Andrew Lang's Fairy Books
Some books just look so appealing due to their bright bindings or covers and the Andrew Lang Fairy Books are no exception. There are 12 in the collection - all the colours of the rainbow and more! A set of first editions would look stunning with their decorative covers.
Andrew Lang was a Scottish poet and literary critic who is now probably best remembered for his collections of fairy and folk tales. English collections of traditional Fairy Tales were rare in the lateVictorian Age as many considered them too brutal and violent to be read to children. Lang had read the classic fairy tales during his childhood and thought they should be passed onto the next generation.
The Blue Fairy Book was the first to be published in 1889 when just 5000 copies were printed. They were sold for the grand sum of 6d each! (6 pennies in old UK currency). The Red Fairy Book appeared next at Christmas 1890 when 10,000 copies were printed. The next volume, The Green Fairy Book, was first published in 1892 and Lang said in his preface that this would probably be the last of this series. However the books were so popular that a further nine were produced, the last, The Lilac Fairy Book, in 1910.
In all, the collection has 447 tales from a wide range of cultures and countries. Lang collected the tales from a large variety of sources with many appearing in English for the first time. Amongst his sources were stories fromBrothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, Madame d'Aulnoy, The Arabian Nights not to mention Norse tales, Aboriginal, Chinese, Japanese and many more. Lang wrote the preface for each book and here he acknowledges the work of of those who translated or adapted the stories, including his wife. The books were largely illustrated by H.J. Ford with others such as G.P Jacomb Hood and Lancelot Speed also contributing illustrations.
Some of the stories will be familiar, for example Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Aladdin, Hansel and Gretel. Some are familiar tales with a different title such as The Master Cat (Puss in Boots) or The History of Whittington (Dick Whittington), but many of the stories are new to me so I thought I would tell you about three which I liked.
The first is in the Blue Fairy Book and is called 'Why the Sea is Salt.'
It is a Norwegian fairy tale and tells of two brothers, one rich and the other poor. The poor brother begs some meat from his brother on Christmas Eve. The rich brother reluctantly agrees to give him some meat if the other brother promises to go to Dead Men's Hall. The poor brother does as he promised and meets an Old Man at the door of the Hall who tells him that he could sell his meat to those inside but only for the hand mill that is behind the door. The poor man eventually manages to do this and the Old Man tells him how to use the mill. The poor man returns home and shows his wife what the mill can do. It grinds everything they need for Christmas! One day they have a feast and the rich brother comes along and is astounded at what the mill can do. He persuades his brother to sell him the mill but he doesn't learn how to stop it. The first time he uses it he asks the mill to grind herring and pottage and of course the mill goes on grinding until the house is full. Scared, the rich man pays his brother to take the mill back. The poor brother becomes rich and eventually sells the mill to the skipper of a ship who wants the mill to grind salt. This the mill does but again the skipper doesn't know how to stop the mill and it goes on grinding until eventually the ship sinks and the mill is at the bottom of the sea and is grinding still!
Above: illustration from Why The Sea is Salt.
'How Some Wild Animals Became Tame'. from the Brown Fairy Book.
Once upon a time there was a rich miller who asked the wild animals to come to his wedding. So the chiefs of the bears, wolves, foxes, horses, cows, goats, sheep and reindeer accepted their invitations to the wedding. The bear, having smartened himself up, set off to the wedding. Along the way he met a boy who asked where he was going. When the bear told him he cried “Don't go!” Puzzled the bear asked why and the boy said that he would be killed for his beautiful skin. The bear thought about this and decided not to go to the wedding. Next the boy met the wolf on his way to the wedding. Again the boy advised him not to go as the wolf's skin was thick and warm and he would be killed and stripped of his skin. The wolf thought about it and decided to return to his den. The fox also had second thoughts after meeting the boy. Next the boy met the horse who was galloping through the woods on his way to the wedding. The boy also suggested the horse doesn't attend or the horse, stronger than many men, will have ropes put around him and would have to work. The horse scoffed at this and went onto the wedding where things happened just as the boy predicted. Similarly the cow, the goat and the sheep ignored the boy's warnings and were all kept by the people at the wedding for their milk or wool. The reindeer too ignored the boy's warning. So all the animals who went to the wedding didn't return to the wild but became servants of man and have continued to be so ever since.
Above: illustration form Litte Red Riding Hood
The Violet Fairy Book tells the tale of 'The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet'.
This story comes from Japan. There was once a man and his wife who for many years were happy and prosperous but when bad times came they were left with nothing but their beautiful daughter. The family set off to live in the countryside where the mother and daughter spent their time keeping the house and tending the garden, but the old man spent his time thinking about the riches he had lost and became so despondent that he took to his bed and never got up again.
One day the mother became ill and knew she was dying. She told her daughter that she would soon have to look after herself and that this would be more difficult because she was so beautiful. The mother told the daughter to fetch a wooden helmet to wear which would hide her beauty. The mother died and after weeping for many days the girl felt she had to get back to work. She left her home and went to work for a man who owned fields. There she laboured on the land and no matter how hot the weather she kept her wooden helmet on and was therefore called Hatschihime. Despite her helmet, word of her beauty soon spread and the young men would come and try to snatch her helmet but she resisted them. Eventually her employer suggested she worked indoors caring for his sick wife. Hatschihime thought her troubles were over.
One day the eldest son returned home, caught sight of Hatschihime and asked who she was. His mother told him and he determined that she would be his wife. His family were not pleased but still the son asked her to marry him. However Hatschihime said no as she did not want to cause trouble between the son and his family. He asked several times and finally, after her mother came to her in a dream and gave Hatschihime a blessing, she agreed to marry him. The parents decided they ought to give in and agreed to the match. Hatschihime was dressed in the most beautiful embroidered gown but when they tried to take off her helmet to do her hair it was stuck fast! Luckily the groom decided he would marry her with the helmet on. Whilst the celebrations were taking place the helmet suddenly shattered and out fell masses of precious stones! The couple lived happily together and had many children who were known for their beauty and goodness.
I hope you enjoyed these tales as much as I did. As well as being beautiful to look at, Lang's Fairy Books have a wealth of stories to keep you entertained for many hours.
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Contributed by Catriona.
(Published on 3rd Dec 2014 )
