Description
Book Synopsis''The Queen and the bat had been talking a good deal that afternoon...''The Victorian fascination with fairyland vivified the literature of the period, and led to some of the most imaginative fairy tales ever written. They offer the shortest path to the age''s dreams, desires, and wishes. Authors central to the nineteenth-century canon such as W. M. Thackeray, Oscar Wilde, Ford Madox Ford, and Rudyard Kipling wrote fairy tales, and authors primarily famous for their work in the genre include George MacDonald, Juliana Ewing, Mary De Morgan, and Andrew Lang. This anthology brings together fourteen of the best stories, by these and other outstanding practitioners, to show the vibrancy and variety of the form and its abilities to reflect our deepest concerns.In tales of whimsy and romance, witty satire and uncanny mystery, love, suffering, family, and the travails of identity are imaginatively explored. Michael Newton''s Introduction and notes provide illuminating contextual and biographic
Trade ReviewA handsome volume containing some spectacularly good fairy stories. * Paul Norman, Books Monthly *
Whimsical or romantic, sharply satirical or fogged with mystery, these powerful tales by the likes of Thackeray, Wilde, and doyenne of the genre, Mary De Morgan, probe the deepest human concerns, while reflecting the more of the period. * The Lady *
this collection does show why the fairy tale can be so irresistable, for both nostalgic and romantic reasons. * Eve Wersocki Morris, Times Literary Supplement *
With reproductions of some of the original black and white illustrations by (among others) Arthur Hughes and Walter Crane, a silken bookmark and a truly glorious cover, Victorian Fairy Tales is a perfect gift volume for both adults and older children. Rather like the stories themselves, the book works beautifully on two levels, both as a collection of fairy tales to be read and enjoyed for their own sake and with its appendix and copious explanatory notes as a detailed and fascinating window into the Victorian mind. * Vulpes Libris, Moira Briggs *
What a delightful place is fairyland and there is no more delightful guide to explore it with than Michael Newton. Truly a book to treasure. * Northern Echo, Steve Craggs *
What Michael Newton has done here is no easy feat: creating a collection of fairy tales that is both entertaining and educational... Newton's Victorian Fairy Tales is a beguiling and dynamic anthology. * The Writer's Drawer, Stephen Reeves *
"Tales of magic and wonder and good triumphant: Could there be better reading for the afterglow of Christmas? Many of the stories in Michael Newton's superb Victorian Fairy Tales are also deliciously witty, even winkingly postmodern, since their authors frequently parody, pastiche or otherwise write against the received tradition of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault." -- The Washington Post
This is not your average fairy tale book by any means. Witty, tongue-in-cheek references that adults will howl over while entertaining every child. A true delight. * NetGalley *
Table of ContentsIntroductionNote on the TextsSelect BibliographyA Chronology of the Victorian Fairy TalePROLOGUEGrimm, 'Rumpel-Stilts-Kin'Hans Christian Andersen, 'The Princess and the Peas'VICTORIAN FAIRY TALESRobert Southey, 'The Story of the Three Bears'John Ruskin, 'The King of the Golden River'William Makepeace Thackeray, 'The Rose and the Ring'George MacDonald, 'The Golden Key'Dinah Mulock Craik, 'The Little Lame Prince and His Travelling Cloak'Mary De Morgan, 'The Wanderings of Arasmon'Juliana Horatia Ewing, 'The First Wife's Wedding Ring'Oscar Wilde, 'The Selfish Giant'Andrew Lang, 'Prince Prigio'Ford Madox Ford, 'The Queen Who Flew'Laurence Housman, 'The Story of the Herons'Kenneth Grahame, 'The Reluctant Dragon'E. Nesbit, 'Melisande'Rudyard Kipling, 'Dymchurch Flit'APPENDIX: What is a Fairy Tale?'John Ruskin, 'Introduction' to German Popular TalesJuliana Horatia Ewing, 'Preface' to Old-Fashioned Fairy TalesGeorge MacDonald, 'The Fantastic Imagination'Laurence Housman, 'Introduction' to Gammer Grethel's Fairy TalesExplanatory Notes
