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Fenist the Falcon
A Russian fairy-tale concerning Fenist the Falcon - a prince disguised as a bird - and the young woman who must search the world for him.
12 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 3, 2021
A beautiful and virtuous young maiden asks her father for the feather of Fenist the Falcon in this marvelous Russian fairy-tale, and is eventually given her wish. This item summons the actual Fenist to her side, and the two become lovers, meeting at night. When Fenist is injured through the machinations of the maiden's jealous sisters, and disappears, she must set out through the world to find him. With the aid of the three Baba Yaga sisters, she eventually reaches her destination in the Thrice-Nine Tsardom the Thrice-Ten Realm, wearing out three pairs of iron shoes and three iron staffs, and eating three loaves of rock bread along the way. Once in this far-off seaside realm, the maiden must free Fenist from the enchantment of his seeming bride, using the gifts given to her by the Baba Yagas...
The Feather of Finist the Falcon is a traditional Russian tale originally collected by Alexander Afanasyev is his Russian Fairy Tales , published from 1855 through 1863. It is considered a variant of the 'Bird Lover' tale type - no. 432 in the Aarne–Thompson-Uther folklore classification system - although it also bears striking resemblance to the Norwegian tale, East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon , which in Aarne-Thompson-Uther is an example of tale type 425A, the search for the lost husband. Leaving that aside, this is a wonderful story, full of magic and excitement, danger and true love. This edition was published in Moscow in 1977, for the English-language market (it was translated by the prolific Irina Zheleznova), and contains the breathtakingly gorgeous artwork of Ivan Bilibin. Recommended to all young folk and fairy-tale lovers, and to anyone who appreciates beautiful folk-art illustration.
The Feather of Finist the Falcon is a traditional Russian tale originally collected by Alexander Afanasyev is his Russian Fairy Tales , published from 1855 through 1863. It is considered a variant of the 'Bird Lover' tale type - no. 432 in the Aarne–Thompson-Uther folklore classification system - although it also bears striking resemblance to the Norwegian tale, East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon , which in Aarne-Thompson-Uther is an example of tale type 425A, the search for the lost husband. Leaving that aside, this is a wonderful story, full of magic and excitement, danger and true love. This edition was published in Moscow in 1977, for the English-language market (it was translated by the prolific Irina Zheleznova), and contains the breathtakingly gorgeous artwork of Ivan Bilibin. Recommended to all young folk and fairy-tale lovers, and to anyone who appreciates beautiful folk-art illustration.
February 21, 2019
I bought this book and four others from a bargain box in front of a shop (Collets' maybe?) on Charing Cross Road in the early 1980s. They were 50p each. They have sat on my voluminous bookshelves ever since, and though I've leafed through them and looked at the beautiful illustrations by Ivan Bilibin, I've never actually read them until now. My son, who is an artist and art teacher, has looked further into the work of Bilibin.
It seemed like a nice follow-on from H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald!
The illustrations are stunning, and the text is wonderful too. I don't have the original Russian from which Irina Zheleznova has translated into English, but looks great to me.
It seemed like a nice follow-on from H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald!
The illustrations are stunning, and the text is wonderful too. I don't have the original Russian from which Irina Zheleznova has translated into English, but looks great to me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews