Book Guide

Scottish scholar and important literary figure Andrew Lang (1844-1912) is perhaps best remembered today for compiling and editing the famous series Fairy Tales of Many Colors. In the present collection, he focuses on stories about "the friend of children and fairies—the beasts."

These 66 charming stories, adapted and translated from tales by Alexandre Dumas, Theophile Gautier, Pliny and other well-known authors, ranges from delightful narrative about the tiniest of creatures ("Stories of Ants") to large, four-legged mammals ("The Ship of the Desert"). Tales of animals that inhabit land, sea, and air are recounted, among them, "Snake Stories," "What Elephants Can Do," "How a Beaver Builds His House," "The Battle of the Mullets and the Dolphins," "Dolphins at Play," "The Buzzard and the Priest," "Madame Theophile and the Parrot," and "Eccentric Bird Builders."

Fairy-tale fans and animal lovers of all ages will delight in these time-honored tales; each tale is accompanied by a charming period illustration.

From the cover of the Dover reprint edition

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Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang

1844 - 1912
Scottish
Andrew Lang was born in Selkirk, Scotland, in 1844, and educated at Oxford.  Later settling in London he became the greatest journalist of his ... See more
H. J. Ford

H. J. Ford

1860 - 1941
British
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Content Guide

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Resource Guide

The Literary Life
Podcast

Episode 70: Why Read Fairy Tales?
Released in 2020 by The Literary Life
Available formats: Streaming Audio
Length: 1 hr. 29 min.
View on the The Literary Life site

"Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins tackle the topic of fairy stories, discussing the what, why and how of reading them. Angelina shares the distinctive characteristics of fairy stories in contrast to other types of stories, such as myths. They deal with the question of whether fairy tales are 'escapist', the influence of the Grimm brothers scholarly work on interpreting fairy stories, and allowing the story to unveil its deeper truths without forcing meaning onto it.

Angelina gives an illustration of how to see the gospel messages in fairy tales by talking us through the story of Sleeping Beauty. She refutes the ideas that fairy tales are about human romance or are misogynistic. She also highlights some of the Enlightenment and Puritan responses to fairy tales that still linger with us today. Cindy and Angelina also discuss some common concerns such as the magical, weird, or scary aspects of fairy tales. Angelina also makes a distinction between folk tales, literary fairy tales, and cautionary tales."