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Cuentos populares ingleses: Con ilustraciones a color de A. Rackham
Flora Annie Steel (1847-1929), hija del político londinense George Webster, se casó en 1867 con un funcionario destinado en la India, donde vivió en la región del Punjab por espacio de veintidós años. Apasionada por el folclore local, Flora reunió numerosos cuentos tradicionales en el volumen Cuentos del Punjab (1894). Animada por el éxito que obtuvo la colección y ya de vuelta en el Reino Unido, dedicó varios años a recopilar y redactar, con el mimo del coleccionista de mariposas, una amplia antología de historias tradicionales que finalmente se publicó en 1918 con el título de Cuentos populares ingleses.
El presente volumen reúne cuarenta cuentos fantásticos pertenecientes al acervo popular, entre los que encontramos desde relatos tradicionales que dieron lugar a mitos universales como Caperucita Roja, los tres cerditos, Pulgarcito o Cenicienta, cuya versión inglesa sorprenderá al lector hispanohablante por su espíritu y forma diferentes, hasta cuentos más británicos como “San Jorge de la feliz Inglaterra” o “Jack y la mata de alubias”, e incluye una auténtica colección de historias de gigantes, tan divertida como inquietante. F. A. Steel introduce pequeños detalles de su cosecha para dar color a los cuentos, pero siempre respetando la trama y conclusiones originales.
Sin hacer concesiones a la sensiblería habitual de los cuentos infantiles, Flora Steel narra, a veces con cierta crudeza, historias de traiciones, venganzas y monstruos que hunden sus raíces, según los folcloristas, en los miedos y el inconsciente colectivo y se subliman gracias a la siempre rica imaginación popular.
La edición se enriquece con las inolvidables ilustraciones a color y en negro de Arthur Rackham, un clásico de la literatura infantil y juvenil.
El presente volumen reúne cuarenta cuentos fantásticos pertenecientes al acervo popular, entre los que encontramos desde relatos tradicionales que dieron lugar a mitos universales como Caperucita Roja, los tres cerditos, Pulgarcito o Cenicienta, cuya versión inglesa sorprenderá al lector hispanohablante por su espíritu y forma diferentes, hasta cuentos más británicos como “San Jorge de la feliz Inglaterra” o “Jack y la mata de alubias”, e incluye una auténtica colección de historias de gigantes, tan divertida como inquietante. F. A. Steel introduce pequeños detalles de su cosecha para dar color a los cuentos, pero siempre respetando la trama y conclusiones originales.
Sin hacer concesiones a la sensiblería habitual de los cuentos infantiles, Flora Steel narra, a veces con cierta crudeza, historias de traiciones, venganzas y monstruos que hunden sus raíces, según los folcloristas, en los miedos y el inconsciente colectivo y se subliman gracias a la siempre rica imaginación popular.
La edición se enriquece con las inolvidables ilustraciones a color y en negro de Arthur Rackham, un clásico de la literatura infantil y juvenil.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1918
1590 people are currently reading
6582 people want to read
About the author
Flora Annie Steel
138 books12 followersFlora Annie Steel was an English writer. She was the daughter of George Webster. In 1867 she married Henry William Steel, a member of the Indian civil service, and for the next twenty-two years lived in India, chiefly in the Punjab, with which most of her books are connected.
When her husband's health was weak, Flora Annie Steel looked after some of his responsibilities. She acted as school inspector and mediator in local arguments.
She was interested in relating to all classes of Indian society. The birth of her daughter gave her a chance to interact with local women and learn their language.
She encouraged the production of local handicrafts and collected folk-tales, a collection of which she published in 1884.
Her interest in schools and the education of women gave her a special insight into native life and character. A year before leaving India, she co-authored and published The Complete Indian Housekeeper, giving detailed directions to European women on all aspects of household management in India.
In 1889 the family moved back to Scotland, and she continued her writing there.
When her husband's health was weak, Flora Annie Steel looked after some of his responsibilities. She acted as school inspector and mediator in local arguments.
She was interested in relating to all classes of Indian society. The birth of her daughter gave her a chance to interact with local women and learn their language.
She encouraged the production of local handicrafts and collected folk-tales, a collection of which she published in 1884.
Her interest in schools and the education of women gave her a special insight into native life and character. A year before leaving India, she co-authored and published The Complete Indian Housekeeper, giving detailed directions to European women on all aspects of household management in India.
In 1889 the family moved back to Scotland, and she continued her writing there.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
June 6, 2020
when i was a little girl, and would stay over at my grandmother's house, i would always need a stack of books to entertain me. i would bring my own, of course, and when i ran out of those, as i invariably would, she would take me to her local library, which was always a treat. a new library! different books! but i would of course run through those pretty quickly, damn you rental limits!!
so i would be forced to head to her bookshelves. and so i read a lot of v.c. andrews at an impressionable age. which is the best time to read v.c. andrews, frankly.
and there was this fairy tale book i loved. it was very unassuming: a plain blue clothbound book with no cover illustrations, and nothing that stuck out in my mind when i had to remember what it physically looked like. because somehow that book went missing. and no one in the family had any answers for me when i begged them to help me get my hands on it.
so i began my search. i knew it was not one of the lang collections, and i knew it was a collection of english tales. with pretty illustrations inside.
i learned it was not this one:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...
or this one:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
but through the good works of my daddy, the day was finally saved. and here it is. and thanks to jerri, i now own a copy of my elusive childhood love!
and this edition is so much nicer than the one i read as a kid.the illustrations are rackham's (i did not know who he was as a child) and they are just gorgeous.
and the stories! they are all here!
the golden ball, nix naught nothing, mr fox, caporushes (my favorite, favorite), the two sisters, the three feathers....all my friends!
and the ones i would always skip: the babes in the wood, lawkamercyme (yuk! pomes!), and the ones i thought i already knew like jack and the beanstalk and the three little pigs.
and the ones i would giggle over: tom-tit-tot and the ass, the table, and the stick (what, i was ten - v.c. andrews didn't desensitize me that much!)
but now that i am all grown, i think i shall read the poems and the more "expected" stories, just to relive my childhood and appreciate these stories as an adult. mostly. heh, tom-tit-tot...
thank you christmas miracle in may!
come to my blog!
so i would be forced to head to her bookshelves. and so i read a lot of v.c. andrews at an impressionable age. which is the best time to read v.c. andrews, frankly.
and there was this fairy tale book i loved. it was very unassuming: a plain blue clothbound book with no cover illustrations, and nothing that stuck out in my mind when i had to remember what it physically looked like. because somehow that book went missing. and no one in the family had any answers for me when i begged them to help me get my hands on it.
so i began my search. i knew it was not one of the lang collections, and i knew it was a collection of english tales. with pretty illustrations inside.
i learned it was not this one:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...
or this one:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
but through the good works of my daddy, the day was finally saved. and here it is. and thanks to jerri, i now own a copy of my elusive childhood love!
and this edition is so much nicer than the one i read as a kid.the illustrations are rackham's (i did not know who he was as a child) and they are just gorgeous.
and the stories! they are all here!
the golden ball, nix naught nothing, mr fox, caporushes (my favorite, favorite), the two sisters, the three feathers....all my friends!
and the ones i would always skip: the babes in the wood, lawkamercyme (yuk! pomes!), and the ones i thought i already knew like jack and the beanstalk and the three little pigs.
and the ones i would giggle over: tom-tit-tot and the ass, the table, and the stick (what, i was ten - v.c. andrews didn't desensitize me that much!)
but now that i am all grown, i think i shall read the poems and the more "expected" stories, just to relive my childhood and appreciate these stories as an adult. mostly. heh, tom-tit-tot...
thank you christmas miracle in may!
come to my blog!
February 28, 2023
One of the reasons I wanted to read this classic work, published in the late 19th century was to try to recognize the distinction between the Grimm tales (German), and the English Fairy Tales. I suspected some cultural appropriation even back then, and I was not wrong. Jacobs believed he was safe in this "romantic nationalism" which was pervasive at the time. He believed that the Brothers Grimm were guilty of the same sort of appropriation and felt that if the stories were different by some significant detail, it was sufficient to demonstrate that the sources were varied, too. The stories collected here come from disparate fountains of information: folklore, myths, fables, poetry, originally handed down via oral traditions and later via the written word so some of those stories and there origins are lost. Some of the stories that most would recognize are: Dick Wittington's Cat, The Three Bears (Goldilocks is glaringly absent), Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, Seven in One Blow, Jack the Giant Killer, and The Sky is Falling. There are over 30 tales and some will fall in the category of "Never Heard That One." I appreciated having read them, although I did not love them all which I find typical of most anthologies. Because the collection is ancient, there is some nostalgia here. The drawings are all from the original publication by John D. Batten. The book is available for free on most platforms and worth the read IMHO. For me, it's a solid 3 stars. This is my #21 of 50 from my Over 5 Yrs TBR goal for the year 2023.
February 16, 2018
Most of these you've heard or at least some variation of them. all good stories. now I must get a chicken and name her Henny Penny!
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July 30, 2015I was asked the other day if I knew what the Giant says in Jack and the Beanstalk.
Of course I do. As we say in Australia:
Fe Fi Fo Fastard
I smell the blood of a pommie bastard.
Of course I do. As we say in Australia:
Fe Fi Fo Fastard
I smell the blood of a pommie bastard.
December 12, 2015
Joseph Jacobs complained in the 19th century, "What Perrault began, the Grimms completed." All the fairy tales the children knew were French or German in origin. He tried to amend it, and so we have this and More English Fairy Tales.
You will indeed recognize a few, most likely. "The Three Bears" is the first written version, with a nasty old woman instead of Goldilocks, and "Scrapefoot" is recognizably the same tale, with a fox. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is, in fact, the best known variant nowadays.
Not all of them are fairy tales. Some, like "My Own Self" and "Yallery Brown," are anecdotes about fairies. Others are progressive tales, or tales of cunning characters or fools.
Others are unusual fairy tales. My own two favorites -- not just here but among all fairy tales -- are "Kate Crackernuts" and "Tattercoats." It also has "Black Bull of Norroway," "The King of England and His Three Sons," "The Fish and the Ring," and "Catskin," among other tales where you can recognize the type if you've read widely, but these are specific variants. Also, some truly strange ones. It includes "The Buried Moon," for instance.
You will indeed recognize a few, most likely. "The Three Bears" is the first written version, with a nasty old woman instead of Goldilocks, and "Scrapefoot" is recognizably the same tale, with a fox. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is, in fact, the best known variant nowadays.
Not all of them are fairy tales. Some, like "My Own Self" and "Yallery Brown," are anecdotes about fairies. Others are progressive tales, or tales of cunning characters or fools.
Others are unusual fairy tales. My own two favorites -- not just here but among all fairy tales -- are "Kate Crackernuts" and "Tattercoats." It also has "Black Bull of Norroway," "The King of England and His Three Sons," "The Fish and the Ring," and "Catskin," among other tales where you can recognize the type if you've read widely, but these are specific variants. Also, some truly strange ones. It includes "The Buried Moon," for instance.
February 10, 2022
I must say that I have no English ancestry and that where I live in South Texas we have few few English people here. We do have a substantial number of Scots-Irish people. I say this to explain why these stories are largely unfamiliar to me.
Yet some are similar--just not exactly alike the ones I hear and read growing up. The story we Americans think of as Goldilocks and the Three Bears has an old lady instead of a pretty young girl. The story we Americans think of as The Gingerbread man has a Johnny cake as the runner, also done in by a fox--but to a fox who is alluring rather than tricky. The American stories seem to have been toned down, made less scary.
The English stories seem to be scarier, more menacing, more like the stories I read in Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Are the English stories more archetypal than the popularized American stories? Seems so. The English stories may be less popular culture, more folk culture, more truths for the longer period of human history. The 19th-century child of the US living through a time of increasing urbanization and through the Second Industrial Revolution may have not needed such harsh lessons?
The age and the timelessness of these English stories can be told in a variety of ways. The idea that London was a greatly better place indicates a tome before news and other information was reliably spread--an idea which can be seen in Whittington and his Cat who hoped for a better life in the City. The concept of obligatory neighborliness--however limited--is missing in story of Mr. Miacca who would harm a neighborhood boy. The tradition of orality can be seen in The Cat and The Mouse where repetition and memory play large parts of the storytelling and enjoyment.
This English collection of fairytales contributes to my growing sense of what childrens' or young peoples' life lessons must be before finding their own places in the world.
Yet some are similar--just not exactly alike the ones I hear and read growing up. The story we Americans think of as Goldilocks and the Three Bears has an old lady instead of a pretty young girl. The story we Americans think of as The Gingerbread man has a Johnny cake as the runner, also done in by a fox--but to a fox who is alluring rather than tricky. The American stories seem to have been toned down, made less scary.
The English stories seem to be scarier, more menacing, more like the stories I read in Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Are the English stories more archetypal than the popularized American stories? Seems so. The English stories may be less popular culture, more folk culture, more truths for the longer period of human history. The 19th-century child of the US living through a time of increasing urbanization and through the Second Industrial Revolution may have not needed such harsh lessons?
The age and the timelessness of these English stories can be told in a variety of ways. The idea that London was a greatly better place indicates a tome before news and other information was reliably spread--an idea which can be seen in Whittington and his Cat who hoped for a better life in the City. The concept of obligatory neighborliness--however limited--is missing in story of Mr. Miacca who would harm a neighborhood boy. The tradition of orality can be seen in The Cat and The Mouse where repetition and memory play large parts of the storytelling and enjoyment.
This English collection of fairytales contributes to my growing sense of what childrens' or young peoples' life lessons must be before finding their own places in the world.
February 13, 2016
Jacobs mentions at the beginning that the tales in this book should be read out loud but I think parents should probably read the tales before they go and blab it to their kids. Not to say that their are a whole bunch of brutal killings but its not all sunshine and daisies all the time neither. I know that fairy tales are really not as sugary sweet as they are in Disney or any of the retellings that I love.
There is a repetivness to the tales. There were more Giants than I expected and can recall only one fairy story. Lots of Jacks too, and royalty (kind of knew that though).
Some of the tales were very familiar (ex. Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs) though they were a tad altered occasionally. But there were new ones I hadn't heard of before, but I'm no fairy tale expert. I pretty much stick to the Disney movies and book retellings that are out there.
One of my favorites that I never heard of before was Nix Nought Nothing. Now that I think is just screaming for a retelling. And Earl Mar's Daughter sounds like it could be really something. But that is the thing. I thought some of the tales were silly, some were interesting, some boring, and some were good but in the ones I believed were good I felt should have been full blown stories.
I did learn why some parents read fairy tales to their childs before bed. Almost evey time I started reading the tales I'd start getting sleepy. I'd be reading it in the middle of the day and I'd start nodding off. I don't know why because sometimes I was actually interested in the tales and there is no way I was too tired since I'm on vacation. It makes no sense.
In any case not bad.
There is a repetivness to the tales. There were more Giants than I expected and can recall only one fairy story. Lots of Jacks too, and royalty (kind of knew that though).
Some of the tales were very familiar (ex. Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs) though they were a tad altered occasionally. But there were new ones I hadn't heard of before, but I'm no fairy tale expert. I pretty much stick to the Disney movies and book retellings that are out there.
One of my favorites that I never heard of before was Nix Nought Nothing. Now that I think is just screaming for a retelling. And Earl Mar's Daughter sounds like it could be really something. But that is the thing. I thought some of the tales were silly, some were interesting, some boring, and some were good but in the ones I believed were good I felt should have been full blown stories.
I did learn why some parents read fairy tales to their childs before bed. Almost evey time I started reading the tales I'd start getting sleepy. I'd be reading it in the middle of the day and I'd start nodding off. I don't know why because sometimes I was actually interested in the tales and there is no way I was too tired since I'm on vacation. It makes no sense.
In any case not bad.
October 31, 2020
There is something very comforting about reading a collection of fairy tales. I loved the matter-of-fact, colloquial tone and constantly being surprised by very odd details which sprung up out of nowhere! The fantastical element of these stories was charming and intriguing. The stories often reminded me of dream logic - things that just 'make sense' although in reality they really don't.
Some prevalent themes were: retribution, justice, fate, marriage, making one's own fortune (/wealth), and interaction with the reader. I found it interesting to consider the cultural context of the stories, their oral and written evolution, and certain narrative features such as the many repeated refrains and motifs and sudden changes in tense.
The brief nature of these stand-alone stories makes for very light reading and a volume which is easy to set aside for a while and come back to later.
A few good bits:
"Well, that was one big silly."
"So the gentleman turned back home again and married the farmer's daughter, and if they didn't live happy for ever after, that's nothing to do with you or me."
"So Jack climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he reached the sky."
"Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme And monkeys chewed tobacco, And hens took snuff to make them tough, And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!"
Some prevalent themes were: retribution, justice, fate, marriage, making one's own fortune (/wealth), and interaction with the reader. I found it interesting to consider the cultural context of the stories, their oral and written evolution, and certain narrative features such as the many repeated refrains and motifs and sudden changes in tense.
The brief nature of these stand-alone stories makes for very light reading and a volume which is easy to set aside for a while and come back to later.
A few good bits:
"Well, that was one big silly."
"So the gentleman turned back home again and married the farmer's daughter, and if they didn't live happy for ever after, that's nothing to do with you or me."
"So Jack climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he reached the sky."
"Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme And monkeys chewed tobacco, And hens took snuff to make them tough, And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!"
May 29, 2025
these were all quite delightful. They felt quite authentic, nasty and brutal in all that ways that Disney's white-washed versions are not.
I noticed that one, "The Ass, the Table, and the Stick," was right out of Basile's Tale of Tales (which I'm reading concurrently) so I was forced to wonder if a similar oral root or if somehow the much older Italian tale got translated and then worked its was into English oral culture. The notes mention other versions but not Basile specifically.
Also one tale, "Mr. Fox," was basically an alternate version of Georges Perrault's "Bluebeard" and featured the phrase "The bloody chamber,' so I can only imagine that Angela Carter probably read these very tales and made some use of them before composing her fine collection of that title. Confirming this, a later tale, "Erl Mar's Daughter," featured women turned into birds as in Carter's "The Erl-King" and also helped to explain the rather mysterious last line of that tale in which the lover is strangely called "Mother," for in the original tale it's the mother's bewitching that is the protagonist's undoing.
I noticed that one, "The Ass, the Table, and the Stick," was right out of Basile's Tale of Tales (which I'm reading concurrently) so I was forced to wonder if a similar oral root or if somehow the much older Italian tale got translated and then worked its was into English oral culture. The notes mention other versions but not Basile specifically.
Also one tale, "Mr. Fox," was basically an alternate version of Georges Perrault's "Bluebeard" and featured the phrase "The bloody chamber,' so I can only imagine that Angela Carter probably read these very tales and made some use of them before composing her fine collection of that title. Confirming this, a later tale, "Erl Mar's Daughter," featured women turned into birds as in Carter's "The Erl-King" and also helped to explain the rather mysterious last line of that tale in which the lover is strangely called "Mother," for in the original tale it's the mother's bewitching that is the protagonist's undoing.
April 12, 2019
حاولت أكمّل الكتاب بس ما قدرت، ما عجبني.
May 15, 2025
My favorite Fairy Tale in here was The Rose Tree.
Overall this was a decent collection of fairy stories / folk tales - nothing as good as the ones by Perrault or the brothers Grimm, though
Overall this was a decent collection of fairy stories / folk tales - nothing as good as the ones by Perrault or the brothers Grimm, though
November 29, 2025
DNF 21%. I read several of these short, simple English Faery Tales. They are painful to trudge through. So though this is a compilation of olden tales, it is not that entertaining.
April 4, 2020
This book is a compilation of traditional English fairytales, some being very famous. It was interesting to read the original stories from many well known tales. Some of the stories I enjoyed more than others, hence the four stars.
May 18, 2024
Really enjoyed working my way through these tales with my family. A lovely collection that we all enjoyed!
January 13, 2022
This is one of the best collections. Jacobs combed the folklore collections and periodicals of his day for this set of tales. Strong and memorable tellings of old favorites, in ways you won't remember hearing as a kid. Three Pigs, Three Bears, Johnny Cake (aka Gingerbread Boy), Tom Tit Tot (Rumpelstiltskin). Then a lot more not in the popular set, but still riveting: Three Heads of the Well, Childe Rowland, Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh. My favorite in the bunch for telling to kids is Molly Whuppie! A strong girl protagonist out defeating giants!
February 7, 2018
I don’t think this book is fit for children.., it’s not that sugary kind of fairy tales it’s more brutal i guess.. . Lot of repetition.., kind of boring for me...., many stories tell about : the beautiful lady will marry the handsome prince, the beautiful lady always have a nice attitude and then she’ll having an adventure and so in the end she’ll having a sack of gold but vice versa, the handsome young man will marry the beautiful lady, or will slay the dragon or giant and also marry the beautiful lady..
October 26, 2017
I don't really know how I thought I could enjoy fairy tales. I knew most of them, and had never enjoy them, not even as a kid. too many women havin to fulfill men's desires or their head would be cut off. too many marriages without even knowing each other. I don't care when are they from. I just don't enjoy this kind of stories.
February 19, 2020
Definitely a 5 star book.
If you wanted to read to your child good clean fairy tales this is the book . I definitely recommend this book.
If you wanted to read to your child good clean fairy tales this is the book . I definitely recommend this book.
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December 21, 2021Not just now. The very first tale "St. George of Merrie England" put me off... (late Victorian, popular imperialist, very noticeably addressing children - heavy-handed in style)
March 22, 2024
I listened to this on Audible, I would not recommend listening to this as an adult.
June 6, 2024
Being familiar with Teutonic and Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend, as well as faerie lore, this book was very familiar, yet refreshingly new. Would recommend to any fan of European folklore.
March 3, 2022
Book is very good. I was lost .I love fairy tales more :-) its very imaginative and fascinating. I recommend this book to all fairy tale lovers .
February 7, 2012
I have the larger formatted deluxe first edition, signed by Rackham and released in 1918. However the Trade edition is also a reassuringly large format, a much more satisfactory size than the war economy production Allies Fairybook of 1916.
This book, together with other nationalistic titles illustrated by Rackham during the First World War was intended as a patriotic challenge to the Germanic Grimm tradition, however we're spared any jingoistic introduction, and it gets straight into the collection of 41 tales, very fine retellings by Flora Annie Steel that still read very well today.
Fred Gettings passes over Rackhams wartime books as having "some excellent Rackhams but nothing extraordinary", however I disagree. For me this is probably the most satisfactory collection of his work for fairy tales, at least on par with the Grimm collection "Little Brother and Little Sister" of 1917. There's a softness to some of the colour plates that shows the beginnings of a more lyrical approach well suited to these very English stories, my personal favorites being 'Catskin', 'The Three Heads in the Well' and 'Jack the Giant Killer', illustrations that show Rackham still close to his peak. On the down side not all the pieces are of that consistency however. Where the book disappoints the most is the black and white work, which sometimes appear rushed, lightweight or oft-repeated Rackham cyphers.
Nevertheless all the work seen together, as a collection as a whole this remains one of my favourites.
This book, together with other nationalistic titles illustrated by Rackham during the First World War was intended as a patriotic challenge to the Germanic Grimm tradition, however we're spared any jingoistic introduction, and it gets straight into the collection of 41 tales, very fine retellings by Flora Annie Steel that still read very well today.
Fred Gettings passes over Rackhams wartime books as having "some excellent Rackhams but nothing extraordinary", however I disagree. For me this is probably the most satisfactory collection of his work for fairy tales, at least on par with the Grimm collection "Little Brother and Little Sister" of 1917. There's a softness to some of the colour plates that shows the beginnings of a more lyrical approach well suited to these very English stories, my personal favorites being 'Catskin', 'The Three Heads in the Well' and 'Jack the Giant Killer', illustrations that show Rackham still close to his peak. On the down side not all the pieces are of that consistency however. Where the book disappoints the most is the black and white work, which sometimes appear rushed, lightweight or oft-repeated Rackham cyphers.
Nevertheless all the work seen together, as a collection as a whole this remains one of my favourites.
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June 28, 2023This beautiful collection of English fairy tales features the most beloved traditional stories alongside magical illustrations by Arthur Rackham.
First published in 1918, this classic anthology is a collection of wonderful fairy tales collated and edited by Flora Annie Steel. The tales featured in this volume are brought to life by Arthur Rackham’s masterful full-colour plates and black-and-white illustrations.
First published in 1918, this classic anthology is a collection of wonderful fairy tales collated and edited by Flora Annie Steel. The tales featured in this volume are brought to life by Arthur Rackham’s masterful full-colour plates and black-and-white illustrations.
July 10, 2012
Some things must be viewed by young eyes and grasped by childish minds. Fairy tales fall in this category and English fairy tales in particularly. English Fairy Tales compiled by Joseph Jacobs is a beautifully illustrated book but I really can’t say that I was positively impressed with the accompanying text. The book is a collection of forty English tales, many dating from the 16th Century. Most of the tales were new to me and possibly little known generally. Jack the Giant Killer, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs brought back memories of my youth but as I read most of the other tales a multitude of descriptive adjectives came to mind. Words as monotonous, dull, repetitive and boring mixed with virtue less, blood thirsty, sinful and petty would paint a fairly accurate picture of these tales designed for children of countless generations. I imagine this impression varies in the eyes of the beholder but in my geriatric view it falls far short of decency. I give this book two stars because of the illustrations and the realization that I once saw these tales in a different light; the light of a child.
February 16, 2019
This was my latest venture into the world of fairy tales. I was actualy familiar with quite a few of the stories in this book, like Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Bears. These versions were slightly different than the stories I'd been told though. As an example, it wasn't goldilocks in the three bears, it was a mean old lady. Also, the line "Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman" wasn't from Jack and the Beanstalk, as I'd been told, but from Jack the Giant-killer.
This was an entertaining collection of stories though and it's interesting that there are some stories that are kinda universal, like the little girl and the frog story. It's showed up in a couple fairy tale books that I've listened to so far but each version is slightly different. The version in this book is definitely the more brutal of the bunch though.
I also listened to the audiobook version done by the volunteers at librivox, it was well done and the quality of the recording was great.n
Definitely recommended if you enjoy fairy tales as much as I do.
This was an entertaining collection of stories though and it's interesting that there are some stories that are kinda universal, like the little girl and the frog story. It's showed up in a couple fairy tale books that I've listened to so far but each version is slightly different. The version in this book is definitely the more brutal of the bunch though.
I also listened to the audiobook version done by the volunteers at librivox, it was well done and the quality of the recording was great.n
Definitely recommended if you enjoy fairy tales as much as I do.
June 1, 2018
Really nice collection of Folk Tales ( Fairy Tales or Scary Tales). Every culture has stories that pass down through the generations and this was an interesting read.
August 22, 2017
Eh...I'm not so much a fan of this collection. While Jacobs does write fairly well, I felt like I was hearing a few stories over again. In particular, I'm certain there were at least three stories of giants with some variant on the "grind your bones to make my bread" speech. There's also the complication of many of these fairy tales just being adaptations from Andersen and Grimm, so they don't feel particularly English. I'd say, if you were spending money (and really, do not, Grimm, Andersen, and Jacobs are all in the public domain, so just download ebook versions of their collections), you should get Jacobs after getting Andersen and Grimm, and also after getting stories from ore distant countries.
I listened to a free audio production from Librivox, which was fairly well done, so if you like audiobooks, go download this one.
I listened to a free audio production from Librivox, which was fairly well done, so if you like audiobooks, go download this one.
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