SOHRAB AND RUSTUM BY MATTHEW ARNOLD - USED, FAIR, COLL

• Title: Sohrab and Rustum

• Author: Matthew Arnold

• Editor/Introduction: M. A. Eaton, B.A.

• Series: Ten Cent Classics (Vol. III, No. 61)

• Publisher: Educational Publishing Company (Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco)

• Publication/Copyright Date: September 1, 1900 (Copyrighted 1899)

• Format: Small, pocket-sized softcover (paper wrap with a cloth-taped spine)

Historical & Content Background

Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) was a towering Victorian poet and cultural critic. First published in 1853, Sohrab and Rustum is his most famous narrative poem. Written in blank verse, it vividly recreates a tragic, ancient Persian legend from the Shahnameh (the Persian Book of Kings). The story follows a legendary, heroic warrior, Rustum, who unwittingly engages a fierce young enemy champion, Sohrab, in single combat—only to discover too late that the young man is the secret, long-lost son he has never met.

This specific edition was published by the Educational Publishing Company as part of their mass-produced "Ten Cent Classics" series. At the end of the 19th century, public education was expanding rapidly across America. To meet the need for literature, publishers printed cheap, paper-covered booklets of classic poems and plays so every student could have a copy for a dime (or 25 cents for a cloth-bound version, as listed on the inner cover).

The name written at the top of the title page, "Bunel Ruffner" (or potentially Burrel), gives us a glimpse into the student who originally carried this little booklet to school at the turn of the century.