The Classic Fairy Tales (Paperback)

by Iona Opie (Author), the late Peter Opie (Author) "'The History of Tom Thumb' is a glorious idea rather than a glorious story..." (more)
Key Phrases: old fieldmouse, invisible coat, lord marquis, Tom Thumbe, Little Poucet, Blue Beard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The Opies' work is classic. . . . I'd . . . prefer this book . . . to a Grimms' collection."--Faron Scott, Fort Lewis College

Product Description
This volume contains twenty-four of the best known fairy tales in the English language, presented here in the exact words of their first English publication or of the earliest surviving text. Including "Sleeping Beauty," "Bluebeard," "Cinderella," "Thumbelina," and "Hansel and Gretel," as well as many others, this collection provides a historical introduction for each tale and a general Introduction which traces the history of fairy tales collected in Asia and Europe long before they appeared in English.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 13, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195202198
• ISBN-13: 978-0195202199
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( O ) > Opie, Peter & Iona
  #8 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Storytelling

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairy tales as they were first printed in the English lang., October 21, 1999

By A Customer

I first read this book in 1983, and was amazed with it then. It's unique and extremely interesting. Iona and Peter Opie have the original tales as first printed in the English language. Added to that is the history and the actual gruesome origins of what we now consider children's stories! For example, Sleeping Beauty is not awakened by a kiss. Her Prince Charming violates her while she sleeps (and since she doesn't wake up, we can only imagine how mediocre he was...). She only awakens 9 months later, during the birth of twins! He eventually returns to her, and then the story gets more complicated with his ogre mother who wants to canibalize the children. The story of the Frog Prince is even stranger. Since these are the actual tales, we can see how we've changed the stories to fit in with our culture. This is not a book for young children. The history part was the most fascinating to me. In addition, litle details such as learning that Cinderella's slippers were originally made out of squirrel fur, not glass. Both words in French are spelled similarly (vaire, verre...I'm not sure of the spelling either)and the original printer had a typo that lives on til today.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable reference, June 14, 2001

By	Tim Sheppard (Bristol, England) - See all my reviews

Everything the Opies write is fascinating and approachable, and this book is a revelation. All these tales, familiar and no-longer-so-familiar, are great to read in this age of sanitised, bowdlerised, or Disneyfied folktales. But the historical details of how the stories evolved, what and from where the variants are, and the significance of various elements of the stories - all these are of great general interest, and are also invaluable to the storyteller needing to do a bit of research.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books of all time, April 5, 2007

By	Megan Bridgeman (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Classic Fairy Tales (Hardcover)

My mother got this book for me when I was a child, and needless to say, it changed the way I learned fairy tales. Iona Opie presents some classic fairy tales as they were ORIGINALLY written... Dark, lurid, mysterious, and pessimistic. The artwork littered throughout the pages is commendable even if it were its own title.

I love this book so much that I have purchased it as a gift for countless friends, including a pen pal from Japan who found it amazing that our Western fairy tales (the stories told to our ancestors as young children) were indeed so graphic.

Great, great book -- a classic. Hope this one never goes out of style.