Overview

This collection of forty fairy tales contains well-known favorites from authors like the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Oscar Wilde, Charles Perrault, Madame de Beaumont, and Joseph Jacobs. It also collects rare gems from folk tale traditions around the world, from Germany to China, from Scandinavia to Arabia, from Russia to Japan, and from Italy to Canada. These beautiful, frightening, funny, romantic, and whimsical stories will introduce you to princesses in peril, beastly brides and grooms, adults and children behaving badly, daring and adventurous girls, and clever and devious tricksters. These wondrous tales will be enjoyed by listeners both young and old.

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9781665023856

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Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1711-1780) was the author of Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic French Fairy Tales. In 1746 she left France for London, where she had successful publishing career. Her version of Beauty and the Beast has been retold countless times, both in film and on stage. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author and poet most noted for his children's stories and fairy tales. The conversion of many of his stories into Disney films has ensured his continued popularity. Charles Perrault was born in Paris on January 1628. Son of an upper-class burgeois family, he attended the best schools and became a lawyer in 1651. He wrote Parallels Between the Ancients and the Moderns, which compared the authors of antiquity unfavorably to modern writers, and became a member of the Academie Francaise in 1671. His Stories or Tales from Times Past, with Morals: Tales of Mother Goose, published in 1697, gave him great popularity and opened up a new literary genre: fairy tales. Among his most famous versions of fairy tales are Blue Beard, Sleeping Beauty on the Woods, Little Red Riding Hood, The Master Cat or Puss in Boots, Cinderella, Little Thumb, and Donkey Skin. He died in Paris on May 1703. Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854. He excelled at Trinity College in Dublin from 1871 to 1874, eventually winning a scholarship to Magdalene College in Oxford, which he entered in 1875. The biggest influences on his development as an artist at this time were Swinburne, Walter Pater, and John Ruskin. In 1875, Wilde began publishing poetry in literary magazines. In 1876 he found himself back in Ireland when the death of his father left the family with several debts. Wilde continued writing poetry in earnest, and in 1878, he won the coveted Newdigate Prize for English poetry. He soon left Oxford to build himself a reputation among the literati in London. During the 1880s, Wilde established himself as a writer, poet, and lecturer, but above all as a professor of aesthetics. In 1884, he married Constance Lloyd in London. Sons soon followed: Cyril in 1885 and Vyvyan in 1886. During these years, Wilde worked as a journalist and reviewer, while also continuing with his other writing of poetry and plays. In 1890 he published his well-known story The Picture of Dorian Gray. The early 1890s were the most intellectually productive and fruitful time for Wilde. Some of his most familiar plays-including Lady Windemere's Fan and Salome-were written and performed upon the London stages. In 1893 Wilde produced A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband, followed in 1894 by The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde's life took a turn for the worst when, in May 1895, he was convicted of engaging in homosexual acts, which were then illegal, and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. He soon declared bankruptcy, and his property was auctioned off. In 1896, Wilde lost legal custody of his children. When his mother died that same year, his wife Constance visited him at the jail to bring him the news. It was the last time they saw each other. In the years after his release, Wilde's health deteriorated. In November 1900, he died in Paris at the age of forty-six. Elizabeth Klett is an English literature professor by day and an audiobook narrator by night. She has been a professional audiobook narrator since 2011 and has produced over 170 titles. She trained as an actor at Drew University and holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois. She loves reading (and teaching) fiction, drama, and poetry of all kinds, and delights in creating distinctive voices and accents for literary characters. Elizabeth Klett is an English literature professor by day and an audiobook narrator by night. She has been a professional audiobook narrator since 2011 and has produced over 170 titles. She trained as an actor at Drew University and holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois. She loves reading (and teaching) fiction, drama, and poetry of all kinds, and delights in creating distinctive voices and accents for literary characters. Elizabeth Klett is an English literature professor by day and an audiobook narrator by night. She has been a professional audiobook narrator since 2011 and has produced over 170 titles. She trained as an actor at Drew University and holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois. She loves reading (and teaching) fiction, drama, and poetry of all kinds, and delights in creating distinctive voices and accents for literary characters. Joseph Jacobs, (1854-1916) was an Australian-born English folklore scholar, one of the most popular nineteenth-century adapters of children's fairy tales. He was also a historian of pre-expulsion English Jewry, a historian of Jewish culture, and a literary scholar. The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859), were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors. They are among the most well-known storytellers of European folk tales.

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