The Fairies Return: Or, New Tales for Old

Author:   Maria Tatar ,  Peter Davies
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Volume:   4
ISBN:  

9780691152301


Pages:   368
Publication Date:   09 September 2012
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

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The Fairies Return: Or, New Tales for Old


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Overview

Originally issued in 1934, The Fairies Return was the first collection of modernist fairy tales ever published in England, and it marked the arrival of a satirical classic that has never been surpassed. Even today, this reimagining of fourteen timeless tales--from Puss in Boots to Little Red Riding Hood --is still fresh and bold, giving readers a world steeped not in once upon a time, but in the here and now. Longtime favorites in this playfully subversive collection are retold for modern times and mature sensibilities. In Jack the Giant Killer, Jack becomes a trickster who must deliver England from the hands of three ogres after a failed government inquiry. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is set in contemporary London and the world of financial margins and mergers. In The Little Mermaid, a young Canadian girl with breathtaking swimming skills is lured by the temptations of Hollywood. And Cinderella becomes a spinster and holy woman, creating a very different happily ever after. These tales expose social anxieties, political corruption, predatory economic behavior, and destructive appetites even as they express hope for a better world. A new introduction from esteemed fairy-tale scholar Maria Tatar puts the collection in context. From stockbrokers and socialites to shopkeepers and writers, the characters in The Fairies Return face contemporary challenges while living in the magical world of fairy tales.

Full Product Details

Author:   Maria Tatar ,  Peter Davies
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Volume:   4
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 19.70cm
Weight:   0.510kg
ISBN:  

9780691152301


ISBN 10:   0691152306
Pages:   368
Publication Date:   09 September 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Reviews

[M]odern answers to Grimm, variously satirical, queered and jaunty, by a diverse, intriguing group of writers. --Marina Warner, Times Literary Supplement In the wake of the Great War, in the deep bowl of economic depression, on the doorstep of World War II, these stories are the cultural tradition of a disillusioned generation... They are skillfully and delightfully executed renderings, a treasure-collection of the talents of the time, and plain good literature. I recommend them without hesitation. --Christie Ricardo, Spinning Straw into Gold blog This beautifully produced reissue, published by Princeton University Press and part of the 'Oddly Modern Fairy Tales' series, features an illustration on its front cover which dates back to 1939. It is an extremely well laid out volume, and its introduction and author biographies make lovely additions to the book... This is a collection of tales which certainly deserved a reprint, and will delight lovers of fairytales, nostalgia, British history and short stories alike. --Kirsty Hewitt, BookGeeks (UK) It's intriguing to see how past authors used fairy tales in their modern fiction. --Sur La Lune blog The uniqueness of the collection will make you want to savor it, just as I did... You will feel drawn to inspect each story closely, not only because of the tales' fanciful nature, but also because of their fascinating historical placement and significance. --Beanstalk blog True to the spirit of the folk tale, they keep their stories provincial even as they modernise the settings. Aladdin is a Scottish undertaker in the town of Drumlochie. Cinderella lives in a secluded valley somewhere in Wales. She lives alone, having learnt a hard lesson in love: her story, typically for this collection, brings disenchantment, not happiness. --Ken Gelder, The Age [D]elightful ... --Choice


[M]odern answers to Grimm, variously satirical, queered and jaunty, by a diverse, intriguing group of writers. -- Marina Warner Times Literary Supplement In the wake of the Great War, in the deep bowl of economic depression, on the doorstep of World War II, these stories are the cultural tradition of a disillusioned generation... They are skillfully and delightfully executed renderings, a treasure-collection of the talents of the time, and plain good literature. I recommend them without hesitation. -- Christie Ricardo Spinning Straw into Gold This beautifully produced reissue, published by Princeton University Press and part of the 'Oddly Modern Fairy Tales' series, features an illustration on its front cover which dates back to 1939. It is an extremely well laid out volume, and its introduction and author biographies make lovely additions to the book... This is a collection of tales which certainly deserved a reprint, and will delight lovers of fairytales, nostalgia, British history and short stories alike. -- Kirsty Hewitt BookGeeks It's intriguing to see how past authors used fairy tales in their modern fiction. Sur La Lune blog The uniqueness of the collection will make you want to savor it, just as I did... You will feel drawn to inspect each story closely, not only because of the tales' fanciful nature, but also because of their fascinating historical placement and significance. Beanstalk blog True to the spirit of the folk tale, they keep their stories provincial even as they modernise the settings. Aladdin is a Scottish undertaker in the town of Drumlochie. Cinderella lives in a secluded valley somewhere in Wales. She lives alone, having learnt a hard lesson in love: her story, typically for this collection, brings disenchantment, not happiness. -- Ken Gelder The Age [D]elightful ... Choice


[M]odern answers to Grimm, variously satirical, queered and jaunty, by a diverse, intriguing group of writers. --Marina Warner, Times Literary Supplement In the wake of the Great War, in the deep bowl of economic depression, on the doorstep of World War II, these stories are the cultural tradition of a disillusioned generation... They are skillfully and delightfully executed renderings, a treasure-collection of the talents of the time, and plain good literature. I recommend them without hesitation. --Christie Ricardo, Spinning Straw into Gold blog This beautifully produced reissue, published by Princeton University Press and part of the 'Oddly Modern Fairy Tales' series, features an illustration on its front cover which dates back to 1939. It is an extremely well laid out volume, and its introduction and author biographies make lovely additions to the book... This is a collection of tales which certainly deserved a reprint, and will delight lovers of fairytales, nostalgia, British history and short stories alike. --Kirsty Hewitt, BookGeeks (UK) It's intriguing to see how past authors used fairy tales in their modern fiction. --Sur La Lune blog The uniqueness of the collection will make you want to savor it, just as I did... You will feel drawn to inspect each story closely, not only because of the tales' fanciful nature, but also because of their fascinating historical placement and significance. --Beanstalk blog True to the spirit of the folk tale, they keep their stories provincial even as they modernise the settings. Aladdin is a Scottish undertaker in the town of Drumlochie. Cinderella lives in a secluded valley somewhere in Wales. She lives alone, having learnt a hard lesson in love: her story, typically for this collection, brings disenchantment, not happiness. --Ken Gelder, The Age [D]elightful ... --Choice [A] delightfully different fairy-tale experience for the contemporary reader. Even those well versed in literary fairy-tales will find something new and enchanting in this volume... This collection is an essential addition to the libraries of those who study fairy-tale retellings and will be an enjoyable read for many others as well. Clever, revealing, and often oddly poignant, these stories deserve recognition. --Brittany Warman, Marvels & Tales


In the wake of the Great War, in the deep bowl of economic depression, on the doorstep of World War II, these stories are the cultural tradition of a disillusioned generation... They are skillfully and delightfully executed renderings, a treasure-collection of the talents of the time, and plain good literature. I recommend them without hesitation. -- Christie Ricardo Spinning Straw into Gold This beautifully produced reissue, published by Princeton University Press and part of the 'Oddly Modern Fairy Tales' series, features an illustration on its front cover which dates back to 1939. It is an extremely well laid out volume, and its introduction and author biographies make lovely additions to the book... This is a collection of tales which certainly deserved a reprint, and will delight lovers of fairytales, nostalgia, British history and short stories alike. -- Kirsty Hewitt BookGeeks


Author Information

Peter Davies (1897-1960) was the rumored inspiration for Peter Pan, the daredevil character created by his adoptive father, author J. M. Barrie. Davies was the founder of the publishing house Peter Davies Ltd. Maria Tatar is the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and chair of the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. She is the editor of The Annotated Peter Pan and the author of Enchanted Hunters (both Norton), among many other books.

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