Duffy and the Devil

The rollicking, robust pictures in Duffy and the Devil are a perfect accompaniment to the text, a retelling of the Cornish version of the widespread Rumpelstiltskin story. In pen-and-wash illustrations, based on a play performed at the Christmas season by groups of young people, who went from house to house in nineteenth-century Cornwall, Margot Zemach has successfully retained the distinctive Cornish flavor and character. Her rich, decorative drawings spill happily over the pages, often into lively double-spreads, as she harmoniously combines her talents with her husband's in interpreting this familiar and well-loved tale.