Description
Book SynopsisFairy tales, often said to be timeless and fundamentally oral, have a long written history. This book argues that however a vital part of this history has fallen by the wayside. It refocuses the lens through which we look at fairy tales. It examines the evolution of the Anglo-American fairy tale and its place in this variegated history.
Trade Review"In this elegant study the scholar Elizabeth Wanning Harries gives their due to the counteuses--the 17th century French ladies ... who entertained their salons with witty, sophisticated fantasies about imaginary princes and princesses... Harries suggests, with culture today fragmented into myriad products and market niches, fairy tales may be our only universal point of reference, the only cultural language we speak in common."--Amanda Heller, The Boston Globe "To read Harries's study is to have that all too rare experience of recognizing that this book needed to be written and is full of truths."--Choice "This is a highly readable work which engages with important questions in feminist literary criticism and fairy-tale research and offers a valuable and well-argued rereading of the history of the fairy tale."--Karen Seago, Marvels and Tales
Table of ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii INTRODUCTION: Once, Not Long Ago 3 CHAPTER ONE: Fairy Tales about Fairy Tales: Notes on Canon Formation 19 CHAPTER TWO: Voices in Print: Oralities in the Fairy Tale 46 CHAPTER THREE: The Invention of the Fairy Tale in Britain 73 INTERLUDE: Once Again 99 CHAPTER FOUR: New Frames for Old Tales 104 CHAPTER FIVE: The Art of Transliteration 135 CONCLUSION: Twice-Told Tales 160 NOTES 165 BIBLIOGRAPHY 193 INDEX 211
