Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Classics (2015), 288 pages
Description
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth traversed the forests, lowlands, and mountains of northern Bavaria to record fairy tales. Most of Schönwerth's work was lost-- until a few years ago, when thirty boxes of manuscripts were uncovered in a German municipal archive. Available for the first time in English, the tales are violent, dark, full of action, and upend the relationship between damsels in distress and their dragon-slaying heroes.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Strider66
Pros: fun, wide variety, readable translation, interesting characters, informative introduction
Cons: commentary could have been more in depth
This is a collection consists of 72 of the lost tales Franz Xaver von Schönwerth recorded in the Eastern Bavarian region of Oberpfalz in the late 1850s.
There’s a short forward by the historian who discovered the papers on how this volume came to be published. The translator of the collection, the chair of folklore and mythology at Harvard, does the introduction and commentary on each of the stories. The introduction explains where these stories fit with the other tales that have come down to us and points out that fairy tales morphed from stories told by and to adults into stories told more often by women (whether mothers or nannies) to children. Which is why there are so many princesses and female rags to riches stories, and so few such tales about boys. This book brings back several tales of ‘Cinderfellas’ and other disenfranchised young men. The commentaries, coming at the very end of the collection, mention the similarities between these tales and others we’re familiar with. There’s only room for a little explanation, so some of the commentaries are merely synopses while others have a bit more depth to them.
While some of the tales have morals and happy endings, several don’t have either, with some truly unscrupulous people getting away with horrible things and curses going unbroken. And since these were oral tales you can expect a lot of twists out of left field, where the stories turn on previously unmentioned characters and events.
The collection is separated into seven categories: Tales of Magic, Enchanted Animals, Otherworldly Creatures, Legends, Tall Tales and Anecdotes, and Tales About Nature. It’s a decent attempt to separate the stories, but the reality is that most of the stories can fit into several categories and that some stories with similar elements end up in different sections. There are a few with overly Christian themes (including some tales with the devil as the antagonist), and some with more ’pagan’ themes. There are a lot of dwarfs and witches/evil women, and a smaller number of elves, gnomes, mermaids and other fantastical creatures. And curses. Lots and lots of curses.
One story ended with a very modern idiom, which made me wonder what the original German said, but on the whole I thought the translation was great, immersive and entertaining.
The stories are only a few pages each and the collection as a whole is a quick and pleasant read. While most of these wouldn’t be considered ‘children’s stories’, they’re not overly bloody or ribaldrous. The collection is fantastic for the variety of tales told and for the ways they used the fairy tale tropes we’ve become familiar with.
Cons: commentary could have been more in depth
This is a collection consists of 72 of the lost tales Franz Xaver von Schönwerth recorded in the Eastern Bavarian region of Oberpfalz in the late 1850s.
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Rediscovered recently and translated into English, this collection allows modern readers more insight into the Germanic oral culture of what we now call fairy tales. There’s a short forward by the historian who discovered the papers on how this volume came to be published. The translator of the collection, the chair of folklore and mythology at Harvard, does the introduction and commentary on each of the stories. The introduction explains where these stories fit with the other tales that have come down to us and points out that fairy tales morphed from stories told by and to adults into stories told more often by women (whether mothers or nannies) to children. Which is why there are so many princesses and female rags to riches stories, and so few such tales about boys. This book brings back several tales of ‘Cinderfellas’ and other disenfranchised young men. The commentaries, coming at the very end of the collection, mention the similarities between these tales and others we’re familiar with. There’s only room for a little explanation, so some of the commentaries are merely synopses while others have a bit more depth to them.
While some of the tales have morals and happy endings, several don’t have either, with some truly unscrupulous people getting away with horrible things and curses going unbroken. And since these were oral tales you can expect a lot of twists out of left field, where the stories turn on previously unmentioned characters and events.
The collection is separated into seven categories: Tales of Magic, Enchanted Animals, Otherworldly Creatures, Legends, Tall Tales and Anecdotes, and Tales About Nature. It’s a decent attempt to separate the stories, but the reality is that most of the stories can fit into several categories and that some stories with similar elements end up in different sections. There are a few with overly Christian themes (including some tales with the devil as the antagonist), and some with more ’pagan’ themes. There are a lot of dwarfs and witches/evil women, and a smaller number of elves, gnomes, mermaids and other fantastical creatures. And curses. Lots and lots of curses.
One story ended with a very modern idiom, which made me wonder what the original German said, but on the whole I thought the translation was great, immersive and entertaining.
The stories are only a few pages each and the collection as a whole is a quick and pleasant read. While most of these wouldn’t be considered ‘children’s stories’, they’re not overly bloody or ribaldrous. The collection is fantastic for the variety of tales told and for the ways they used the fairy tale tropes we’ve become familiar with.
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LibraryThing member Cherylk
Ok, so I found this to be a great anthology of short stories. Each one just as good as the last. Sometimes I found some stories not as likable or half of the book this way. SO then I feel cheated or let down. Which I did not feel while reading this book. I was familiar with a lot of the stories but
Not every story is warm and fuzzy either. Some where really dark which I really digged. I can't pick just one or two or even five stories. Because as I said before, I enjoyed them all. So if you like fairy tales, then treat yourself to this book.
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a bunch I was not familiar with so I was intrigued by those ones. Yet at the same time it was nice to rediscover and reconnect with the old ones as well. Not every story is warm and fuzzy either. Some where really dark which I really digged. I can't pick just one or two or even five stories. Because as I said before, I enjoyed them all. So if you like fairy tales, then treat yourself to this book.
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LibraryThing member ivydtruitt
3.5 stars
Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth was a contemporary of the Brothers Grimm and they spoke highly of his efforts to save the folk stories of the Bavarian people. In 2010 a large lost collection was discovered. This is the first English translation of those long misplaced tales.
THE TURNIP PRINCESS
Readers can imagine themselves sitting round a fire or hearth with stories being told by everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Some are disjointed, leaping in time and place with little or no logic, as a child might relate. Others are more cohesive and longer but not by much, the longest being only a few pages. These short tales were written and translated directly from the oral tellings. Princes, princesses, enchanted animals, dwarfs, giants, witches, and other requisite fairy tale creatures are all accounted for. These tales lack the polish and panache today’s popular fairy tales possess, but readers will have no problem recognizing many modern fairly tales in their most rudimentary forms in THE TURNIP PRINCESS and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales. I won’t name any names; it’s more fun to figure them out for on your own.
For readers who have always wondered what fairytales were like before being adapted or sanitized this is the book you’ve been waiting for.
Reviewed for Miss Ivy’s Book Nook Take II, Manic Readers & Novels Alive TV
Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth was a contemporary of the Brothers Grimm and they spoke highly of his efforts to save the folk stories of the Bavarian people. In 2010 a large lost collection was discovered. This is the first English translation of those long misplaced tales.
THE TURNIP PRINCESS
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and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales are nothing like the stories of The Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, or Hans Christian Anderson. These are the authentic stories just as they were told to Van Schonwerth. Unlike the aforementioned chroniclers there’s been no polishing, fleshing out, or gentling of these tales.Readers can imagine themselves sitting round a fire or hearth with stories being told by everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Some are disjointed, leaping in time and place with little or no logic, as a child might relate. Others are more cohesive and longer but not by much, the longest being only a few pages. These short tales were written and translated directly from the oral tellings. Princes, princesses, enchanted animals, dwarfs, giants, witches, and other requisite fairy tale creatures are all accounted for. These tales lack the polish and panache today’s popular fairy tales possess, but readers will have no problem recognizing many modern fairly tales in their most rudimentary forms in THE TURNIP PRINCESS and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales. I won’t name any names; it’s more fun to figure them out for on your own.
For readers who have always wondered what fairytales were like before being adapted or sanitized this is the book you’ve been waiting for.
Reviewed for Miss Ivy’s Book Nook Take II, Manic Readers & Novels Alive TV
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LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
Like so many other readers, fairy tales were a huge part of my childhood. They were my cautionary tales, my morality plays, and my protection against the evil that lurked under the bed. As much as I loved the sanitized versions in the Disney movies, it was the older tales in which there was no
The Turnip Princess offers 72 of these rediscovered stories. Many are familiar and are clearly regional variations on familiar tales like Cinderella and Snow White but many like the title story are completely unique. The stories are collected into six parts, each representing the type of tale: animals, magic, nature, legends etc. and they are all quite short, some as little as a paragraph. There is also an introduction that explains the history and significance of the discovery and, at the end, a synopsis of the tales.
As is pointed out in the introduction, fairy tales were not originally for children but were ‘cleaned up’ in later years to be more child-friendly. Thankfully, these tales have not been sanitized for a young audience so that we not only get to see fairy tales as they were originally told but, with this, we are given a better understanding of the original audience - there are, for example some interesting scatological references in some of the tales that suggest that a 19th c. audience appreciated a good ‘fart’ joke as much as we do. There is also an interesting amount of gender-bending in many of these tales so that Cinderella becomes ‘Cinderfella’ as well as several overt Christian references often linked with more pagan imagery. As Maria Tatar says, these stories are ‘almost on steroids’ full of sex and violence and they will completely change your perspective on ‘happily ever after’.
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huntsman to save Little Red and Bluebeard had ways to deal with curious wives. Even as I grew out of childhood, I never completely outgrew the magic of fairytales. So when a few years ago, a treasure trove of fairy tales were discovered in a vault that had been locked for 150 years, I, like so many others, was thrilled at the prospect of reading them. The tales were originally collected by Franz Xaver Schonwerth in Bavaria in the 1850s. According to the Introduction, he wanted to preserve them in their original form so what we get here are the tales as they were first told to him and as he wrote them down. They were beautifully translated by Harvard Professor and folklorist, Maria Tatar.The Turnip Princess offers 72 of these rediscovered stories. Many are familiar and are clearly regional variations on familiar tales like Cinderella and Snow White but many like the title story are completely unique. The stories are collected into six parts, each representing the type of tale: animals, magic, nature, legends etc. and they are all quite short, some as little as a paragraph. There is also an introduction that explains the history and significance of the discovery and, at the end, a synopsis of the tales.
As is pointed out in the introduction, fairy tales were not originally for children but were ‘cleaned up’ in later years to be more child-friendly. Thankfully, these tales have not been sanitized for a young audience so that we not only get to see fairy tales as they were originally told but, with this, we are given a better understanding of the original audience - there are, for example some interesting scatological references in some of the tales that suggest that a 19th c. audience appreciated a good ‘fart’ joke as much as we do. There is also an interesting amount of gender-bending in many of these tales so that Cinderella becomes ‘Cinderfella’ as well as several overt Christian references often linked with more pagan imagery. As Maria Tatar says, these stories are ‘almost on steroids’ full of sex and violence and they will completely change your perspective on ‘happily ever after’.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lamotamant
A long, long time ago, there lived a princess, and a prince, and a talking frog, and a daring dung beetle, and a couple homely honey bees - spring time assassins of the Oak King. Okay, I may have lost the plot there. I'm just going to go ahead and yank back on that thread I threw out there (read:
My point is this: a long, long time ago cultures were built upon the tips of tongues. A rich oral tradition was just as vital to the progress of time as any other building block and stories spun by bedside or from the corner of a town's inn on a dreary night each had their own ripples. Some of those ripples have given us modern fairytales which are a blend of many different influences and era-centric attitudes. Some of those ripples faded to the background in certain times and places for any number of reasons. The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales turns an eye to the efforts of one man, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, and his desire to seek out the origins and petering sparks of lost fairytales. The ancestral timbre of these lost stories isn't blunted by any generational sieve and, as such, they capture quite a bit more of the intensity of their eras.
I enjoyed this collection as a whole. There were some stories that I felt were better than others and some I can definitely see myself rereading in the future. There were also stories whose connection to what have become Disneyfied fairytales was obvious in parts and some that felt like a fresh script entirely. I think that blend makes this a pretty important book for fairytale and folklore fans and writers right off the bat. The story of their discovery and collection even has a bit of lore like feel to it in itself. An adventuring collector of lost stories, dusty boxes slumbering away until a discovery is made.
I'd love to see the trajectory of this collection; what ripples it gives off and in what avenues. Honestly, I think right now is a pretty perfect time for this book to make its greatest impact. We've been in the trenches of retelling for such a long time and as comfortable (or disastrous depending on your capability for retelling angst, character angst, or simply angst in general) as our beloved stories can be as first imagined and reimagined (and reimagined and reimagined) - a fresh breath is welcome and wonderful to experience.
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spoil everything) and confirm that there are no assassin honey bees in this book. My point is this: a long, long time ago cultures were built upon the tips of tongues. A rich oral tradition was just as vital to the progress of time as any other building block and stories spun by bedside or from the corner of a town's inn on a dreary night each had their own ripples. Some of those ripples have given us modern fairytales which are a blend of many different influences and era-centric attitudes. Some of those ripples faded to the background in certain times and places for any number of reasons. The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales turns an eye to the efforts of one man, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, and his desire to seek out the origins and petering sparks of lost fairytales. The ancestral timbre of these lost stories isn't blunted by any generational sieve and, as such, they capture quite a bit more of the intensity of their eras.
I enjoyed this collection as a whole. There were some stories that I felt were better than others and some I can definitely see myself rereading in the future. There were also stories whose connection to what have become Disneyfied fairytales was obvious in parts and some that felt like a fresh script entirely. I think that blend makes this a pretty important book for fairytale and folklore fans and writers right off the bat. The story of their discovery and collection even has a bit of lore like feel to it in itself. An adventuring collector of lost stories, dusty boxes slumbering away until a discovery is made.
I'd love to see the trajectory of this collection; what ripples it gives off and in what avenues. Honestly, I think right now is a pretty perfect time for this book to make its greatest impact. We've been in the trenches of retelling for such a long time and as comfortable (or disastrous depending on your capability for retelling angst, character angst, or simply angst in general) as our beloved stories can be as first imagined and reimagined (and reimagined and reimagined) - a fresh breath is welcome and wonderful to experience.
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LibraryThing member Linyarai
It was interesting to read a book of Fairy Tales not written by the Brothers Grimm. This was a different collection of stories, but they still felt very familiar.
LibraryThing member PuddinTame
In her annotations to the Annotated Brothers Grimm, Maria Tatar mentioned that every story-teller probably adapted the story to their audience and situation. There isn't one true version. It struck me in reading some of these bare-bones plots that they offering jumping off points for the
Consider the story "The Three Spindles," told in a page and a half. A pregnant girl is thrown out of her home by her angry parents. She comes to the aid of a wood sprite, who takes her into the home that she shares with two other sprites. The sprites spin moss into thread, which they trade for food. They care for the girl, and when her son is born, their greatest wish is that she leave him with them. She agrees, and as she leaves, the first sprite hands her three spindles of moss thread. She promises that if the girl hides these carefully in her house, she will never want for anything. If she is ever in real need, she should unspool some of the thread. There will never be less thread on the spindle, no matter how much she unwinds. The girl returns to her parents, who don't recognize her at first, since she is covered with moss. They take her back in, and thereafter, fortune favors them. The girl marries a wealthy farmer, but she never forgets her previously-unmentioned-promise to make a cake for the sprites every Saturday.
Think of the traditional bits of story-telling that could be added. After she moves into her husband's house, things don't go as well for her parents, and she winds some of the thread onto spindles for their house. Perhaps the husband discovers the spindles and their fortunes goes awry; the husband throws her out of the house in anger, and the sprites come to her aid again, She might miss giving the sprites the cake because she's giving birth on Saturday, and they demand the new baby, She could be reunited, or attempt to be reunited with her first child; her husband might be angry.
There are all kinds of ways to expand the story to fill a long evening.
I was also interested to note that the landlocked Bavarians have fresh-water mermaids; instead of having a fish tail, they merely have webbed feet.
I enjoyed reading the book, and I was fascinated by the insight it gave me into how a story could be varied with familiar motifs.
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story-teller to expand the tale with other familiar motifs.Consider the story "The Three Spindles," told in a page and a half. A pregnant girl is thrown out of her home by her angry parents. She comes to the aid of a wood sprite, who takes her into the home that she shares with two other sprites. The sprites spin moss into thread, which they trade for food. They care for the girl, and when her son is born, their greatest wish is that she leave him with them. She agrees, and as she leaves, the first sprite hands her three spindles of moss thread. She promises that if the girl hides these carefully in her house, she will never want for anything. If she is ever in real need, she should unspool some of the thread. There will never be less thread on the spindle, no matter how much she unwinds. The girl returns to her parents, who don't recognize her at first, since she is covered with moss. They take her back in, and thereafter, fortune favors them. The girl marries a wealthy farmer, but she never forgets her previously-unmentioned-promise to make a cake for the sprites every Saturday.
Think of the traditional bits of story-telling that could be added. After she moves into her husband's house, things don't go as well for her parents, and she winds some of the thread onto spindles for their house. Perhaps the husband discovers the spindles and their fortunes goes awry; the husband throws her out of the house in anger, and the sprites come to her aid again, She might miss giving the sprites the cake because she's giving birth on Saturday, and they demand the new baby, She could be reunited, or attempt to be reunited with her first child; her husband might be angry.
There are all kinds of ways to expand the story to fill a long evening.
I was also interested to note that the landlocked Bavarians have fresh-water mermaids; instead of having a fish tail, they merely have webbed feet.
I enjoyed reading the book, and I was fascinated by the insight it gave me into how a story could be varied with familiar motifs.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BarnesBookshelf
It's nice to read stories that are familiar in some ways and yet different from what I know. I could easily see many of these becoming tv shows or movies sometime in the future. I really liked how to the point everything was. It was a quick and easy read too!!
Awards
NPR: Books We Love (2015)
Language
Original language
German
Original publication date
2015
Physical description
288 p.; 5.1 inches
ISBN
0143107429 / 9780143107422
Local notes
A recently-discovered trove of Bavarian folktales, originally collected in the 1850's.