Rumpelstiltskin – Origins of the Fairy Tale from around the World' contains seven different versions of the 'Rumpelstiltskin' story. It includes an in-depth introduction to the fairy tale genre itself, as well as the provenance of 'Rumpelstiltskin'. It encompasses 'The Seven Bits of Bacon Rind' by Giambattista Basile, 'Rumpelstiltskin' by the Brothers Grimm, 'Tom Tit Tot' by Joseph Jacobs, the Scottish tale of 'Whuppity Stoorie' and the Mongolian narrative of 'The Use of Magic Language'. What is a fairy tale? The 'Origins of Fairy Tales from around the World' series helps to answer this question, by showcasing the amazing breath and diversity involved in classic fairy tales. It focuses on the unusual phenomenon that the same tales, with only minor variations, appear again and again in different cultures – across time and geographical space. Traditionally told as short stories for children, and for adults too, these popular fairy tales will be sure to delight both young and old. Beautifully illustrated, these story books combine the best story-telling, with the best art-work, in order that the two may be fully appreciated.

Discover the original macabre stories of your most beloved classics in this collection of disturbingly dark fairy tales. ‘Story-telling is one of the most ancient and universal of arts.’ – Laura F. Kready, A Study of Fairy Tales, 1916 ‘The instruments of darkness tell us truths.’ – William Shakespeare, Macbeth, 1623 This twisted treasury presents over forty of the world’s most wicked fairy tales, including the original versions of stories you thought you knew, such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and ‘Snow White’. Relish in the morbid darkness of these early classics, alongside many other tales you haven't heard before. From renowned storytellers of the fairy tale genre, this collection sources works from the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, and many more. Dark Fairy Tales is woven with themes of lost innocence, beastly bonds, and haunted hearts, aiming to inspire, caution, and illuminate valuable aspects of the human experience. Be warned, for these stories are not for the faint of heart and happy endings cannot be guaranteed.

A strange little man helps the miller's daughter spin straw into gold for the king, on the condition that she will give him her first-born child.

This charming anthology features seven original versions of the magical fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, collected from around the world. Discover the origins of your favourite tale with this in-depth look at the original Sleeping Beauty tale. Travel to all four corners of the world as you read seven versions of this enchanting story. This volume features an in-depth introduction to the fairy tale genre itself, as well as the folkloric provenance of Sleeping Beauty. Accompanying these enchanting tales are many delightful illustrations by artists of the Golden Age of Illustration, such as Jennie Harbour, W. Heath Robinson, Charles Robinson, Edmund Dulac, and H. J. Ford. As part of the Origins of Fairy Tales from Around the World series, this volume, complete with captivating full colour and black-and-white illustrations, would make the perfect gift for lovers of the timeless Sleeping Beauty story, or those interested in the origins of one of the world’s most adored fairy tales.

The timeless and magical tale of Cinderella is one we are all familiar with, but how well do we know the original story? Seven versions of the fairy tale from around the world are featured in this beautiful, illustrated volume. A tale of cruelty, love, and a touch of magic, Cinderella has always been one of the most popular fairy tales. Discover more about the wonderful story and take a tour around the globe with this volume from our Origins of Fairy Tales from Around the World series. Featuring beautiful illustrations, this fairy tale anthology includes seven versions of Cinderella, and is completed by an in-depth introduction to the fairy tale genre itself, as well as a look at the folkloric provenance of the story.

English Fairy Tales By Joseph Jacobs A word or two as to our title seems necessary. We have called our stories Fairy Tales though few of them speak of fairies. The same remark applies to the collection of the Brothers Grimm and to all the other European collections, which contain exactly the same classes of tales as ours. Yet our stories are what the little ones mean when they clamour for "Fairy Tales," and this is the only name which they give to them. One cannot imagine a child saying, "Tell us a folk-tale, nurse," or "Another nursery tale, please, grandma." As our book is intended for the little ones, we have indicated its contents by the name they use. The words "Fairy Tales" must accordingly be taken to include tales in which occurs something "fairy," something extraordinary--fairies, giants, dwarfs, speaking animals. It must be taken also to cover tales in which what is extraordinary is the stupidity of some of the actors.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Inger was a little girl but she was a bad person. This was obvious even when she was very small: she enjoyed catching insects and tearing off their wings without any pity for the poor creatures. When she was a bit bigger, her parents sent her to the country to a good family. Here, she became very refined and, going to visit her parents, decided to walk on her bread rather than in the marsh so she would not dirty her shoes. And this is where her real story begins... Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Match Girl". His books have been translated into every living language, and today there is no child or adult that has not met Andersen's whimsical characters. His fairy tales have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with the animated films "The Little Mermaid" in 1989 and "Frozen", which is loosely based on "The Snow Queen", in 2013. Thanks to Andersen's contribution to children's literature, his birth date, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.

The beloved debut novel about an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969, from the author of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • MAN BOOKER PRIZE WINNER Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy’s modern classic is equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies accidental and intentional, exposing “big things [that] lurk unsaid” in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest. Lush, lyrical, and unnerving, The God of Small Things is an award-winning landmark that started for its author an esteemed career of fiction and political commentary that continues unabated.

By the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas | Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Selected by Time as One of the Ten Best Books of the Year | A New York Times Notable Book | Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post Book World, The Christian Science Monitor, Rocky Mountain News, and Kirkus Reviews | A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist | Winner of the ALA Alex Award | Finalist for the Costa Novel Award From award-winning writer David Mitchell comes a sinewy, meditative novel of boyhood on the cusp of adulthood and the old on the cusp of the new. Black Swan Green tracks a single year in what is, for thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the thirteen chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of Kissingeresque realpolitik enacted in boys’ games on a frozen lake; of “nightcreeping” through the summer backyards of strangers; of the tabloid-fueled thrills of the Falklands War and its human toll; of the cruel, luscious Dawn Madden and her power-hungry boyfriend, Ross Wilcox; of a certain Madame Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck, an elderly bohemian emigré who is both more and less than she appears; of Jason’s search to replace his dead grandfather’s irreplaceable smashed watch before the crime is discovered; of first cigarettes, first kisses, first Duran Duran LPs, and first deaths; of Margaret Thatcher’s recession; of Gypsies camping in the woods and the hysteria they inspire; and, even closer to home, of a slow-motion divorce in four seasons. Pointed, funny, profound, left-field, elegiac, and painted with the stuff of life, Black Swan Green is David Mitchell’s subtlest and most effective achievement to date. Praise for Black Swan Green “[David Mitchell has created] one of the most endearing, smart, and funny young narrators ever to rise up from the pages of a novel. . . . The always fresh and brilliant writing will carry readers back to their own childhoods. . . . This enchanting novel makes us remember exactly what it was like.”—The Boston Globe “[David Mitchell is a] prodigiously daring and imaginative young writer. . . . As in the works of Thomas Pynchon and Herman Melville, one feels the roof of the narrative lifted off and oneself in thrall.”—Time