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Различные книги в жанре СказкиAmerican Indian Stories and Old Indian Legends
Zitkala-Sa was an important and influential Yankton Dakota Sioux writer, educator, and political activist. Born in 1876 on a Sioux reservation in South Dakota, she spent her life working to bring the history and cultural concerns of Native Americans to the attention of the broader public. “American Indian Stories and Old Indian Legends” collects two of her more important publications that document and preserve the history of her people, as well as the pain caused by the policies of assimilation. “Old Indian Legends”, published in 1901 and early in her professional career, records for posterity and a wider American audience the stories and legends from various tribes that she remembered from her childhood. In “American Indian Stories”, published in 1921, Zitkala-Sa recounts her experience as a Native American child sent away to white boarding schools and forced to face the reality of cultural assimilation and submission. Part autobiography and part allegorical fiction, “American Indian Stories” explores the suffering experienced by Native Americans when they were forced to adapt to white American culture and made to abandon their traditional way of life. Zitkala-Sa’s work endures as an eloquent, engaging, and important personal and historical account of a people whose story is often overlooked.
The Red Fairy Book
First published in 1890, “The Red Fairy Book” is the second in a series of collections of fairy tales from around the world edited by Andrew Lang, the Scottish novelist, poet and literary critic, with translations and retellings by his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne, and others. Lang and Alleyne would go on to publish popular collections of fairy tales and poetry for over twenty years. Lang and Alleyne achieved great commercial success with “The Blue Fairy Book”, the first in the series, published in 1889. Each book was named after a color and they contained the most famous and recognizable fairy tales from all over the world. The collections published by Lang and Alleyne put these memorable and universally appealing tales into single volumes and made them accessible to generations of children and parents. In “The Red Fairy Book”, timeless tales from Russian, French, Danish, Romanian, and Norse traditions are included. Readers of all ages will enjoy such classics as “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Rapunzel”, “The Golden Goose”, “The True History of Little Goldenhood”, and dozens more entertaining and timeless tales. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Myths and Legends of Japan
“Myths and Legends of Japan”, written in 1913, was an immediate best-seller when it was first released. With the Meiji Restoration, Japan began a period of modernization in the late 19th century that would open up the country to the rest of the world for the first time. This allowed historians like F. Hadland Davis, the author of “Myths and Legends of Japan”, an unprecedented opportunity to study and introduce Japanese culture to Western audiences. Stories about creation, mystical creatures, and ghosts, as well as stories about Buddhism, folk tales, and other amazing tales grace the pages of this anthology. The information stored in this collection is not just entertaining, but also well-researched and accurate. Davis included anthropological tidbits as well about how the stories were representative of Japanese culture. Students of Japanese history or those wishing to learn more about Japanese culture will be delighted with this comprehensive collection of Japanese folklore.
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
Written during the early Qing Dynasty, “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio” is a collection of nearly 500 mostly supernatural tales by Chinese author Pu Songling. The work, which was published posthumously sometime between 1740 and 1766, is comprised of stories varying in length. While the main characters of this book apparently are ghosts, foxes, immortals, and demons, Pu Songling is more focused on the real lives of common folk of his time. Four main themes run throughout the book. The first is the author’s complaint with the existing feudal system, which he finds to be unjust and skewed towards the elite. Secondly the author is concerned with the corruption that exists in the Imperial examination system. Thirdly the author shows his admiration of pure, faithful love between poor scholars and powerless women. And lastly is the overarching theme of morality for which Pu Songling intended “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio” to be instructive towards bettering. This work of classical Chinese literature is presented here in a translation by Herbert A. Giles.
The Nibelungenlied
Thought to have been first written down in the 12th century by an author who is still unknown, “The Nibelungenlied”, translated from Middle High German as “The Song of the Nibelungs”, is an epic German poem reflecting the oral tradition, heroic motifs, and actual events and individuals from the 5th and 6th centuries. This remarkable work begins with an assurance of both joy and sorrow, though ultimately tragedy reins in “The Nibelungenlied”. The early chapters recount the young life of Siegfried, a great Netherlands prince, who slew a dragon and bathed in its blood while still young, giving him extraordinary strength. He goes on to meet the lovely princess Kriemhild, whose brother Gunther requires his help to marry the strong Icelandic Queen Brünhild in exchange for his sister’s hand. All is well until Brünhild discovers the deception of Gunther and Siegfried, and her successful plot to murder the latter incites bloody revenge from Kriemhild. From the court of the Burgundians to the court of Etzel, from terrible deaths to hidden treasure, “The Nibelungenlied” is a masterful illumination of German antiquity and dramatic legend. Often and justly compared to “The Iliad” of the Greeks, this skillful epic poem has inspired artists throughout the centuries, most notably Richard Wagner in his opera cycle ‘The Ring’, and will doubtlessly continue to inspire readers in the centuries to come.
Parzival
German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach’s romance story “Parzival” tells the whirlwind tale of a young man’s life as a knight in search for the Holy Grail. It follows the medieval heroic story of Parzival as he tries to balance his desire for love with his quest for the Grail. At first, Parzival is childish and ignorant, and his bad choices prohibit him from obtaining the Grail. Only through purging his soul through a number of trials and hardships is Parzival sanctified enough to be chosen by the Grail. An interesting choice by von Eschenbach in retelling this legend is to not portray the Holy Grail as a cup, as typified by the classic English versions of the Arthurian legends. In his version, the Grail is not even associated with the Christian concept of the chalice of Christ. Rather, the Holy Grail is a life-giving stone that provides food and eternal life to the men and women who live in the castle that protects the Grail. The story is also a close look into the life and culture of the folk traditions that pervaded the time. Wolfram von Eschenbach includes such common events as tournaments and jousts, which add to the realistic properties of the text. He also made a conscious choice with the type of “romance” that the poem uses; von Eschenbach stays true to the courtship and kinship rules of medieval romances, making this work a window into the societal rules that governed the behavior of knights, their relationships, and their pursuit of courtly love.
Njal's Saga
Considered to be one of the finest of the Icelandic sagas, “Njal’s Saga” or “The Story of Burnt Njal” was written sometime in the thirteenth century by an unknown author and is the longest and most developed of the Icelandic sagas. The source material for the saga was historical but probably drawn largely from oral tradition. The story relates events that took place between 960 and 1020 AD, involving blood feuds in the Icelandic Commonwealth. It features memorable characters like the noble warrior Gunnar of Hlidarendi, the lawyer Njáll Þorgeirsson, and the mildly villainous Mord Valgardsson, whose motivations and passions are familiar to people of every age and locale. The saga is divided into three parts, which describe the friendship between Gunnar and Njal, the tragic consequences of revenge, and finally the retribution of Flosi and Kari. Themes of loyalty, marriage, family honor, and vengeance permeate this beautifully written and timeless epic. This edition follows the translation of George Webbe Dasent.
The Kalevala
“The Kalevala” is a collection of Finnish and Karelian poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from oral folklore and mythology. Lönnrot was a physician, botanist, and linguist, who in 1828 began collecting folk songs and poetry of Finland, traveling extensively in order to obtain his sources. “The Kalevala”, first published in 1835, is considered to be one of the most important works of Finnish literature, and regarded as the national epic of Finland. The most commonly read version was published in 1849, and is comprised of 22,795 verses. It begins, like most cultural mythologies, with traditional creation stories that delve into the creation of the earth, flora and fauna, accompanied by characters who serve to narrate the tales. Other stories include themes of magic, romance, lust and seduction, as well as human vulnerability or mortality. The most significant element of the whole work is the “Sampo”, a magical talisman that brings good fortune to its holder. Fans of mythology and the cultural history of Scandinavia will delight in this brilliant collection of tales.
Celtic Fairy Tales
During his lifetime Australian Folklorist Joseph Jacobs would become one of the most important English authorities on folklore. Beginning in 1888, Jacobs began publishing his anthologies of popular world myths and legends. Drawing upon numerous literary sources Jacobs would popularize what have become some of the world’s best known folktales. In this 1891 collection of “Celtic Fairy Tales” Jacobs turned his attention for the first time to the myths and legends of the Celtic people. Like the famous German fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, the legends collected in “Celtic Fairy Tales” often tend towards the macabre. For example, in “Fair, Brown, and Trembling,” the oldest sister tried to kill the youngest, so she was banished to the ocean in a barrel with only a small amount of provisions for food. Modern readers will also recognize parallels between well-known fairy tales and the stories in Jacobs’ anthology. “Jack and his Comrades” is similar to “Town Musicians of Bremen,” a story about a group of farm animals who fight four robbers away from their home. All together twenty-six tales are included in this volume along with the original illustrations by John D. Batten.
A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls
First published in 1851 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls” is a captivating and classic retelling for children of some of the most famous stories from Greek mythology. Hawthorne followed this first collection of Greek tales with a sequel, “The Tanglewood Tales” in 1853. The book is set as a story-within-a-story with a fictional college student retelling these timeless myths to a group of school children. Hawthorne modified these legendary tales for a younger and more modern audience after first having the idea several years before to bring these important and influential stories to American children in a more accessible format. The birth of Hawthorne’s daughter in 1851 inspired the completion of the project. In this collection you will find tales such as “The Gorgon’s Head”, which recounts the slaying of Medusa by Perseus, “The Golden Touch”, which is the tale of King Midas, “The Three Golden Apples”, featuring Hercules, “The Chimaera”, which tells the story of Bellerophon and Pegasus, and three more classic myths. Hawthorne’s “A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls” is an excellent and entertaining collection of stories of adventure and fantasy which serves as a great introduction to Greek mythology for younger readers. This edition includes a biographical afterword.