"Reynard the Fox" is a wonderful observation of human nature and the motivation that drives people's decisions in relation to their interactions with other people. Parts are like a treatise on the virtue of telling lies and the logic of pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.

All the characters in the story are animals, but this helps demonstrate the general application of the lessons within to diverse situations and to any time period. It is a fable full of questions and moral debates. It is also a demonstration of the power of PR and SPIN, something we experience in our everyday life when it comes to dealings with politicians, advertisers, lawyers, clergy, etc...

I found this book to be a wonderful doorway to a place where I could observe the world without being interrupted by the politics of named individuals or groups, yet I could see the applicability of the lessons to every situation, be it in the court of a monarch, the parliamentary houses of a democracy, the committee of a ruling totalitarian state, the boardroom of a multinational company, the management team of a privately owned company, the committee of a local voluntary organisation, or any group of people. It was a wonderful escapism, but also a focus on real life.

Anne Louise Avery's introduction, which I read after having read the story, contains a description of where the character of "Reynard" originated, and the literary path followed from its first appearance in Ancient Greek fables, through its first named appearance in medieval literature in 1149, to its appearance in this edition in 2020. She also mentions the influence the character has had on children's books and animated films (e.g. Disney's Robin Hood), and how the popularity of a French edition of the tales of our eponymous hero led to the old French word for fox, "goupil", falling into disuse and "renard" taking its place.

I had never heard of Reynard nor his tales, but Anne Louise Avery has shown me how influential this fox has been.

Yes, I strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read and willing to have a bit of a shake and an awakening to the world around them.
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