More English Fairy Tales

by Joseph Jacobs (Editor), John Dickson Batten (Illustrator)

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Fairy Tales, Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories, Classics, Mythology, Folklore

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Joseph Jacobs was an Australian folklorist, literary critic, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English Folklore. His work went on to popularize some of the worlds best known versions of English fairy tales including "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Goldilocks and the three bears", "The Three Little Pigs", "Jack the Giant Killer" and "The History of Tom Thumb". He published his English fairy tale collections: English Fairy Tales in 1890 and More English Fairytales in 1894 but also went on after and in between both books to publish fairy tales collected from continental Europe as well as Jewish, Celtic and Indian Fairytales which made him one of the most popular writers of fairytales for the English language. Jacobs was also an editor for journals and books on the subject of folklore which included editing the Fables of Bidpai and the Fables of Aesop, as well as articles on the migration of Jewish folklore. He also edited editions of "The Thousand and One Nights". He went on to join The Folklore Society in England and became an editor of the society journal Folklore. Joseph Jacobs also contributed to the Jewish Encyclopedia.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_J...

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thrilled to receive a free copy of Joseph Jacobs’ More English Fairy Tales, published recently by Pook Press, from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme. This book is a facsimile of the original 1894 edition of the text, complete with gorgeous illustrations from John D. Batten. It comprises an impressive eighty seven fairy tales, many of which are variations on better known versions of the stories, such as the many different versions of Cinderella which appear, and all of which are quite short in length. All in all, it is a lovely collection to read, whether as an adult or a child.

I found the selection of stories really interesting, particularly in instances where they followed a basic outline that was familiar but with some subtle differences. The story that we all know as ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ appears in this collection as the story of Scrapefoot the Fox, who undergoes similar ursine exploits culminating in his being summarily defenestrated by the irate Bears. It makes me curious as to how this character was transformed from a male fox into the little girl Goldilocks from the tale more familiar today (apparently by way of being an old woman and then a young girl called Silver-hair, according to the appendix). Likewise, the well known story of the Pied Piper is altered by moving the setting from Hamelyn to Newtown on the shores of the Solent. I thought this might perhaps have been a change made by Jacobs, appropriating a foreign tale for his book of English stories, as he does warn in his introduction that ‘I do not attribute much anthropological value to tales whose origin is probably foreign‘ (p. x). However, Jacobs’ enlightening ‘Notes and References’ section which closes the book reveals that the story aparently made its way over to England with no help from the author, prompting me to wonder once again how this change took place.

For every old favourite, there are also plenty of new tales. I particularly liked the Hobyahs and their exploits, a species of interfering fairy folk who were entirely new to me. The range of different tales and styles is particularly good over the eighty seven stories and I think this would keep the interest of any reader, whether they had a specific interest in the morphology of traditional stories or not. However, for me it is the appendix which makes this book so interesting. Here Jacobs explains where all the tales were gathered, any history behind them and how they differ from other know variations. He strikes the perfect balance between being a storyteller and being an academic folklorist.

It is worth passing comment on the particular edition from Pook Press, as obviously the content of the book hasn’t changed since 1894. More English Fairy Tales has long since passed into the public domain and you can read the whole thing for free, including the illustrations, on Project Gutenburg and it is available in numerous different versions on Amazon, all of which are facsimiles of the same text and so will look exactly the same as this one. With that in mind, it’s a shame that Pook haven’t added anything of their own to the book to induce the book shopper to buy this particular version. It’s a perfectly pleasant little book, but an introduction either from an editor at the company or, even better, from someone who works in the field now or an author who writes modern fairy tales perhaps would have made it stand out a bit more. Pook state that they are ‘working to republish these classic works in affordable, high quality editions, using the original text and artwork so these works can delight another generation of children’ which is an aim that I find admirable, but I think just a few paragraphs explaining why this work is special, how it fits in with their catalogue and a bit of historical context would have been great.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The notes in the back of this edition are worth the price of the book. The references and explanations are fascinating, based as they are in the 1890s and on the understanding of folklore at that time. In some cases, Jacobs combined or rewrote stories to fit the standards of the time. In a few, he simply changed one nonsense word or name into one that made more sense to him, and that was okay. In others, he left insults in place, as long as they were not legally obscene, and this gives an insight into the standards of the day.
Many of the stories in this volume are familiar, but mostly because of this collection, which so many later story books were based on.

[Max Ostrovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for the most part. But for the most part, the stories are derivatives of or origins of the fairy tales most people are familiar with. There are tiny differences, which was pretty cool, but over all, the same stories.

[Christopher Nilsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great classic collection! I liked it!

[Janelle]

Dnf. I didn’t like many of the LibriVox narrators or the stories in this book.

[DarkStar's Book Cavern · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of English fairytales, most of which have been forgotten.

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Pook edition leaves me with mixed feelings. Why pay $23 for a paperback worth at most $7.95 new?
This is a Pre-1923 Public Domain Book with free downloads available at Gutenberg.org and/or Archive.

On the text:
"More English Fairy Tales" is a great old collection of English fairytales collected by a 19th century folklorist who wished to be remembered in the same vein as the famous German Grimm Brothers. It does not seem that Jacobs ever was as ever as well-known to the general public (at least in the USA) as his idols but I don't believe that this is any reflection on Jacobs' work. As a child, though, I only recall reading the Grimm & Anderson's collections.

The reader will recognize some of Jacobs tales from versions by other folklorists such as Perrault or the Grimms but there were a few that were new to me and seemed delightfully English in origin. I love fairy tales in all their many styles and versions and would give the text and the illustration five stars. Batten's black & white illustrations are alternately beautiful, whimsical, humorous and dark as the tale demands.

I don't know how today's children today would receive this lovely old collection. But to those who already find fairy tales enchanting, this would probably be a welcome addition to the family library.

As with most of the old collections, these stories were meant to be spoken to an audience. Think of the difference between listening to Prairie Home Companion on the radio and reading one of Keillor's books. Some stories need the spoken voice to give them life. A quick read through can be a bit dry unless you can incorporate a storyteller's imagination and ringing voice as you read... Or better yet, be the dramatic storyteller who brings it to life for your child...

On the Pook edition:
I collect children's books and while I prefer first editions when I can get them, real life dictates otherwise. The bottom line is I will buy any edition of a title if I am interested in reading it and I consider it a good value. I do require faithful reproduction of original illustrations as the art is as important to me as the text.

I am extremely grateful that there are publishers who will take public domain works and republish them. Dover Publications produces decent paperbacks and their Calla Editions rival (and sometimes better) any fancy press such as Folio Society.

Pook is new to me. I was delighted to see the number of rare titles that they have chosen to publish and was interested until I received this title. $23.00 for a public domain title in a trade paperback seems a bit pricey. Maybe if it were a nice hardcover with a lovely slipcase or dustjacket.

So many public domain titles are now available in toto online. A publisher must give me a beautiful book not just a paperback copy of an online edition to make it worthwhile to me to spend the money.

There is no author or illustrator to pay, why can't Pook improve the book quality and/or reduce prices to make their edition both an attractive buy and a good value. Til then, I don't see the point of buying Pook editions. Why pay $23 for a paperback worth at most $7.95 new?

Pre-1923 Public Domain Book. Free download available at Gutenberg.org and/or Archive.org

Joseph Jacobs (Folklorist. Australia 1854 -1916 USA).
John Dickson Batten (Artist/ Illustrator. England, 1860-1932).
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14241/14241-h/14241-h.htm

[Disclaimer. Book received as an Advance Reading Copy in exchange for an honest book review]

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
The collection and study of folk tales became a serious academic pursuit in the Victorian era, when enthusiasts began traveling especially to rural areas to collect the stories common people told each other through the generations. Over time, a number of common motifs emerged as appearing in virtually all societies, and the stories came to be classified and interpreted in addition to just being collected. One of the more important folklorists in the late 1800s was Joseph Jacobs, who in two volumes, English Fairy Tales (1890) and More English Fairy Tales (1894) collected some 87 tales from around the British Isles, primarily from England. More recently, Pook Press has start reprinting 19th Century children's classics, including the present volume. The stories here range from a Pied Piper variant to Tamlane and The King of The Cats, along with less familiar tales, and the volume also includes Jacobs' notes concerning the source of each tale, parallels with other known tales and general comments; as a former folklore student, I find these notes most helpful and interesting. In addition, the original illustrations by John D. Batten are also reprinted for this volume, and they are quite delightful. Clearly this collection would not be for everyone, but if you have any interest in folklore, this is one of the classic volumes and definitely a must-read. Recommended.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I know I enjoyed this more than the first collection of English fairy tales by Jacobs, and while listening I was thinking that the stories felt more varied than the original. Certainly there's repeats of Grimm and Andersen tales, but not much of repeats within the book itself. Sadly, I only recall one story: The King of Cats, and that's largely due to my associating it with a Ghibli movie.

This will certainly be enjoyed by any child who likes fairy tales, though they may complain that things didn't go the right way a few times (as compared to Andersen and Grimm). Don't go for too expensive a copy; this book is in the public domain, so there's no author to pay, at least. If you like audiobooks, Librivox has a version of this you can download.

[Westley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost as good as the first one

If you thought to knew your fairy tales, think again. The content here is just like the first volume. The only problem (and the only reason it didn't get 5 stars) is that the NCX (meta TOC) doesn't exist. That means to move from one story to another, you can't just swipe in from the left to find the TOC. You have to jump to the front, find the embedded TOC, then select the story you want, and finally get back into the stories. Each and every time. How sad.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short lessons, just right. Most I recall, end well, not all weddings. Most understandable. Drawings are delicate. Folk, fae, bunny, fox are good bad, learn lessons or not.

Typos:
...TATT.. Hut But
...THREE... delete repeat TO couldn`t
...COTT... delete 41
...PRINCESS OF CANTERBURY vonto; zo on vor ^??
..P..of..C.. courr court

52-2022 # anthology

[Jessica Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

At last an adapter for children who doesn't create "Fairy Tales for Idiots"!

The adapter in this case not only presents stories, he gives credit to his sources. Mr. Jacobs not only tells the stories well, he's also careful to preserve some of the dialect. Good for all ages.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed together with the earlier book in English Fairy Tales.

[A.R. Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book of fairy tales. Some are good, some are bad, some depressing, and some just weird. About what I expected, really.