THE VICTORIAN FAIRY TALE BOOK (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library) [Hardcover]

Michael Patrick Hearn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library

A collection of classic Victorian fairy tales by such authors as John Ruskin, Charles Dickens, and Oscar Wilde.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hearn seems to have made...a golden cord out of this beautifully planned book and strung his selections upon it like so many gleaming beads, to dazzle and delight." -- *front page, Washington Post Book World

"Hearn is clearly a connoisseur." -- Voice Literary Supplement

"The language is elegant and lush, shot through with starlight and rainbows."

-- Philadelphia Inquirer

"This is a treasure chest....Hearn has collected these gems with a connoisseurs eye, and chosen the most marvelous illustrations to go with them."

-- Lloyd Alexander, author of The Prydain Chronicles

"What a delight to have Michael Patrick Hearn's book."

-- Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Here is a truly magical book. It brings together the best and best-loved stories from the Golden Age of the fairy tale, and reunites them with delightful illustrations from their original editions. Stories and poems by Dickens, Thackeray, J. M. Barrie, Kenneth Grahame, Oscar Wilde, Christina Rossetti, W. B. Yeats, and many others are paired with pictures by some of the most celebrated illustrators of the Victorian era, including Arthur Rackham, Arthur Hughes, Max field Parrish, Walter Crane, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. This book will delight adults and children alike. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 385 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1st edition (September 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394565940
• ISBN-13: 978-0394565941
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,383,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Victorian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh! Oh! Ooooh! This is sooo good!, February 10, 2009

By 

MzQd (Peace on Earth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Victorian Fairy Tale Book (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library) (Paperback)

"Some amuse, some enchant, some satirize, some criticize--after all, no one creates an alternative world who is content with his own." ~Michael Patrick Hearn, from his introduction in "The Victorian Fairy Tale Book"

(What a relevant quote!) Okay. Moving through my luscious pile of period literature and, oh boy, struck gold with this one! Now, I am admittedly a kind-of-Golden Age-fairy tale-lovin-kind-of-girl, and Michael Patrick Hearn's "The Victorian Fairy Tale Book" is just one peach of a great anthology! I was not disappointed.

First, the introduction alone is worth the price of the book as Hearn offers one of the most thoughtful and lucid critiques of fairy tale lit I think I have ever read. I don't pretend to be a scholar in this genre, but it is nicely written (and digested) with interesting looks at the writers (among the greatest of their time) and their foray into this style. Did you know Charles Dickens wanted to marry Little Red Riding Hood? You did? Well, I did not, so these little nuggets of insight were really fun for me.

Hearn is a man who surely knows his stuff and who most definitely encouraged me to want to dig in and explore further into this most imaginative style of literature.

I believe he selected the best Victorian tales and poems from many of the period's most celebrated writers including Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde ("The Selfish Giant"), W.B. Yeats ("The Stolen Child"), and (oh yes, *it* is in this one!) Christina Rossetti ("The Goblin Market"). Each story is accompanied by either its original illustrations or paired with art from the period's most notable illustrators including Maxfield Parish, Arthur Rackham, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. What a nice treat it was to see that!

Highly recommended as a book not just for kids, as you will relish the moments reading this one aloud to them. I loved it, even if I had to read much of it aloud to myself. Ennnnnnunciate and Enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, May 23, 2011

By 

Jean - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Victorian Fairytale Book (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library) (Paperback)

This is a delightful book for children and adults. It is easy and fun to read as fairy tales are suppose to be, but they are also very deep and thought provoking! It stimulates imagination, is instructive about life, and motivates moral aspirations.