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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth + a Giveaway

I have a bit of an obsession a serious obsession with fairy tales, folklore, and mythology. I've amassed a collection that includes Scottish folk tales, Norse mythology, Chinese ghost stories, Icelandic sagas, Russian fairy tales, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Perrault (Mother Goose) and of course Grimm, Grimm, and more Grimm. Obviously there's still lots out there (I'm still on the hunt for a very nice edition of 1,001 Nights) but now I can also add Franz Xaver von Schönwerth to the list as well.  

Schönwerth's stories are, according to the foreword, collected oral tales from eastern Bavaria. Interestingly, his work languished on shelves for years, lost for generations, only to be discovered recently in a German archive and compiled into a published volume by Erika Eichenseer. And now the collection is available here, translated by Maria Tatar and illustrated by Engelbert Süss.

The tales are divided into six sections by type of tale: "Tales oaf Magic and Romance," "Enchanted Animals," "Otherworldly Creatures," "Legends," "Tall Tales and Anecdotes," and "Tales About Nature." Princes cursed as dung beatles, mermaids and mermen, and snow that wished it was as colorful as flowers are just a few things you'll find within these pages. Some of the tales might ring a bit familiar while others are wholly unique (or unique to me anyway). And, as Maria Tatar points out in her intro, there are quite a few male leads in these tales! A bit of a role reversal from the more well known stories out there. It's a refreshing and eye opening collection, indeed. Definitely recommended for any fairy tale and folk lore collection!

And now for the giveaway: To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, March 9. US only and no PO boxes please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 comments:

traveler said...

This would be a delight to own since it is precious and very special. Thanks for this great feature and wonderful giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

MG said...

What a great giveaway. love the cover!

Anita Yancey said...

It sounds like there is some really good stories in this book. I love that they divided it into sections. Thanks for having the giveaway.

b said...

sounds interesting

bn100 said...

sounds interesting

Amanda said...

Oh man, I love German fairy tales! It's so exciting to me that they recently discovered more but sad that they languished for so long.

KAS said...

It's so exciting to think these stories were just discovered; I am eager to read! I can just imagine what a windfall this is for Professor Tatar; this is the stuff of scholarly dreams. I mean there’s breaking new ground in your field of study, and then there’s breaking new ground on basically a whole new planet that would not be available to study by anyone in the field without your work. That’s pretty dope. Thanks for featuring and offering a copy of this gem of a book, Becky. Cheers, Kara S