Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook

Just about everyone is familiar with folk and fairy tales. Children learn about them from parents, teachers, and other adults, while researchers study these tales at colleges and universities. At the same time, folk and fairy tales are inseparable from everyday life and popular culture. Movies, music, art, and literature offer imaginative retellings and interpretations of fairy and folk tales. But despite the pervasiveness of this folklore type, most people have only a vague understanding of these tales. This reference is a convenient introduction to folk and fairy tales for students and general readers.

Written by a leading authority, this handbook offers a broad examination of folk and fairy tales as a folklore type. It looks at tales from around the world and from diverse cultures. The volume defines and classifies folk and fairy tales and analyzes a number of examples. It studies the varied manifestations of fairy and folk tales in literature and culture and reviews critical and scholarly approaches to this folklore genre. The volume also includes a glossary and extensive list of works for further reading.

Author: D. L. Ashliman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 05/30/2004
Pages: 280
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.62w x 0.95d
ISBN: 9780313328107


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 07/01/2004 pg. 118
Library Journal 09/01/2004 pg. 162
Choice 11/01/2004 pg. 446

About the Author

D. L. ASHLIMAN is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Pittsburgh. His previous publications include Voices from the Past: The Cycle of Life in Indo-European Folktales (1993, 1995), Once upon a Time: The Story of European Folktales (1994), and A Guide to Folktales in the English Language (Greenwood, 1987).