in gorgeous decorative borders. Although I am no expert in William Tell studies, this seems to be a fairly faithful retelling of the legend, one which is well-written and paired with lovely tapestry-like illustrations. It is (as mentioned) a bit text-heavy for a picture-book, so I'd recommend it to young readers six (or perhaps five) and up, particularly those who are interested in history, or who enjoy legends of rebels and heroes. For my part, I am very curious to see other tellings of this legend, in order to compare them. ( )