The Faerie Queene

Rating:
Summary: Sword and Sorcery!
Review: This is the first epic poem written in English. It is a work of English imagination coloured with some classicism. To me, it matches closely with Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings in theme and in tone. Of course, it is written in 16th Century English, so you will have to be smart enough to handle the differences in spelling and grammar you will encounter. I love it because it blends the whole Medieval and Dark Age English narrative heritage with the 'new learning' of the classicizing Renaissance and thereby brings together all the fundamental cultural streams flowing into the sea of the modern English-world's character. This is a poem of identity for the English-speaking world. I would also add that the sound of the poem is highly musical. Edmund Spencer, in my opinion, is the greatest English poet.
This is REAL sword and sorcery - at its best!

Rating:
Summary: All the Spenser You Need
Review: This is the most affordable, unabridged and uninterfered with text of the Faerie Queene (with Mutability Cantos) followed by helpful notes at the end.