Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Dover Publications
Pages
360
Description
Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. Folklore. HTML: The Fairy Books, or "Coloured" Fairy Books is a collection of fairy tales divided into twelve books, each associated with a different colour. Collected together by Andrew Land they are sourced from a number of different countries and were translated by Lang's wife and other translators who also retold many of the tales. The collection has been incalculably important and, although he did not source the stories himself direct from the oral tradition he can make claim to the first English translation of many. First published in 1897, The Pink Fairy Bookis the 5th volume in this series..
Description
Forty-one Japanese, Scandinavian, and Sicilian tales: "The Snow-Queen," "The Cunning Shoemaker," "The Two Brothers," "The Merry Wives," "The Man without a Heart," and more. All the stories are narrated in the clear, lively prose for which Lang was famous and are considered to be the very best English versions available. Includes 69 illustrations.
Table of Contents
The Cat's Elopement
How the Dragon was Tricked
The Goblin and the Grocer
The House in the Wood
Uraschimataro and the Turtle
The Slaying of the Tanuki
The Flying Trunk
The Snow Man
The Shirt-Collar
The Princess in the Chest
The Three Brothers
The Snow-queen
The Fir-Tree
"Hans, the Mermaid's Son"
Peter Bull
The Bird 'Grip'
Snowflake
I know what I have learned
The Cunning Shoemaker
The King who would have a Beautiful Wife
Catherine and her Destiny
How the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter
The Water of Life
The Wounded Lion
The Man without a Heart
The Two Brothers
Master and Pupil
The Golden Lion
The Spring of Rosemary
The White Dove
The Troll's Daughter
Esben and the Witch
Princess Minon-Minette
Maiden Bright-eye
The Merry Wives
King Lindorm
"The Jackal, the Dove, and the Panther"
The Little Hare
The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue
The Story of Ciccu
Don Giovanni de la Fortuna
Table of Contents
The Cat's Elopement
How the Dragon was Tricked
The Goblin and the Grocer
The House in the Wood
Uraschimataro and the Turtle
The Slaying of the Tanuki
The Flying Trunk
The Snow Man
The Shirt-Collar
The Princess in the Chest
The Three Brothers
The Snow-queen
The Fir-Tree
"Hans, the Mermaid's Son"
Peter Bull
The Bird 'Grip'
Snowflake
I know what I have learned
The Cunning Shoemaker
The King who would have a Beautiful Wife
Catherine and her Destiny
How the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter
The Water of Life
The Wounded Lion
The Man without a Heart
The Two Brothers
Master and Pupil
The Golden Lion
The Spring of Rosemary
The White Dove
The Troll's Daughter
Esben and the Witch
Princess Minon-Minette
Maiden Bright-eye
The Merry Wives
King Lindorm
"The Jackal, the Dove, and the Panther"
The Little Hare
The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue
The Story of Ciccu
Don Giovanni de la Fortuna
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1897
Physical description
360 p.; 8.4 inches
ISBN
0486469662 / 9780486469669
UPC
800759469666
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User reviews
LibraryThing member xicanti
A collection of fairy stories and folktales from around the world.
This installment of the coloured fairy books does include stories from Japan, Italy, Africa and Spain, but there's a real emphasis on Scandinavian stories. Several of Hans Christian Anderson's less morbid stories help open the
As is usually the case with Lang's collections, the writing is clear and enjoyable, but highly colonial. It's virtually impossible to tell where each of these stories originated based on the writing style. Lang has purged them of all local colour and regional feel. Many of the animal stories are easily identifiable for obvious reasons, (ie, leopards are not native to northern Europe), and sometimes the climate helps determine the location, but in most cases I wouldn't have recognized the source country from the story itself.
If you're looking for careful ethnography, these collections probably aren't the way to go. If you're just interested in entertaining stories, however, or are looking for a bit of a nostalgia trip, they can be a good resource. The illustrations are another high point.
This installment of the coloured fairy books does include stories from Japan, Italy, Africa and Spain, but there's a real emphasis on Scandinavian stories. Several of Hans Christian Anderson's less morbid stories help open the
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volume, and a large number of the remaining stories hale from Sweden and Denmark, in particular. The tales themselves are a combination of prince and princess stories, (with differing levels of fairy involvement), brother stories and animal fables, with the occasional story about simple folk who make good.As is usually the case with Lang's collections, the writing is clear and enjoyable, but highly colonial. It's virtually impossible to tell where each of these stories originated based on the writing style. Lang has purged them of all local colour and regional feel. Many of the animal stories are easily identifiable for obvious reasons, (ie, leopards are not native to northern Europe), and sometimes the climate helps determine the location, but in most cases I wouldn't have recognized the source country from the story itself.
If you're looking for careful ethnography, these collections probably aren't the way to go. If you're just interested in entertaining stories, however, or are looking for a bit of a nostalgia trip, they can be a good resource. The illustrations are another high point.
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LibraryThing member MontglaneChess
Another one of Andrew Lang’s colorful collections of fairy stories and folk tales, this time diverting from a mostly European collection to include a heavily animal-based collection of Scandinavian and Japanese stories. Artist H.J. Ford returns with another gorgeous set of plates and
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illustrations, his princesses unmatched in intricate detail. The stories feature classic tales of princes, princesses, and assorted magical folk and creatures.The collection loses half a star because, as another reviewer noted, “as is usually the case with Lang's collections, the writing is clear and enjoyable, but highly colonial.” The English versions are all completed from previous European translations, making for a supremely unreliable editor who has purged much of the local flavor from some of the tales, making even some of the exotic folk tales seem traditionally European. For those looking for a classic source of obscure or unusual fairy tales not found in Disney’s repertoire, however, Andrew Lang’s extensive collection is a wonderful, if slightly repetitious addition to any school or public library. Show Less
Subjects
Call number
J2K.007