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Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World
The “tale as old as time,” in versions from across the centuries and around the world—published to coincide with Disney’s live-action 3D musical film starring Emma Watson, Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor, Audra McDonald, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, Dan Stevens, and Emma Thompson.
Nearly every culture tells the story of Beauty and the Beast in one fashion or another. From Cupid and Psyche to India’s Snake Bride to South Africa’s “Story of Five Heads,” the partnering of beasts and beauties, of humans and animals in all their variety—cats, dogs, frogs, goats, lizards, bears, tortoises, monkeys, cranes, warthogs—has beguiled us for thousands of years, mapping the cultural contradictions that riddle every romantic relationship.
In this fascinating volume, preeminent fairy tale scholar Maria Tatar brings together tales from ancient times to the present and from a wide variety of cultures, highlighting the continuities and the range of themes in a fairy tale that has been used both to keep young women in their place and to encourage them to rebel, and that has entertained adults and children alike. With fresh commentary, she shows us what animals and monsters, both male and female, tell us about ourselves, and about the transformative power of empathy.
Nearly every culture tells the story of Beauty and the Beast in one fashion or another. From Cupid and Psyche to India’s Snake Bride to South Africa’s “Story of Five Heads,” the partnering of beasts and beauties, of humans and animals in all their variety—cats, dogs, frogs, goats, lizards, bears, tortoises, monkeys, cranes, warthogs—has beguiled us for thousands of years, mapping the cultural contradictions that riddle every romantic relationship.
In this fascinating volume, preeminent fairy tale scholar Maria Tatar brings together tales from ancient times to the present and from a wide variety of cultures, highlighting the continuities and the range of themes in a fairy tale that has been used both to keep young women in their place and to encourage them to rebel, and that has entertained adults and children alike. With fresh commentary, she shows us what animals and monsters, both male and female, tell us about ourselves, and about the transformative power of empathy.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2017
31 people are currently reading
1347 people want to read
About the author
Maria Tatar
55 books321 followersMaria Tatar is the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures. She chairs the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. She is the author of Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood, Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood and many other books on folklore and fairy stories. She is also the editor and translator of The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, The Annotated Peter Pan, The Classic Fairy Tales: A Norton Critical Edition and The Grimm Reader. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
March 2, 2017
5 Fairy Tales and More
Beauty and the Beast is one of my all-time favorite fairytale. It’s a whimsical story about a book loving girl and a monstrous man. With only a few days left before the major motion picture comes out, I’m in all Beauty and the Beast mode. Heck, I’m even considering the lipstick that the movie is promoting.
Ever wonder what the true story is? Did you know Belle had sisters and brothers? Or that the Beast isn’t actually the villain? It’s interesting to compare Jeanne-Marie Leprince Beaumount version to Disney’s. Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales about Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World is the story of Beauty and the Beast and other versions edited by Maria Tatar.
Beauty and the Beast is the French version and my favorite, but did you know there are other various versions of the story? One has a pig and another has a frog. Sometimes the story has the Heroine as selfish and sometimes she is kind. Sometimes the father sells his daughter for money.
The book also has other fairytales, which I enjoyed reading too, like Cinderella. It’s a fascinating book and it’s something you can read to your kids, each story is a few pages long, but they are very interesting and each has a moral to the story. Although, some are not for little kids, since some of the stories contain a few characters getting killed.
The book also has a brief overview of the origins of Beauty and the Beast.
The thing that I really enjoyed about the book is that each version I read was from a different country (from Italy to Japan) and there was a mini overview before you read each story.
If you are preparing for the movie and reading all things of Beauty and the Beast, I highly suggest you check out this book. It will keep you very informed and prepared for the movie.
An ARC was provided by Penguin Classics. I volunteered to review.
AMAZON
May 10, 2017
This anthology of fairy and folktales is divided in four parts:
- A Model Couples from Ancient Times section, that presents the four myths from Classical Antiquity which Tatar considers as "Beauty and the Beast" founding myths from Greece, Rome, India and Iraq respectively.
- A Charismatic Couples in the Popular Imagination section, with seven fairy and folk tales that follow the classic "Beauty and the Beast" plot, including the original French one itself and also versions from all over the world that follow the same basic storyline.
- An Animal Grooms section, with thirteen folktales that are classified within this tale type by scholars because the common element is of a beautiful human female marrying a beast.
- An Animal Brides section, with also thirteen folktales from multiple and varied cultural origins that belong in this tale type category due to the common element being a beautiful human male marrying a beast.
The reason for this classification is that, as Maria Tatar explains, not every Ugly/Beautiful or Human/Enchanted Animal pairing is automatically a "Beauty and the Beast" tale, as is unfortunately the widespread misconception found everywhere. In reality, there are two categories split by gender and plot elements: A pairing of Ugly-Animal-Disfigured/Beautiful in which the "beast" figure is a male will belong in the category scholars call ATU-400 (Aarne-Thompson-Uther Tale Type 400) "Man in a Quest for His Lost Wife," or Handsome & the Beast as Tatar call it; and when the pairing has the female as the beautiful partner and the male as the beastly one, it will belong in the ATU-425 "In Search of the Lost Husband" category, that has 6 subtypes of which the Beauty & Beast tale we know best thanks to the likes of Disney is one, and Animal Groom is another subtype. Put it shortly: Male Beast/Female Beauty is one cateogory, and Female Beast/Male Beauty is a different one. They aren't the same, the common element is the beastly mate for a beautiful mate, and there's where similarities end.
Now that the scholarly classification is sorted out (and really, who besides folktale nerds like me is going to mind?), I would say Ms Tatar in general did have good criteria in selecting the tales to showcase in this book. It's by no means extensive and is hardly going to be a source of much input for researching all tales of this type or even for finding obscure/as yet untranslated versions, because too many are missing. Instead, this will serve for those looking for inspiration for retellings, for those who want to know more than the usual version in film and childrens' books but don't want to get into too scholarly books, and the like. For a more extensive and complete anthology of tales of this type, Heidi Anne Heiner's Beauty and the Beast Tales from Around the World is the book to pick. It's superior to Tatar's, in my opinion.
As for why I'm not rating this higher, the reasons are twofold: firstly, and this has more to do with me than the author, is that the book provided no novelty to me, no new tales to discover and savour, all mostly familiar and thus boring. It's a "for the general public" kind of book that's going to be "been there, read that" for the fans and academics.
Secondly, I don't agree with the inclusion of the Zeus and Europa myth in the section about founding myths, and Tatar didn't give any convincing argument for why it should be there when it's not even the first or the most illustrative of all the Greek myths in which the King of the Gods turns into a beast to seduce or abduct a pretty mortal, and also because she made one very weird choice that to me reeks of editorial sanitisation: she goes on and on about the uncomfortable fact that this myth is a story of plain rape, and yet instead of including the myth directly from available sources, she chose a heavily sanitised retelling by a modern author that simply omits the uncomfortable non-con element and wraps up the tale triumphantly with the puzzling line that although the twin children Europa gave birth as a result from that rape became famous, in the end it's her name that's most famous of all. Really? What that was supposed to be about escapes me.
And another decision I disagree with is the inclusion of Madame de Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast" summed-up version instead of the true original that started this subtype: the one by Madame de Villeneuve. Granted, I realise the choice might have been owing to space, because that one is very long and this anthology is rather on the slim side, but given that Villeneuve's is the actual first B&B tale as we know it, its omission from an anthology that dedicates an entire section to this subtype and derives its title from the tale is unacceptable to me. I can look past the omission of a few relatively known tales, like one by the Grimms that I was shocked to discover was missing, but this is a bit hard to comprehend.
Probably the tales in the two sections from the second half of the book will be more interesting to other readers than the two sections from the first half; those have a few that were very nice, and my favourite parts to read.
- A Model Couples from Ancient Times section, that presents the four myths from Classical Antiquity which Tatar considers as "Beauty and the Beast" founding myths from Greece, Rome, India and Iraq respectively.
- A Charismatic Couples in the Popular Imagination section, with seven fairy and folk tales that follow the classic "Beauty and the Beast" plot, including the original French one itself and also versions from all over the world that follow the same basic storyline.
- An Animal Grooms section, with thirteen folktales that are classified within this tale type by scholars because the common element is of a beautiful human female marrying a beast.
- An Animal Brides section, with also thirteen folktales from multiple and varied cultural origins that belong in this tale type category due to the common element being a beautiful human male marrying a beast.
The reason for this classification is that, as Maria Tatar explains, not every Ugly/Beautiful or Human/Enchanted Animal pairing is automatically a "Beauty and the Beast" tale, as is unfortunately the widespread misconception found everywhere. In reality, there are two categories split by gender and plot elements: A pairing of Ugly-Animal-Disfigured/Beautiful in which the "beast" figure is a male will belong in the category scholars call ATU-400 (Aarne-Thompson-Uther Tale Type 400) "Man in a Quest for His Lost Wife," or Handsome & the Beast as Tatar call it; and when the pairing has the female as the beautiful partner and the male as the beastly one, it will belong in the ATU-425 "In Search of the Lost Husband" category, that has 6 subtypes of which the Beauty & Beast tale we know best thanks to the likes of Disney is one, and Animal Groom is another subtype. Put it shortly: Male Beast/Female Beauty is one cateogory, and Female Beast/Male Beauty is a different one. They aren't the same, the common element is the beastly mate for a beautiful mate, and there's where similarities end.
Now that the scholarly classification is sorted out (and really, who besides folktale nerds like me is going to mind?), I would say Ms Tatar in general did have good criteria in selecting the tales to showcase in this book. It's by no means extensive and is hardly going to be a source of much input for researching all tales of this type or even for finding obscure/as yet untranslated versions, because too many are missing. Instead, this will serve for those looking for inspiration for retellings, for those who want to know more than the usual version in film and childrens' books but don't want to get into too scholarly books, and the like. For a more extensive and complete anthology of tales of this type, Heidi Anne Heiner's Beauty and the Beast Tales from Around the World is the book to pick. It's superior to Tatar's, in my opinion.
As for why I'm not rating this higher, the reasons are twofold: firstly, and this has more to do with me than the author, is that the book provided no novelty to me, no new tales to discover and savour, all mostly familiar and thus boring. It's a "for the general public" kind of book that's going to be "been there, read that" for the fans and academics.
Secondly, I don't agree with the inclusion of the Zeus and Europa myth in the section about founding myths, and Tatar didn't give any convincing argument for why it should be there when it's not even the first or the most illustrative of all the Greek myths in which the King of the Gods turns into a beast to seduce or abduct a pretty mortal, and also because she made one very weird choice that to me reeks of editorial sanitisation: she goes on and on about the uncomfortable fact that this myth is a story of plain rape, and yet instead of including the myth directly from available sources, she chose a heavily sanitised retelling by a modern author that simply omits the uncomfortable non-con element and wraps up the tale triumphantly with the puzzling line that although the twin children Europa gave birth as a result from that rape became famous, in the end it's her name that's most famous of all. Really? What that was supposed to be about escapes me.
And another decision I disagree with is the inclusion of Madame de Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast" summed-up version instead of the true original that started this subtype: the one by Madame de Villeneuve. Granted, I realise the choice might have been owing to space, because that one is very long and this anthology is rather on the slim side, but given that Villeneuve's is the actual first B&B tale as we know it, its omission from an anthology that dedicates an entire section to this subtype and derives its title from the tale is unacceptable to me. I can look past the omission of a few relatively known tales, like one by the Grimms that I was shocked to discover was missing, but this is a bit hard to comprehend.
Probably the tales in the two sections from the second half of the book will be more interesting to other readers than the two sections from the first half; those have a few that were very nice, and my favourite parts to read.
March 20, 2017
Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
As has been mentioned, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale. It works so well as a Romance archetypical story, so I was VERY excited at this offering.
Penguin has a compendium of stories that fall into the same folklore classification as the original French version of Beauty and the Beast, which is “The Search for a Lost Husband.” They have also, in the interest of fairness, included stories in which the woman is the animal- The Man in the Quest for the Lost Wife. (Also noted in the introduction: the very name of these classifications reduces the female protagonist’s agency and very existence.)
The stories are all great, and getting the full gamut of versions of my most beloved story is wonderful. There are some that I would not have thought would go in a similar class as “Beauty and the Beast” – The Swan Maidens, for example.
I think my favorite of the stories that I already knew has to be “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” I remember a beautiful illustrated version from my childhood (and there’s like, seven different versions on Amazon and I don’t remember which one was mine! How can I pass on the right version to my nephew? Life is HARD!). It’s a Scandinavian tale about a girl who is “encouraged” by her father to marry a polar bear (her family would get riches if she did). Of course, the polar bear isn’t really a polar bear, he’s a man that’s been enchanted to be a polar bear by day, and a man by night, and if the girl managed to make it a year without finding out, then the spell would have been broken.
But fairy tale heroines aren’t great at “do this thing and don’t ask questions” so she finds out, and he must go to the witch that enchanted him. The heroine can save him only if she goes east of the sun and west of the moon.
If you have an interest in folklore and tales from around the world, and in comparing and contrasting similar stories across cultures, I highly recommend this anthology.
- Redheadedgirl
As has been mentioned, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale. It works so well as a Romance archetypical story, so I was VERY excited at this offering.
Penguin has a compendium of stories that fall into the same folklore classification as the original French version of Beauty and the Beast, which is “The Search for a Lost Husband.” They have also, in the interest of fairness, included stories in which the woman is the animal- The Man in the Quest for the Lost Wife. (Also noted in the introduction: the very name of these classifications reduces the female protagonist’s agency and very existence.)
The stories are all great, and getting the full gamut of versions of my most beloved story is wonderful. There are some that I would not have thought would go in a similar class as “Beauty and the Beast” – The Swan Maidens, for example.
I think my favorite of the stories that I already knew has to be “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” I remember a beautiful illustrated version from my childhood (and there’s like, seven different versions on Amazon and I don’t remember which one was mine! How can I pass on the right version to my nephew? Life is HARD!). It’s a Scandinavian tale about a girl who is “encouraged” by her father to marry a polar bear (her family would get riches if she did). Of course, the polar bear isn’t really a polar bear, he’s a man that’s been enchanted to be a polar bear by day, and a man by night, and if the girl managed to make it a year without finding out, then the spell would have been broken.
But fairy tale heroines aren’t great at “do this thing and don’t ask questions” so she finds out, and he must go to the witch that enchanted him. The heroine can save him only if she goes east of the sun and west of the moon.
If you have an interest in folklore and tales from around the world, and in comparing and contrasting similar stories across cultures, I highly recommend this anthology.
- Redheadedgirl
April 25, 2017
It’s a major motion picture. It’s a fairytale. It’s a legend. And it’s more. Maria Tatar’s Beauty and the Beast collects together stories of animal brides and grooms from around the world and presents them to the reader, nicely organized and classified, with a fascinating touch of gentle analysis.
In a pleasingly readable introduction, readers are asked to ponder why these stories are so popular—animals used to portray human love; that longing for natural freedom fighting with cultural civilization; the tragedy of breaking from the norm; and, yes, the power of sexuality. “[A] curved mirror ... that distorts and takes us into the fun house, is always more compelling—and often more true—than a purely reflective one,” the author muses. And the legends of beauties and beasts are surely curved.
Gods and monsters, soulmates and soul destroyers, all are found in these pages. Lovers charismatic and fearsome, animal brides and grooms from around the world, all are gathered here and told beautifully, taken from different translations and collections, well-ordered, well-presented, and fun to read. Much more intriguing and enthralling than the movie!
Disclosure: I won a copy and I really enjoyed it.
In a pleasingly readable introduction, readers are asked to ponder why these stories are so popular—animals used to portray human love; that longing for natural freedom fighting with cultural civilization; the tragedy of breaking from the norm; and, yes, the power of sexuality. “[A] curved mirror ... that distorts and takes us into the fun house, is always more compelling—and often more true—than a purely reflective one,” the author muses. And the legends of beauties and beasts are surely curved.
Gods and monsters, soulmates and soul destroyers, all are found in these pages. Lovers charismatic and fearsome, animal brides and grooms from around the world, all are gathered here and told beautifully, taken from different translations and collections, well-ordered, well-presented, and fun to read. Much more intriguing and enthralling than the movie!
Disclosure: I won a copy and I really enjoyed it.
August 6, 2017
3.5 stars!
I wanted to own an edition of Beauty and the Beast that I grew up reading and it is just a treat that it comes along with a lot of other fairy tales from around the world! The following are my favorites of the collection:
Cupid and Psyche (Ancient Rome)
The Girl Who Married a Snake (India)
Beauty and the Beast (France)
East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Norway)
King Pig (Italy)
Princess Frog (Russia)
The Parrot Prince (Chile)
The Story of Five Heads (South Africa)
The Snake Prince (India)
Honorable Mentions:
The Small Tooth Dog (England)
The Grateful Crane (Japan)
Its fascinating to see how several different cultures adapt ancient archetypes and previous tales to create their own stories. On one hand this is my one gripe with this collection. A lot of the stories felt like they were repeating; since they are following this ancient archetype or blatantly borrowing inspiration from other previous tales there are several themes that are done over and over again. Once I finished one story and moved on to the next it felt like I was reading the same story again. However, it was very interesting to see how each culture retells the story and what elements are changed. There are some that used the formula but the added elements, that help reflect the culture of that story, help it stand out. A great example would be the Parrot Prince from Chile. I also want to give a special mention to the Story of Five Heads which reminded me so much about Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters which I loved to read in elementary school. Despite the repetitiveness of the stories I found them to be imaginative, inspiring, and even informative and I can definitely see myself picking this up later whenever I want an entertaining read.
I wanted to own an edition of Beauty and the Beast that I grew up reading and it is just a treat that it comes along with a lot of other fairy tales from around the world! The following are my favorites of the collection:
Cupid and Psyche (Ancient Rome)
The Girl Who Married a Snake (India)
Beauty and the Beast (France)
East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Norway)
King Pig (Italy)
Princess Frog (Russia)
The Parrot Prince (Chile)
The Story of Five Heads (South Africa)
The Snake Prince (India)
Honorable Mentions:
The Small Tooth Dog (England)
The Grateful Crane (Japan)
Its fascinating to see how several different cultures adapt ancient archetypes and previous tales to create their own stories. On one hand this is my one gripe with this collection. A lot of the stories felt like they were repeating; since they are following this ancient archetype or blatantly borrowing inspiration from other previous tales there are several themes that are done over and over again. Once I finished one story and moved on to the next it felt like I was reading the same story again. However, it was very interesting to see how each culture retells the story and what elements are changed. There are some that used the formula but the added elements, that help reflect the culture of that story, help it stand out. A great example would be the Parrot Prince from Chile. I also want to give a special mention to the Story of Five Heads which reminded me so much about Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters which I loved to read in elementary school. Despite the repetitiveness of the stories I found them to be imaginative, inspiring, and even informative and I can definitely see myself picking this up later whenever I want an entertaining read.
January 8, 2020
I put this book down after reading a pretty grizzly story where an animal bridegroom stomps his mean bride to death. But when I picked this back up the writing was a lot less dry than I expected from fairytales, and there was no more bride-stomping. The translations of these tales felt modern and were easy to read. It is nice to have a large collection of animal bridegroom stories all in one place.
March 17, 2017
Be our guest this weekend with the live action Disney, Beauty and the Beast, hitting theaters!
The animated Disney film was one of my most favorite movies growing up and even now, I still find myself singing along to all the songs when I hear them!
Not to mention, my 7 month only baby LOVES animated Disney and the music, though The Little Mermaid is his all time favorite, Beauty and the Beast is a close second so needless to say I watch the animated Beauty and the Beast about once a week.
I am also currently streaming Disney on my Pandora station which is full of Beauty and the Beast classic songs, all to get ready for the upcoming movie release!
So like many fans around the world, I am anxiously waiting for the live action film to be released because let’s be honest….it looks absolutely magical! And as a little girl, I loved that Belle made reading cool for nerd girls around the world!
But have you ever asked yourself what it is about Beauty and the Beast that grabs you and holds on to that special place in your heart? Where did this story come from? Is it the whole ‘love is blind and conquers all’ cliche that hooks you?
Whatever it is, Beauty and the Beast is a timeless tale that appeals widely to people around the world, but beyond the Disney version of the story and music, I know very little of the original fairy tale.
When Penguin approached me to review this book, I was absolutely thrilled to learn about the origins of the fairy tale as well as read about how others around the world have created similar fairy tales.
Since this book was more of a collection of similar fairy tales, it read really really fast. One of the things that stood out to me was how well the book was organized and each story laid out for the readers. Each version of the fairy tale was from a different country, and not just the western versions, there were tales from Japan, India, and beyond! Each version had a little overview before you started each one and I found this very informative because I personally liked reading about the origins and culture before reading the story itself.
While each story was vastly different in of itself, at the heart was a moral lesson for the reader. While not every story would be suitable for children (some dealt with death etc), I think this is a book that parents could also share with their children and that the children would also enjoy with parental guidance. They were each unique but recognizable in themes and lessons so many would find them appealing.
The only thing that I wasn’t really a fan of was the cover art. For me it didn’t grab my attention or appeal to me very much. I personally would have liked to have seen maybe a simple cover with just a rose, something besides what we see here. If I saw this one in the bookstore, I would likely have walked right by it. There is nothing eye catching to me about it which made me sad because this book was full of beautiful stories.
If, like me, you are getting geared up and excited for the new Beauty and the Beast movie this weekend, then I highly recommend picking this one up for fun and learn the true story behind Belle and her Beast! It really is a tale as old as time.
See my full review here
The animated Disney film was one of my most favorite movies growing up and even now, I still find myself singing along to all the songs when I hear them!
Not to mention, my 7 month only baby LOVES animated Disney and the music, though The Little Mermaid is his all time favorite, Beauty and the Beast is a close second so needless to say I watch the animated Beauty and the Beast about once a week.
I am also currently streaming Disney on my Pandora station which is full of Beauty and the Beast classic songs, all to get ready for the upcoming movie release!
So like many fans around the world, I am anxiously waiting for the live action film to be released because let’s be honest….it looks absolutely magical! And as a little girl, I loved that Belle made reading cool for nerd girls around the world!
But have you ever asked yourself what it is about Beauty and the Beast that grabs you and holds on to that special place in your heart? Where did this story come from? Is it the whole ‘love is blind and conquers all’ cliche that hooks you?
Whatever it is, Beauty and the Beast is a timeless tale that appeals widely to people around the world, but beyond the Disney version of the story and music, I know very little of the original fairy tale.
When Penguin approached me to review this book, I was absolutely thrilled to learn about the origins of the fairy tale as well as read about how others around the world have created similar fairy tales.
Since this book was more of a collection of similar fairy tales, it read really really fast. One of the things that stood out to me was how well the book was organized and each story laid out for the readers. Each version of the fairy tale was from a different country, and not just the western versions, there were tales from Japan, India, and beyond! Each version had a little overview before you started each one and I found this very informative because I personally liked reading about the origins and culture before reading the story itself.
While each story was vastly different in of itself, at the heart was a moral lesson for the reader. While not every story would be suitable for children (some dealt with death etc), I think this is a book that parents could also share with their children and that the children would also enjoy with parental guidance. They were each unique but recognizable in themes and lessons so many would find them appealing.
The only thing that I wasn’t really a fan of was the cover art. For me it didn’t grab my attention or appeal to me very much. I personally would have liked to have seen maybe a simple cover with just a rose, something besides what we see here. If I saw this one in the bookstore, I would likely have walked right by it. There is nothing eye catching to me about it which made me sad because this book was full of beautiful stories.
If, like me, you are getting geared up and excited for the new Beauty and the Beast movie this weekend, then I highly recommend picking this one up for fun and learn the true story behind Belle and her Beast! It really is a tale as old as time.
See my full review here
December 11, 2017
Starting with the most famous of these types of tales, Cupid and Psyche, Beauty and the Beast,East o the Sun West o the Moon, this is a delightful collection of tales from around the world. It is fascinating how certain characteristics are universal, the three tasks, the evil stepmother, curiosity causing people lose what they value. My favourite was a a tale from Chile called The Parrot Prince that had both elements of Cinderella and East of the Sun West of the Moon!
June 24, 2025
In terms of the book, it does what it says on the tin — it is a quaint, thoughtful, intentional curation of fairy tales. I appreciate the brief blurbs and context cues Tatar provides at the beginning of every tale, and they all appear to have their linguistic integrity preserved. Each tale is about 3 minutes long so I flew through this.
Reminds me why I chose fairy tales for my MA. To see how common themes and motifs appear and translate across regions, languages, and time periods is infinitely fascinating. Obviously the one that stands out to me the most is the sexism. As with fairy tales and folk tales, expect lots of rape and coercion of all sorts. But don’t worry, it’s just men’s silly unquenchable desire to conquer both land and women. 🤪
Anyway, while some tales may seem repetitive, would still highly recommend to anyone interested in the topic but unwilling to dive into the scholarly literature and analyses yet.
My only quibble is Tatar’s confounding decision NOT to use the original Beauty and the Beast tale by Villenueve, but some shortened ‘summed up’ version instead. Weird move, but ok.
Reminds me why I chose fairy tales for my MA. To see how common themes and motifs appear and translate across regions, languages, and time periods is infinitely fascinating. Obviously the one that stands out to me the most is the sexism. As with fairy tales and folk tales, expect lots of rape and coercion of all sorts. But don’t worry, it’s just men’s silly unquenchable desire to conquer both land and women. 🤪
Anyway, while some tales may seem repetitive, would still highly recommend to anyone interested in the topic but unwilling to dive into the scholarly literature and analyses yet.
My only quibble is Tatar’s confounding decision NOT to use the original Beauty and the Beast tale by Villenueve, but some shortened ‘summed up’ version instead. Weird move, but ok.
February 29, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Describing what I was reading to coworkers was a bit awkward, but definitely worth it. The lack of a fifth star is only because I would have really loved a closing analysis chapter to wrap it all up, since the bulk of the book was the tales themselves. The author lets them stand on their own, which is nice, but I wouldn’t say no to a bit more insight from her.
September 27, 2017
A very nice collection of Beauty and the Beast related stories! Many of these I'd never heard of before.
September 10, 2022
Some good DnD character inspiration tbh
August 14, 2017
Finally picked up this book, which I got aaaaalllllll the way back in June when I went back to Singapore. I've been 'saving' it for no particular reason and I can sort of see why. This was a good read and the anticipation of reading it made it even better.
(Also I just found out that NLB has an ecopy but I love that I have my own. Some books you just want to own)
Anyway, this collection of stories really is from around the world. Apart from the usual Western suspects, I saw stories from India, Japan, Ghana, Myanmar and much more. The only (to me really obvious) country that was left out was China. I mean, how can you miss Madame White Snake or any number of tales about humans and foxes? But I digress.
The stories are organised by topic, and they are:
1. Model couples from ancient times
2. Charismatic couples in the popular imagination
3. Animal grooms
4. Animal brides
The first two categories had tales that were familiar to me, but most of the stories in the latter two categories weren't. I enjoyed them all.
What makes this book stand out from other collections is the introduction! There is a very interesting introduction by Maria Tatar, covering things like classification, background to the tales and what they mean to humans. And there is a one-paragraph introduction to each tale, which provided background and a little bit of commentary without any spoilers.
If you are a fan of fairy tales, you will want a copy of this book. Apart from the introductions, there is real value in being able to read and compare tales like this from a variety of cultures. They show that we aren't as different as we might think (although obviously we aren't all identical because that would be boring)
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
(Also I just found out that NLB has an ecopy but I love that I have my own. Some books you just want to own)
Anyway, this collection of stories really is from around the world. Apart from the usual Western suspects, I saw stories from India, Japan, Ghana, Myanmar and much more. The only (to me really obvious) country that was left out was China. I mean, how can you miss Madame White Snake or any number of tales about humans and foxes? But I digress.
The stories are organised by topic, and they are:
1. Model couples from ancient times
2. Charismatic couples in the popular imagination
3. Animal grooms
4. Animal brides
The first two categories had tales that were familiar to me, but most of the stories in the latter two categories weren't. I enjoyed them all.
What makes this book stand out from other collections is the introduction! There is a very interesting introduction by Maria Tatar, covering things like classification, background to the tales and what they mean to humans. And there is a one-paragraph introduction to each tale, which provided background and a little bit of commentary without any spoilers.
If you are a fan of fairy tales, you will want a copy of this book. Apart from the introductions, there is real value in being able to read and compare tales like this from a variety of cultures. They show that we aren't as different as we might think (although obviously we aren't all identical because that would be boring)
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
June 13, 2025
Rounding up because there are a few gems, and the introduction was interesting.
But the tales mostly appeal more to the scholarly inclined, and are often a stretch to claim affinity to the French story by Beaumont that is best known to readers in the West.
And there's so much casual violence. Not just the frog prince being thrown against the wall, not just the abduction of the selkie wife, not just the rape of Europa. And too often the victim quickly learns to love and live happily with the aggressor, which is not a message I particularly would want a daughter of mine to see in a story....
Also I don't like that the stories are listed by what nation they come from, except for the "Native American" ones - at least one story was known to be from the Blackfoot and should have been labeled such.
I did very much enjoy 'The Parrot Prince' which is a story from Chile.
And 'The Snake Prince' from India as told in The Olive Fairy Book. "And the old woman who had been the prince's nurse became nurse to the prince's children - at least that's what they called her, for she was far too old to do anything for them but loved them. Yet she believed she was useful, and she was happy beyond compare." I'll have to look at Lang's colored books after all, though I do have mixed opinions about them.
"Madame de Beaumont's tale attempted to steady the fears of young women, to reconcile them to the custom of arranged marriages, and to brace them for an alliance that required effacing their own desires and submitting to the will of a 'monster'."
"What we are discovering today is that the bifurcation of living beings into human and animal is not a universal feature of thought. Rather, that particular binary derives from Enlightenment thinking, from a Post-Cartesian moment.... A look at the Oxford English Dictionary reveals that the term 'animal' hardly appears at all in English before the end of the 16th century. Instead, there are 'beasts' and 'creatures'.
"Einstein is reputed to have said that if you want intelligent children, read them fairy tales. And if you want more intelligent children, read them more fairy tales."
But the tales mostly appeal more to the scholarly inclined, and are often a stretch to claim affinity to the French story by Beaumont that is best known to readers in the West.
And there's so much casual violence. Not just the frog prince being thrown against the wall, not just the abduction of the selkie wife, not just the rape of Europa. And too often the victim quickly learns to love and live happily with the aggressor, which is not a message I particularly would want a daughter of mine to see in a story....
Also I don't like that the stories are listed by what nation they come from, except for the "Native American" ones - at least one story was known to be from the Blackfoot and should have been labeled such.
I did very much enjoy 'The Parrot Prince' which is a story from Chile.
And 'The Snake Prince' from India as told in The Olive Fairy Book. "And the old woman who had been the prince's nurse became nurse to the prince's children - at least that's what they called her, for she was far too old to do anything for them but loved them. Yet she believed she was useful, and she was happy beyond compare." I'll have to look at Lang's colored books after all, though I do have mixed opinions about them.
"Madame de Beaumont's tale attempted to steady the fears of young women, to reconcile them to the custom of arranged marriages, and to brace them for an alliance that required effacing their own desires and submitting to the will of a 'monster'."
"What we are discovering today is that the bifurcation of living beings into human and animal is not a universal feature of thought. Rather, that particular binary derives from Enlightenment thinking, from a Post-Cartesian moment.... A look at the Oxford English Dictionary reveals that the term 'animal' hardly appears at all in English before the end of the 16th century. Instead, there are 'beasts' and 'creatures'.
"Einstein is reputed to have said that if you want intelligent children, read them fairy tales. And if you want more intelligent children, read them more fairy tales."
March 7, 2017
I had never read Beauty and the Beast before this, my only knowledge of it coming from the old Disney classic movie and in details regarding the upcoming revival, but we all know it. The romantic tale of a beautiful bookworm falling in love with the beast of a man. This version compared to Disney's is very different, as is to be expected, but it is just as magical.
I loved reading this anthology of folklore and mythology and seeing how Beauty and the Beast shaped the stories after it. How each culture and country (from Japan to South Africa to Italy) has replicated the story in their own way. Each story magical and filled with lessons for its readers. But it has others stories, too; fairy tales the likes of which we've come to adore like Cinderella and Zeus and Europa.
All of these stories have a connection, a common theme, with a love story involving some sort of animal. The editor who compiled all of these tales, Maria Tatar, goes into depth about the mythology of love stories involving animals and the origin of our main story, something which I found very fascinating. Each story, none very long, began with a foreword from Tatar, explaining the story to us. Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World isn't a story just for adults who wish to relive the beauty of folklore, but it can be shared with their children, too. With the upcoming movie, I think this novel is a great pairing to what lies beneath the surface of the tale, and how love can transcend everything.
**Received an early copy via the Publisher; Voluntarily reviewed**
I loved reading this anthology of folklore and mythology and seeing how Beauty and the Beast shaped the stories after it. How each culture and country (from Japan to South Africa to Italy) has replicated the story in their own way. Each story magical and filled with lessons for its readers. But it has others stories, too; fairy tales the likes of which we've come to adore like Cinderella and Zeus and Europa.
All of these stories have a connection, a common theme, with a love story involving some sort of animal. The editor who compiled all of these tales, Maria Tatar, goes into depth about the mythology of love stories involving animals and the origin of our main story, something which I found very fascinating. Each story, none very long, began with a foreword from Tatar, explaining the story to us. Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World isn't a story just for adults who wish to relive the beauty of folklore, but it can be shared with their children, too. With the upcoming movie, I think this novel is a great pairing to what lies beneath the surface of the tale, and how love can transcend everything.
**Received an early copy via the Publisher; Voluntarily reviewed**
May 13, 2018
En este libro tan especial podremos encontrar las recopilaciones de una gran parte de «Bellas y Bestias» que existen en las diferentes culturas.
Es un libro que se empieza a leer a velocidad de la luz, muy entretenido y a la vez te aporta mucho conocimiento cultural del mundo. ¿Qué sucede para no haber obtenido las cinco estrellas para mí? Que la finalmente el esquema los cuentos me resultaba muy repetitivo (y de esto no tiene la culpa nadie, recordemos que es una recopilación de cuentos que se transmitían de manera oral) y en el último tercio del libro me parecía estar leyendo una y otra vez la misma historia (que en parte eso es en lo que consiste el libro, en contar una misma historia con diferentes versiones) y a mí, personalmente, me ha terminado pareciendo demasiado repetitivo.
Sin embargo, me ha parecido muy interesante poder leerme muchas de las versiones que existen de uno de mis cuentos favoritos (también está la versión de la que se inspiró directamente Disney, por si la queréis leer) y como las moralejas se cuentan de diferente manera dependiendo de la zona geográfica donde se haya desarrollado la historia, en cuestión.
Es un libro que se empieza a leer a velocidad de la luz, muy entretenido y a la vez te aporta mucho conocimiento cultural del mundo. ¿Qué sucede para no haber obtenido las cinco estrellas para mí? Que la finalmente el esquema los cuentos me resultaba muy repetitivo (y de esto no tiene la culpa nadie, recordemos que es una recopilación de cuentos que se transmitían de manera oral) y en el último tercio del libro me parecía estar leyendo una y otra vez la misma historia (que en parte eso es en lo que consiste el libro, en contar una misma historia con diferentes versiones) y a mí, personalmente, me ha terminado pareciendo demasiado repetitivo.
Sin embargo, me ha parecido muy interesante poder leerme muchas de las versiones que existen de uno de mis cuentos favoritos (también está la versión de la que se inspiró directamente Disney, por si la queréis leer) y como las moralejas se cuentan de diferente manera dependiendo de la zona geográfica donde se haya desarrollado la historia, en cuestión.
May 4, 2019
I bought this collection after going to the staged production in Ashland, Oregon; so I was really hopeful to be blown away by the stories. While I have a sentimental attachment to this book, I could not give it five stars. The Disney movie and all the plays I have seen were just remarkable, I was thrilled to read the variations; however, a lot of these stories actually became too redundant. Maybe that was the point of the collection, to show the similarities in story telling across time and nations. However, it became difficult to continue to read this book with continuity. I really loved the intro by the author, it brought new insight into fairy tales; specifically, the thread of fairy tales of the Beauty and the Beast theme. I wish that the author had more reflection after each story to bring out the individual significance of the fable and why it belonged in the book. It was a good read during a time that I could not stay focused on a continuous story, and I am eager to return to the book. I just wish that there was a little more so the redundancy would not have been such an issue.
October 7, 2024
This anthology is definitely better than the kindle ultimate edition, though I was sad this one only discussed Villeneuve's version briefly, and only included Beaumont's. I was hoping it would go into more detail about each of the tales and imagery used in them than it did. I also hoped that there would be discussion of the various backstories given, if given, for why the various people are turned into beasts. It is more common for the women who are beasts to have a backstory than the men, Villeneuve being an exception. I hope that some of the other anthologies I'm hoping to get will go into more detail. Her notes are good. I just wanted more. I second other reviewers who are baffled by the inclusion of Zeus and Europa, and was equally confused as to why Tartar included the sanitized modern retelling after slamming it rather than an actual translation of the original.
January 19, 2019
Maria Tatar is a folklorist who has assembled a collection of stories about animal brides and grooms and the humans who love them. The best known is the French tale of Beauty and the Beast, but there are wide ranging stories that are not so sweet and lovely; in fact, a few are downright brutal. But that is the human condition, is it not?
My favorite is Norway's "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" where our intrepid heroine doesn't let a pair of iron boots stop her; she wears out the tread in her constant search for her prince. There's plenty of weirdness to this tales.
Tatar provides an introduction where she writes about the universal fascination with these kind of stories. If you're a lover of fairy tales or have an interest in mythology, you might like this book.
My favorite is Norway's "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" where our intrepid heroine doesn't let a pair of iron boots stop her; she wears out the tread in her constant search for her prince. There's plenty of weirdness to this tales.
Tatar provides an introduction where she writes about the universal fascination with these kind of stories. If you're a lover of fairy tales or have an interest in mythology, you might like this book.
September 15, 2019
A pretty interesting introduction to "Beauty and the Beast," though that title is a broad application. The introduction was the most interesting part for me, and I appreciated the look into the academia surrounding the mythoses. The stories were less interesting to me, partially because they're short, old tales told with varying levels of engagingness in their prose/structure, and partially because they were quite repetitive if you read them in a row.
One thing I didn't love was that the analysis is pretty much confined to the introduction. Any insight for the stories comes in a very short blurb preceding it, and I did want a bit more than that as I went, I think.
However, I read this to get a better handle on the subgenre/story, and I definitely feel like I got that, so I'm happy.
One thing I didn't love was that the analysis is pretty much confined to the introduction. Any insight for the stories comes in a very short blurb preceding it, and I did want a bit more than that as I went, I think.
However, I read this to get a better handle on the subgenre/story, and I definitely feel like I got that, so I'm happy.
June 8, 2023
Fun and diverse collection of tales; it's super accessible and as a folklore anarchist I like the idea of grouping together materially unrelated tales on a theme rather than tale type/origin classification BS. Reading a collection on a theme rather than of shared origin is an interesting journey into the subconscious of humanity in various contexts. Minus a star because I personally would've preferred more detailed (and specific) annotations especially regarding the cultural context they were originally told in and ESPECIALLY how they were collected (because there are a LOT of tales collected by colonisers from colonised people and it really shows but the impact of this on the stories is not addressed at all for the uninitiated reader).
February 2, 2025
No está mal, aunque por desgracia resultó demasiado eurocéntrico. La mayoría de historias no europeas fueron recogidas de segunda mano por funcionarios coloniales, o son cuentos post-independencia que replican la estructura de las historias europeas. En un libro sobre novios bestia, ¿dónde está, por ejemplo, la leyenda moche del príncipe-ave Naymlap? A veces me da la impresión de que los folkloristas estadounidenses se empeñan tanto en el Monomito y en encontrar motivos comunes a los legendarios de todo el mundo que acaban forzando las historias no occidentales en cajas estrechas que no les corresponden.
La verdad, la parte más nutritiva del libro fue el prólogo 😂, es el motivo por el que no le doy menos puntuación.
La verdad, la parte más nutritiva del libro fue el prólogo 😂, es el motivo por el que no le doy menos puntuación.
June 7, 2017
While this was okay, to a large degree it was underwhelming. The beginning was extremely wordy - it made me think I was reading someone's thesis paper. Then when it came to the stories themselves, there were only brief introductory paragraphs before each one, but they usually didn't include much I cared to know about the story. It was vaguely interesting to know who first collected/wrote it down and the year, but then random ones sometimes included conclusions made by the anthologist that didn't make sense when I actually read the story. It would have been much more helpful/interesting if they would have expanded more on why they had drawn those conclusions, etc.
October 31, 2017
I saw this on a bookstore around the time Beauty and the Beast was showing, and for some reason it didn't occur to me it was going to be a collection of fairy tales despite it being spelled out for me on the title. I don't know what I expected then; I guess I was curious because of all the Beauty and the Beast hype.
In any case, I'm pretty neutral about this book. Insights could be gleaned from it but more than that, reading this made me feel somewhat nostalgic to the times I read fairy tales as a kid.
In any case, I'm pretty neutral about this book. Insights could be gleaned from it but more than that, reading this made me feel somewhat nostalgic to the times I read fairy tales as a kid.
March 3, 2022
A nice collection of stories.
Many are repetitive as they follow the same motifs, however it did make the book as a whole a little boring, after the 20th story of someone tossing an animal skin into a fire to ensare the object of their desire, you're well past the point of deja vu.
Some stories were quite sad as they followed a fable style whereas others were outright harsh and sometimes shocking in their bluntness and brutality, but it was interesting seeing the cultural differences between similar tales.
Many are repetitive as they follow the same motifs, however it did make the book as a whole a little boring, after the 20th story of someone tossing an animal skin into a fire to ensare the object of their desire, you're well past the point of deja vu.
Some stories were quite sad as they followed a fable style whereas others were outright harsh and sometimes shocking in their bluntness and brutality, but it was interesting seeing the cultural differences between similar tales.
June 27, 2021
3.5 stars.
A fairly accessible collection of tales, with offerings from various countries/cultures. It includes some of the more popular, well-known tales, along with a few not-as-known ones, but overall the collection felt too small (and short). Personally I didn't understand the inclusion of Cupid and Psyche -- that seems to fit into a different category -- but I'm no folklore expert. *shrugs*
A fairly accessible collection of tales, with offerings from various countries/cultures. It includes some of the more popular, well-known tales, along with a few not-as-known ones, but overall the collection felt too small (and short). Personally I didn't understand the inclusion of Cupid and Psyche -- that seems to fit into a different category -- but I'm no folklore expert. *shrugs*
January 24, 2024
I love anything to do with “Beauty and the Beast,” so this was just the perfect collection of stories. I loved how they were labeled from the country of origin and it was fascinating to see how many similarities there were in them. It does get kind of repetitive reading nearly the same story over and over, but if you were to dip in and out of this, it wouldn’t be so noticeable. It was a really great read though.
February 17, 2025
Maria Tatar presents a beautiful collection of stories which main characters are both beautiful and monstruos. While reading them, I enjoyed tracking similarities, but also identifying different ways to narrate events that anyone could relate to despite the uniqueness of each culture.
I totally recommend this book for those who love finding truth unveiled by fantasy, absurdity, symbols and fiction.
I totally recommend this book for those who love finding truth unveiled by fantasy, absurdity, symbols and fiction.
July 1, 2017
This is probably closer to a 3.8. I liked the premise of the book and the variety of the stories, but I wish that there had been a larger analysis of the stories in relation to the cultures that they originated from. Maybe it's a product of my Classics minor, but I really wanted MORE than just the stories and the over-arching theme.
March 17, 2022
Some of these stories were familiar; many were new.
A [mostly] strong collection of comparative beast tales from around the world. Care was taken to include a variety of stories and perspectives.
The only story which was out of place (due to overall quality of translation and assemblage) was Hasan of Basra.
The final tale is from the Nez Perce in Idaho, which was nice to see.
A [mostly] strong collection of comparative beast tales from around the world. Care was taken to include a variety of stories and perspectives.
The only story which was out of place (due to overall quality of translation and assemblage) was Hasan of Basra.
The final tale is from the Nez Perce in Idaho, which was nice to see.
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