Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard

by Eleanor FARJEON (1881 - 1965)

Second Interlude

Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard

The wandering minstrel Martin Pippin finds a lovelorn ploughman who begs him to visit the orchard where his beloved has been locked in the well-house with six sworn virgins to guard her. Martin Pippin goes to the rescue and wins the confidence of the young women by telling them love stories. Although ostensibly a children's book, the six love stories, which have much the form of Perrault's fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella, have a depth which is adult in sentiment, and indeed they were written not for a child but for a young soldier, Victor Haslam. Among the stories, themes include the apparent loss of a loved one, betrayal, and the yearning of a woman for whom it appears that love will never come. (Introduction adapted from Wikipedia)


Listen next episodes of Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard:
Conclusion , Epilogue , Fifth Interlude , Fourth Interlude , Open Winkins (part 1) , Open Winkins (part 2) , Open Winkins (part 3) , Postlude Parts III and IV , Proud Rosalind and the Hart-Royal (part 1) , Proud Rosalind and the Hart-Royal (part 2) , Proud Rosalind and the Hart-Royal (part 3) , The Imprisoned Princess; Postlude Parts I and II , The Mill of Dreams (part 1) , The Mill of Dreams (part 2) , The Mill of Dreams (part 3) , Third Interlude