The Blue Fairy Book: A Large Collection

By Andrew Lang

The Blue Fairy Book was the first volume in the series and so it contains some of the best known tales, taken from a variety of sources: not only from Grimm, but exciting adventures by Charles Perrault and Madame D'Aulnoy, the Arabian Nights, and other stories from popular traditions. Here in one attractive paperbound volume - with enlarged print - are Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltzkin, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, Trusty John, Jack and the Giantkiller, Goldilocks, and many other favorites that have become an indispensable part of our culture heritage.
All in all, this collection contains 37 stories, all arranged in the clear, lively prose for which Lang was famous. Not only are Lang's generally conceded to be the best English versions of standard stories, his collections are the richest and widest in range. His postion as one of England's foremost folklorists as well as his firt-rate literary abilities makes his collection unfathomable in the English language.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Classics
• Release date: Apr 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781609776350

Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang (March, 31, 1844 – July 20, 1912) was a Scottish writer and literary critic who is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. Lang’s academic interests extended beyond the literary and he was a noted contributor to the fields of anthropology, folklore, psychical research, history, and classic scholarship, as well as the inspiration for the University of St. Andrew’s Andrew Lang Lectures. A prolific author, Lang published more than 100 works during his career, including twelve fairy books, in which he compiled folk and fairy tales from around the world. Lang’s Lilac Fairy and Red Fairy books are credited with influencing J. R. R. Tolkien, who commented on the importance of fairy stories in the modern world in his 1939 Andrew Lang Lecture “On Fairy-Stories.”

Reviews for The Blue Fairy Book

[jenj5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought I would read this more quickly than I did and like it more. Perhaps it's because I chose to read it for class that it ended up feeling like a chore. I love the stories and was pleased to read some new ones I didn't recognize, but it felt like it took me forever to wade through the almost 400 pagss.

[momma2_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A nice collection of fairy tales. We did not read it straight through but read selected stories. The kids kind of got a kick out of the grim nature of some of the tales. Fairy tales in their original form.

[nieva21 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

 Thus far, in the Blue Fairy Book first volume it gets off to a s very rocky start, in comparison to Lang's other volumes in the series. This volume lacks a cohesiveness, where there are some familiar fairytales and far less noted ones, in such an archaic record of the oral tradition. The Blue Fairy book is rather ecclectic in it's display and the way it orates these tales. I find it interesting that many of the true well-known tales aren't actually known in their entirety, as they are revealed in this version. There are some very interesting parallels between stories in this collection and in the Red and Violet collections-- for instance East of the Sun and West of the Moon parallels Soria Moria Castle Published in the Red story. Prince Hyacinth parallels Dwarf Long nosed in the Violet. The parallels have to do with how the stories were constructed, motifs, similar themes, structural shifts, motive, characterization, but not about the plethora of how children's fairytales of this era all seemingly have a typical formula that works well revolving around food, the number three, good vs. evil, change vs. losing oneself, listening to ones elders vs. spurning the advice of elders (cynility), entering other dimensions, animals who speak, luck (abundance--rags to riches story), the classic quest story, princesses or princes who are bored and have to marry but want to change their arranged marriage choice, nature/natural world interference, fear vs. bravery (and a ton of other numerous innate human conflicts dealing with consciousness and the human condition). Basically, we still question these today which is why they are still relevant and rich for discussion. It's why they consume toteism, and comprise our history. Many of us try to hide the truth of how we view literature because it often times reflects with how we view ourselves or know ourselves far better than we think we do. It reveals a deeper and richer discovery of the vulnerability of childhood imaginations, which evolve throughout our lifetimes.

[amyrn75 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my first and favorite book from the Folio Society! Everything about this book is great.

[tripleblessings_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Classic fairy tales from the Grimm brothers, Charles Perrault, Madame d'Aulnoy, the Arabian Nights, and other international sources. This volume has some of the best known European tales, 37 in all, with 138 beautiful illustrations by Ford and Hood. Lang's collections were first published circa 1891.