Indian Fairy Tales - Illustrated by John D. Batten

By Joseph Jacobs

Indian Fairy Tales is part of a series written by the Australian born folklorist Joseph Jacobs. In this book feature 30 stories taken from popular South Asian oral history united with John D. Batten's black and white drawings, full of movement and energy. Many of the earliest children's books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Pook Press are working to republish these classic works in affordable, high quality editions, using the original text and artwork so these works can delight another generation of children. John Dickson Batten (1860-1932) was a British painter, illustrator and print maker who was a leading light in the Art Nouveau movement. He illustrated a series of fairy tale books written by Joseph Jacobs as well as English language versions of Arabian Nights and Dante's Inferno. His illustrations are strongly influenced by the printmakers of Japan and are characterised by an intense romanticism and refined technique.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781447490203

Joseph Jacobs

Joseph Jacobs (1854–1916) was a noted folklorist, critic, and historian who gained fame compiling English folktales. Born in Sydney, Australia, Jacobs completed his studies at the University of Cambridge. His career began with a post as the secretary of the Society of Hebrew Literature. Work with Jewish literature and history became a principal pursuit in his life, and he eventually became president of the Jewish Historical Society of England, a revising editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia, and editor of the American Hebrew. In 1890 Jacobs began releasing collections of English fairy tales in a mission to give English children homegrown stories to read in addition to the more traditional French and German fairy tales. 

Reviews for Indian Fairy Tales - Illustrated by John D. Batten

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked these fairy tales! Although there were some strange terms (and also I believe some strange translations; Jogi I assume is Yogi for example), at the heart many of these stories are very similar to European fairy tales. Evil queens using magic or trickery to get rid of innocent children (unsuccessfully), talking animals who return good deeds, princes going on quests; what I think of as the standard fairy tale but in an Indian setting so jungles and tigers instead of forests and bears.

I skipped the Notes at the end but if one is interested in the origins or history of these tales, it would be of interest.