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Fairy Tales from the German Forests
Margaret Arndt was the author The Meadows of Play (1909), From Across the German Ocean (1913), Fairy Tales From the German Forests (1913) and My Fairy Friends (1931).
148 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1912
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 19, 2017
read as an ebook from project Gutenberg
November 9, 2020
Fairy Tales from the German Forests by Margaret Arndt
Enjoyed these short fairy tale stories surrounding the German forests.
Thinking Grimm and the other bad creatures from the scary nights would make an appearance.
Such myths and legends come out of reading these stories.
Enjoyed these short fairy tale stories surrounding the German forests.
Thinking Grimm and the other bad creatures from the scary nights would make an appearance.
Such myths and legends come out of reading these stories.
July 3, 2016
I enjoyed it
It has the distinction of being a mix of 'modern' and primeval. It's reasonably well written and ends with a nice vacation story.
It has the distinction of being a mix of 'modern' and primeval. It's reasonably well written and ends with a nice vacation story.
March 10, 2019
My family is German on my dad's mother's side. There are a lot of common German personality traits in me and my family. So when I read this collection of original German fairy tales from 1913, not only did I find them charming, but they felt really familiar - not because of the stories, but because of the characters, of who they are and how they act. So while I did at times find the language a little archaic, overall I really enjoyed these little stories filled with dwarves and tree spirits and fairies. And lots of curious children who are often meandering through the woods.
December 28, 2018
Whimsical traditional German fairy tales
Published in 1913, this is a precious collection of short stories written by Margaret a
Arndt after during her time, and marriage, in Germany. All the tales draw inspiration from true German folklore and it was an utter delight to read the stories that inspired many modern tales. A beautifully written collection that will make you smile, laugh, and get lost in the whimsical world of the fae.
Published in 1913, this is a precious collection of short stories written by Margaret a
Arndt after during her time, and marriage, in Germany. All the tales draw inspiration from true German folklore and it was an utter delight to read the stories that inspired many modern tales. A beautifully written collection that will make you smile, laugh, and get lost in the whimsical world of the fae.
May 1, 2023
A collection of tales that spring from Germany that will charm and delight a reader. While some seem strange to a more modern reader there is still much joy to be had with many of the tales.
Overall, a fun read and something I’d recommend anyone interested in classic fairy tales from different regions. This one is a delight.
Overall, a fun read and something I’d recommend anyone interested in classic fairy tales from different regions. This one is a delight.
December 30, 2017
Collection of short fairy tales some were good others not so good.
July 16, 2020
Good book for children.
August 11, 2021
This is a beautiful collection. It has an Old World, ethereal, otherworldly vibe that dropped me into another time and place. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2012
For young children, but reeks of nationalistic superiority
Not what I was expecting. I was already bored and disaffected by the didactic and reproving narration, when...
I was shocked to see a swastika prominently and positively displayed and recommended to the readers. In fact, there are only 2 color paintings and 2 diagrams in the entire (Kindle) eBook, so the author and publisher went to some effort to include symbol. I finally looked up the original publication date, and then everything made more sense: originally published in 1913. That would explain the off-putting old-fashioned style, the endorsement of the Nazi symbol (which would not have had the same gut-wrenching association in 1913) and the interspersed nonchalantly arrogant and disparaging remarks regarding Germans being culturally superior to the English. Wow.
More appropriate for reading to small children than for adult enjoyment, assuming you carefully edit as you read aloud. However, your children may be disappointed by the lack of colorful artwork you would normally find in a fairy tale book.
PS: I took a lot of flack for this particular review on Amazon. So, to preclude further attacks... Yes, I do understand the swastika wasn't solely a Nazi symbol. However, for many, if not most, we still have an understandably negative gut-reaction to it. To my mind, that currently-prevalent symbolism carries more weight than its earlier innocuous use. Secondly, it is not my intent to denigrate current German culture. My apologies if I've offended you, it truly wasn't my intent. My respect and peace to you!
PSS: I've recently switched from Amazon to Goodreads. One of the first things I noticed is that Goodreads is far more accurate in listing publication dates. Back when I had browsed and downloaded this book on my Kindle, Amazon's little descriptive blurb had listed a publication date of 2006... turns out to be the re-publication date, of course, though it wasn't listed that way at the time. Anyway, I hope that sheds some light on my degree of shock at the contents!
Not what I was expecting. I was already bored and disaffected by the didactic and reproving narration, when...
I was shocked to see a swastika prominently and positively displayed and recommended to the readers. In fact, there are only 2 color paintings and 2 diagrams in the entire (Kindle) eBook, so the author and publisher went to some effort to include symbol. I finally looked up the original publication date, and then everything made more sense: originally published in 1913. That would explain the off-putting old-fashioned style, the endorsement of the Nazi symbol (which would not have had the same gut-wrenching association in 1913) and the interspersed nonchalantly arrogant and disparaging remarks regarding Germans being culturally superior to the English. Wow.
More appropriate for reading to small children than for adult enjoyment, assuming you carefully edit as you read aloud. However, your children may be disappointed by the lack of colorful artwork you would normally find in a fairy tale book.
PS: I took a lot of flack for this particular review on Amazon. So, to preclude further attacks... Yes, I do understand the swastika wasn't solely a Nazi symbol. However, for many, if not most, we still have an understandably negative gut-reaction to it. To my mind, that currently-prevalent symbolism carries more weight than its earlier innocuous use. Secondly, it is not my intent to denigrate current German culture. My apologies if I've offended you, it truly wasn't my intent. My respect and peace to you!
PSS: I've recently switched from Amazon to Goodreads. One of the first things I noticed is that Goodreads is far more accurate in listing publication dates. Back when I had browsed and downloaded this book on my Kindle, Amazon's little descriptive blurb had listed a publication date of 2006... turns out to be the re-publication date, of course, though it wasn't listed that way at the time. Anyway, I hope that sheds some light on my degree of shock at the contents!
July 24, 2017
An interesting period and perspective piece of the time just preceding the First World War by what I am assuming was an English author living in Germany. I can't find much information on its original publish date, but it's easy enough to tell from details in the stories that the countries aren't yet at war. Electricity, railways, and tunneling with dynamite all make appearances, as do references to zeppelins and the commonality of inns by the name of "Hohenzollern," to give you an idea of period.
The stories themselves show the author's perspective and prejudices, and a distinctly British tone and superiority in the expressions she chooses. Kings and dragons are generally old and tired, and forest people are working at keeping away from modern influences. The author picks and chooses from what I assume to be her adopted country and culture, with an emphasis on mountains, woods, and the architecture of the villages that run up against them. She finds novelty where a German author probably wouldn't, like in describing the clothing. She is familiar with the archetypal stories, referencing the behavior of forest dwarves, nixies, dragons, and so on, but generally in their more benign traits.
I think of it as Grimm's (very) lite through an English filter. It's not much of a spoiler to tell you that nobody dies too horribly, at least not graphically. A cute, quick set of stories generally good for reading to kids or for the anthropologically curious of that particular period in European history.
The stories themselves show the author's perspective and prejudices, and a distinctly British tone and superiority in the expressions she chooses. Kings and dragons are generally old and tired, and forest people are working at keeping away from modern influences. The author picks and chooses from what I assume to be her adopted country and culture, with an emphasis on mountains, woods, and the architecture of the villages that run up against them. She finds novelty where a German author probably wouldn't, like in describing the clothing. She is familiar with the archetypal stories, referencing the behavior of forest dwarves, nixies, dragons, and so on, but generally in their more benign traits.
I think of it as Grimm's (very) lite through an English filter. It's not much of a spoiler to tell you that nobody dies too horribly, at least not graphically. A cute, quick set of stories generally good for reading to kids or for the anthropologically curious of that particular period in European history.
August 23, 2013
Fairy Tales from the German Forests includes ten tales of German origins. I'm fairy certain that these stories are only written to seem like fairy tales, instead of being properly traditional tales ala The Brother's Grimm.
Because they are stories rather than folklore, the morals are heavy-handed, the prose is overfull of descriptions, the ethnocentrism is more distinct, and the setting is a bit more modern.
Most of this can be explained because the intended audience is children, but with the unexpected use of a swastika (it's totally just crossed axes, though, according to the text), and the period-appropriate but not currently-appropriate gender roles for little girls, I can't recommend you read it to children. And with the annoying descriptions I can't recommend you read it as an adult. Although I did vaguely enjoy skimming one or two of the tales.
But basically you should go find something more productive to read with your time. Or just...stare at a wall for a bit and imagine what an awesome fairy tale would be, because it'll almost definitely be better than these.
Because they are stories rather than folklore, the morals are heavy-handed, the prose is overfull of descriptions, the ethnocentrism is more distinct, and the setting is a bit more modern.
Most of this can be explained because the intended audience is children, but with the unexpected use of a swastika (it's totally just crossed axes, though, according to the text), and the period-appropriate but not currently-appropriate gender roles for little girls, I can't recommend you read it to children. And with the annoying descriptions I can't recommend you read it as an adult. Although I did vaguely enjoy skimming one or two of the tales.
But basically you should go find something more productive to read with your time. Or just...stare at a wall for a bit and imagine what an awesome fairy tale would be, because it'll almost definitely be better than these.
October 23, 2012
These were delightful little stories to read, which you could pick and read whenever. Being translated from German to English, they definitely made you feel like you were right there. In the first story about Christmas, the author described things so colorfully and realistically that you could feel the cold breeze on your cheeks, see the dark silhouette of the fir trees against the moon-lit sky, and hear the tinkling of sleigh bells in the distance. Maybe it's because we are living in Florida with warm winters where the seasons barely seem the change, but I felt transported to a delightful part of the world where magic lay just around the corner.
July 16, 2016
It's interesting from a historical perspective. The stories are written by an English woman living in Germany in the early 20th century who was inspired by the traditional German folklore. The stories are charming, but there is occasionally a shocking bit of "ethnocentrism" as one reviewer tactfully put it. These stories fit into the fairy tale genre, but are firmly grounded in pre-WWI era.
February 8, 2015
This book took me five weeks to finish. I read 12 other books in the interim. In fact I cheated and skipped the last half of the last story. This book is extremely boring and I only enjoyed one of the ten stories, the lake fairy one.
January 4, 2015
Read it mostly as filler between other books. Not bad, but not something to focus on...
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews