The Classic Fairy Tales: (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

by Maria Tatar (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The cultural resilience of fairy tales is incontestable. Surviving over the centuries and thriving in a variety of media, fairy tales continue to enrich our imaginations and shape our lives. This Norton Critical Edition of The Classic Fairy Tales examines the genre, its cultural implications--and its critical history. The editor has gathered fairy tales from around the world to reveal the range and play of these stories over time. The Classic Fairy Tales focuses on six different tale types: "Little Red Riding Hood,' "Beauty and the Beast," "Snow White," "Cinderella," "Bluebeard," and "Hansel and Gretel." It includes multicultural variants of these tales, along with sophisticated literary rescriptings. Each tale type is preceded by an introduction, and annotations are provided throughout. Also included in this collection of over forty stories are tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde. "Criticism" collects twelve essays that interrogate different aspects of fairy tales by exploring their social origins, historical evolution, psychological dynamics, and engagement with issues of gender and national identity. Bruno Bettelheim, Robert Darnton, Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, Karen E. Rowe, Marina Warner, Zohar Shavit, Jack Zipes, Donald Haase, Maria Tatar, Antti Aarne, and Vladimir Propp provide critical overviews. A Selected Bibliography is included.

About the Series--Each Norton Critical Edition includes an authoritative text, contextual and source materials, and a wide range of interpretation--from contemporary perspectives to the most current critical theory--as well as a bibliography and a chronology of the author's life and work.

About the Author
Maria Tatar is the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, where she teaches courses on folklore and literature. She is the author of The Annotated Brothers Grimm and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; 1st ed edition (November 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393972771
• ISBN-13: 978-0393972771
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mirror, Mirror..., February 1, 2001

By	"villette" (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews

An excellent collection which highlights the grislier, taboo aspects of fairy tales that are often sanitised for today's consumption. As well as traditional versions of the most popular fairy stories, editor Maria Tatar has also included feminist re-tellings of "Bluebeard" and "Beauty and the Beast" by Margaret Atwood and Angela Carter. This fascinating anthology helps to deepen our understanding of the cultural implications of the fairy tale form, and includes essays from important contributors to the field such as Vladmir Propp, Bruno Bettelheim and Marina Warner. If you thought that fairy tales were just for children, then you'll find this collection an eye opening experience.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for storytellers, June 15, 2001

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

A good mixture of browsability and serious reading. For the storyteller this book is a godsend - several variants of each story compiled for easy comparison, with an authoritative commentary for background research. And the variants are often not obvious or well-known, so giving real discoveries and delights. The scholarly essays cover a fair range of subjects, but for those just interested in the stories there is plenty in the rest of the book to satisfy. If this book interests you, try 'The Classic Fairy Tales', by Iona and Peter Opie - same title, similar approach, except that variants are only discussed rather than given in full.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good resource for beginning fairy tale scholars, March 30, 2000

By	Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Tatar has contributed several works to fairy tale scholarship, but this is one of the best for an introductory course. The book offers essays and fictional variations for well known fairy tales including Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Bluebeard, etc. The collection includes a story by Margaret Atwood, poetry by Anne Sexton, and more traditional versions of the tales from older sources. New translations by Tatar of some tales are also presented. I highly recommend this book.