Library Essentials: The Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar

The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar is today's second library essential. Tatar is nearly as prolific as Jack Zipes so it is hard to choose just one book of hers to feature, thus two for today. This one is particularly helpful in understanding the Grimms and their work.

Book description from the publisher:

Murder, mutilation, cannibalism, infanticide, and incest: the darker side of classic fairy tales figures as the subject matter for this intriguing study of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Nursery and Household Tales. This updated and expanded second edition includes a new preface and an appendix containing new translations of six tales, along with commentary by Maria Tatar. Throughout the book, Tatar skillfully employs the tools not only of a psychoanalyst but also of a folklorist, literary critic, and historian to examine the harsher aspects of these stories. She presents new interpretations of the powerful stories in this worldwide best-selling book. Few studies have been written in English on these tales, and none has probed their allegedly happy endings so thoroughly.

Table of Contents:

List of Illustrations
Preface to the Expanded Second Edition
Preface
Children's Literature?
Sex and Violence: The Hard Core of Fairy Tales
Fact and Fantasy: The Art of Reading Fairy Tales
Victims and Seekers: The Family Romance of Fairy Tales

Heroes
Born Yesterday: The Spear Side
Spinning Tales: The Distaff Side

Villains
From Nags to Witches: Stepmothers and Other Ogres
Taming the Beast: Bluebeard and Other Monsters

Epilogue: Getting Even

App. A: Six Fairy Tales from the Nursery and Household Tales, with Commentary
App. B: Selected Tales from the First Edition of the Nursery and Household Tales
App. C: Prefaces to the First and Second Editions of the Nursery and Household Tales
App. D: English Titles, Tale Numbers, and German Titles of Stories Cited
App. E: Bibliographical Note

Notes
General Index
Index of Tales

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The Annotated Fairy Tale Books from Maria Tatar

The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales and the other two books in the series from Maria Tatar are another part of this month's library essentials. These are especially beneficial for the more casual but still enthusiastic fairy tale armchair scholar, filled with annotated versions of the tales and illustrations and other materials. It's rather like the SurLaLune site in book format and through a somewhat different perspective.

Book description from the publisher:

The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales is a remarkable treasure trove, a work that celebrates the best-loved tales of childhood and presents them through the vision of Maria Tatar, a leading authority in the field of folklore and children's literature. Into the woods with Little Red Riding Hood, up the beanstalk with Jack, and down through the depths of the ocean with the Little Mermaid, this volume takes us through many of the familiar paths of our folkloric heritage. Gathering together twenty-five of our most cherished fairy tales, including enduring classics like "Beauty and the Beast," "Jack and the Beanstalk," " ," and "Bluebead," Tatar expertly guides readers through the stories, exploring their historical origins, their cultural complexities, and their psychological effects. Offering new translations of the non-English stories by the likes of Hans Christian Andersen, Brothers Grimm, or Charles Perrault, Tatar captures the rhythms of oral storytelling and, with an extraordinary collection of over 300 often rare, mostly four-color paintings and drawings by celebrated illustrators such as Gustave Doré, George Cruikshank, and Maxfield Parrish, she expands our literary and visual sensibilities. As Tatar shows, few of us are aware of how profoundly fairy tales have influenced our culture. Disseminated across a wide variety of historical and contemporary media ranging from opera and drama to cinema and advertising, they constitute a vital part of our storytelling capital. What has kept them alive over the centuries is exactly what keeps life pulsing with vitality and variety: anxieties, fears, desires, romance, passion, and love. Up close and personal, fairy tales tell us about the quest for romance and riches, for power and privilege, and, most importantly, they show us a way out of the woods back to the safety and security of home. Challenging the notion that fairy tales should be read for their moral values and used to make good citizens of little children, Tatar demonstrates throughout how fairy tales can be seen as models for navigating reality, helping children to develop the wit and courage needed to survive in a world ruled by adults. This volume seeks to reclaim this powerful cultural legacy, presenting the stories that we all think we know while at the same time providing the historical contexts that unlock the mysteries of the tales. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales is a volume that will rank as one of the finest fairy tale collections in many decades, a provocative and original work to be treasured by students, parents, and children. Over 300 often rare, mostly four-color paintings and drawings by celebrated illustrators.

The Annotated Brothers Grimm (The Annotated Books) description from the publisher:

The Annotated Brothers Grimm celebrates the richness and dramatic power of the legendary fables in the most spectacular and unusual Grimm volume in decades. Containing forty stories in new translations by Maria Tatar—including "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Snow White," and "Rapunzel"—the book also features 150 illustrations, many of them in color, by legendary painters such as George Cruikshank and Arthur Rackham; hundreds of annotations that explore the historical origins, cultural complexities, and psychological effects of these tales; and a biographical essay on the lives of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Perhaps most noteworthy is Tatar's decision to include tales that were previously excised, including a few bawdy stories and others that were removed after the Grimms learned that parents were reading the book to their children—stories about cannibalism in times of famine and stories in which children die at the end. Enchanting and magical, The Annotated Brothers Grimm will cast its spell on children and adults alike for decades to come. 75 color and 75 black-and-white illustrations.

The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen (The Annotated Books) description from the publisher:

In her most ambitious annotated work to date, Maria Tatar celebrates the stories told by Denmark's "perfect wizard" and re-envisions Hans Christian Andersen as a writer who casts his spell on both children and adults. Andersen's most beloved tales, such as "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Ugly Duckling," and "The Little Mermaid," are now joined by "The Shadow" and "Story of a Mother," mature stories that reveal his literary range and depth. Tatar captures the tales' unrivaled dramatic and visual power, showing exactly how Andersen became one of the world's ten most translated authors, along with Shakespeare, Dickens, and Marx. Lushly illustrated with more than one hundred fifty rare images, many in full color, by artists such as Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen will captivate readers with annotations that explore the rich social and cultural dimensions of the nineteenth century and construct a compelling portrait of a writer whose stories still fascinate us today.

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Library Essentials: Picking a Grimm Translation

Today's library essential is a reprint of an old post about Grimms' Fairy Tales collections. In a nutshell, I rely most heavily on my copies of The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm translated by Jack Zipes and Grimm's Household Tales, with the Author's Notes translated and edited by Margaret Hunt with an Introduction by Andrew Lang, originally published in 1884, and reprinted by Singing Tree Press in 1968. The Hunt translation is problematic but it is the most complete--although edited--English version of the Grimms' notes to the tales. It is also very difficult to find at times--the many editions online barring the one on SurLaLune claim to have the notes, but don't. The SurLaLune doesn't have all the notes either because I've never had the time to finish editing them. The edition is actually two volumes with a total of 454 and 598 pages respectively and about 25% of that page count is notes.

Here's the post in its entirety:

A fairly regular question over the years has been what version of Grimms I use. I have addressed the issue a little on SurLaLune--it is buried at the bottom of the page of the Grimms collection on SurLaLune here, but I'll quote the essential info here:

 

In the 21st century, two of the most accurate and best translations of the Grimms' tales are by Ralph Manheim and Jack Zipes. The Zipes translation, currently in a third edition, includes extra fragments and earlier manuscripts, but many readers prefer Manheim's translations. The choice is aesthetic and should be decided by the individual reader. However, if you are looking for a reliable English translation, I recommend selecting either one or both of these translations.

Still, that one doesn't describe my particular methods and madness, so for today, I thought I would share a little more.

First of all, I do not use just one version of Grimms, for a multitude of reasons, a few of which I'll discuss here. I liken it to asking a Bible scholar which version of the Bible they read. The answer would be several! My list is much shorter, but definitely numbers more than one.

I am not a proficient German reader without much painstaking effort. (With Romance languages, especially French, I am MUCH more fluent.) So I usually rely on translations into my native English, of which there are an abundance.

Finding a reliable translation can be tricky. I don't have the time and inclination to discuss the issues--besides which they are not my specialty--so I will instead recommend a wonderful thesis by Martin James Sutton: The sin-complex: a critical study of English versions of the Grimms’ Kinder- und Hausmärchen in the nineteenth century in comparison with the German originals. A shortened version was printed into a book, but is difficult to find and out of print to boot. The good news is that the thesis is available in full online for your edification from The University of Auckland. I so appreciate when this happens! The thesis is provided as a PDF in three parts, all of which are linked from the handling page. Here's the abstract, too:

This thesis investigates the English versions of the Grimms’ Kinder- und Hausmärchen (= KHM) published between the years 1823 and 1884, i.e. from the first translation by Edgar Taylor and David Jardine, German Popular Stories (1823 and 1826), to the first complete edition of the Grimms’ collection of stories and notes by Margaret Hunt, Grimm’s Household Tales (1884). Each of the first eleven chapters deals with a specific English edition and gives an analysis of one or more stories from that edition together with the texts of the German original. The two versions, German and English, are placed alongside each other in parallel columns to facilitate comparison. The twelfth chapter takes the final paragraph of one story, ‘Sneewittchen’ (KHM 53), and examines the seven different English versions of it in the editions discussed in the previous chapters. The final chapter compares the quality of English translations of the KHM in the nineteenth century with that of the Grimms’ sole venture in translating tales in the English language into German, viz. Wilhelm Grimm’s Irische Elfenmärchen (1826). Included as an appendix is a tabulated concordance of the contents of the twelve major editions discussed in this thesis. The investigation shows that the areas deemed to be sensitive ones by English translators were those which had to do with what Darton (Children’s Books in England, 1982, p.99) has singled out as ‘a deep-rooted sin-complex’ in England. Any story that touched on the issues of religious belief and superstition, the human body and its physical nature, violence and evil, and the intense emotions felt by human beings which prompt them to commit violent and destructive acts, was inevitably viewed with concern and mistrust, especially by purveyors of children’s literature in the nineteenth century. All these issues, as well as the element of fantasy which so readily admits and entertains them, were prone to considerable revision by successive translators of the KHM.

In other words, Sutton explains the issues with various early translations of Grimms. He includes references to later translations such as Manheim and Zipes, overall supporting the consensus that these are two of the best translations available today, and ever, in English.  Professors across the land agree for either one of these are most commonly assigned as textbooks for classes using fairy tales.

Personally, I use the Zipes much more often than the Manheim simply because there are extras included--and added in subsequent editions since it is now in its third edition.  My needs are for as much material as possible with a reliable translation.  The Manheim is excellent, too, and sufficient for most people's needs.

However, the nature of SurLaLune requires a public domain text which makes Sutton's The Sin Complex a helpful resource.  Years ago, thanks to availability I chose to depend primarily on Margaret Hunt's translation for the website.  It appears quite often in printed versions today, sometimes uncredited.  Of the many nineteenth century editions, it is considered one of the most reliable and is also one of the most easily attainable.  I have a reprint version which also includes the Grimms' notes to the tales, at least the best English translation of them available.  Most print editions of Hunt's do not include the Grimms' extensive notes.  The notes are problematic, a strange mesh of Hunt's own knowledge and the Grimms, but they are available, more than I can say for other translations.  Year ago, I scanned the notes and started editing them to include on SurLaLune.  Many are available, although I have never finished editing all of them. 

When I am looking for kid-friendly versions of the popular tales, I usually use versions found in Andrew Lang's colored fairy books.  When I first started SurLaLune 12 years ago, those were the most accessible for me and thus ended up as many of the annotated versions on SurLaLune.

At times, I also use D. L. Ashliman's site where he has translated many of the most popular tales himself with his own notes and occasional comparisons. 

  

For the armchair reader not as concerned with the strictly academic, I also recommend Maria Tatar's The Annotated Brothers Grimm.  It only provides many of the most popular tales, but the introductions and annotations are informative for most readers and includes illustrations.  The Opies' The Classic Fairy Tales is not strictly Grimms, but provides some more insight into the most popular tales as well as some from other sources.  Finally, it is out of print again, but Grimm's Grimmest is another standard recommendation for those seeking the "grittier" versions of some Grimms--there aren't many tales there, but they are presented grittier than the standard Grimms.  The versions in there rely on the earlier, less edited, tales from the Grimms.

So the simplest answer if you just want to have one version of Grimms on your shelf would be to choose the Zipes translation or the Manheim, if you prefer it aesthetically. You may choose to supplement it with many of the versions mentioned here if you want more information.

Also of note here is a new translation of the 40 most popular Grimms, translated by Maria Tatar as The Grimm Reader. It is not a complete Grimms but offers a new translation of the tales for those looking for a new version to compare and contrast.  I haven't seen it yet, but it will be the newest translation available from a respected scholar.

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The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm from Taschen

The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm is released today. If you aren't familiar with its publisher, Taschen, they are a publisher of art books, sometimes even risque, often avant garde. So it's fascinating that they's gotten on the fairy tale bandwagon and published a collection of Grimms' tales with illustrations by several illustrators over the past 100+ years. I bought a copy for myself and it's quite lovely. The purple cover is cloth. I have many of the illustrations in other books in my library--I have an extensive SurLaLune library--but some weren't represented before. My biggest disappointment is that several of the illustrations are cropped and bled on the pages. It's lovely, but I want the full images in an "art" book. I'm picky that way. But the book is beautiful and would also make a lovely gift book.

The rest of the information in this post come's from Taschen's webpage for the book. The book is available at all booksellers, including Amazon at The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, of course.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...
A compilation of Brothers Grimm fairy tales complete with vintage illustrations

This book brings together twenty-seven of the most beloved of the famous Grimms’ fairy tales, including all the classics, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Hansel and Gretel in an all-new translation specially commissioned for this publication. Containing a painstakingly-researched selection of illustrations by some of the most famous illustrators from the 1820s to the 1950s—including golden age legend Kay Nielsen, bestselling author Gustaf Tenggren, British darlings Walter Crane and Arthur Rackham, and giants of nineteenth century German illustration Gustav Süs, Heinrich Leutemann, and Viktor Paul Mohn, as well as many new discoveries—this compilation also includes beautiful silhouettes culled from original publications from the 1870s and 1920s that run throughout the entire layout. Interlaced in the book are also dozens of entirely new silhouettes designed and created especially for this book. In addition to the tales, the book also includes an introduction to the Grimms' legacy, brief introductory texts for each tale, and extended artists' biographies in the appendix. For adults and children alike, this classic addition to any library brings to life the never-ending magic of the Grimms' fairy tales and their delightful illustrations.

* Features illustrations by famous artists from Germany, Britain, Sweden, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and the United States in a unique format pairing one tale with one artist
* Includes a new translation accessible to readers of all ages that is based on the final 1857 edition of the tales
* Contains dozens of new, unique silhouettes specially commissioned for the book
* As part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register (which safeguards cultural documents), these tales are widely recognized as a vital part of world history

Following fairy tales are featured in the book:
The Frog Prince, The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats, Little Brother and Little Sister, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Fisherman and His Wife, The Brave Little Tailor, Cinderella, Mother Holle, Little Red Riding Hood, The Bremen Town Musicians, The Devil with Three Golden Hairs, The Shoemaker and the Elves, Tom Thumb’s Travels, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, The Three Feathers, The Golden Goose, Jorinde and Joringel, The Goose Girl, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Star Coins, Snow White and Red Nose, The Hare and the Hedgehog, Puss n' Boots, The Golden Key

About the Brothers Grimm:
Brothers Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859) were German academics and linguists who spent years collecting popular fairy tales and folk tales. Their resulting compilation of over 200 stories Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and household tales) is one of the most famous collections of tales in the world, influencing generations of writers, artists, academics, composers, filmmakers, and animators.

Matthew R. Price has translated for leading theaters and publications in Germany and the US. A graduate of Princeton University, he studied in Berlin on a DAAD Fellowship, receiving his masters from the University of the Arts. After an early career producing theater, he earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University and lives in New York City.

Translator’s Note
"Once upon a time I counted thousands of deutsche marks in a Dresdner Bank vault with a colleague who spoke in heavy Saxon dialect; deciphered medieval German texts in rare-books rooms; and performed Schubert lieder in places as different as Moscow and Montana. These experiences stretched and challenged me, and the German literary, theatrical, and musical culture came to exercise an unexpected grip.
The Grimms occupy an iconic place in that canon, of course. Yet initially I had little sense how best to unpack these stories for today’s Englishspeaking readers—and listeners. I leaned on my training: countless hours of living with the language, and theatrical instincts I’d honed for years. In my mind I saw fantastic animated films as I worked through these stories. They were dark, complex, and arcing versions, not the Disney films associated with the material. There is no denying the unforgiving morality or the harshness of daily life one finds in the tales. But even more striking, finally, was the full range of emotion, especially the comedy and delight of the characters and their antics.

I faced a balancing act between adherence to the original structure, and freedom with the abundant choices of English. I tried to use clear "camera angles" and to dose in narrative color as a sensory highlight. Noel Daniel and I disciplined ourselves to hold fast to the original, despite my urges to tread off the path into the magical woods. I sincerely hope readers will feel that our efforts resulted in a fresh and enjoyable translation reflecting the depth and wonder of these magnificent tales, which offer something for all ages."
--Matthew R. Price, New York City

The editor:TASCHEN editor Noel Daniel graduated from Princeton University, and studied in Berlin on a Fulbright Scholarship. She received a master’s in London and was the director of a photography art gallery before becoming a book editor. Her TASCHEN books include Magic 1400s–1950s (2009) and The Circus 1870–1950 (2008).

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After Grimm: Fairy Tales and the Art of Story Telling

This is a follow-up to a conference I posted about previously. Here's the most up-to-date info.

AFTER GRIMM: FAIRY TALES AND THE ART OF STORY TELLING
6th – 8th September 2012


Call for Papers

2012 is the bicentenary of the publication of the first volume of the Kinder- und Hausmärchen [Children’s and Household Tales] by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. As this groundbreaking collection moves into its third century, this conference explores the trajectory of the Grimm phenomenon in Britain and the English-speaking world. Examining the varied and colourful reception history of this collection of tales, this conference will discuss the most recent fairy- tale scholarship, as well as looking forward to possible future developments. The Grimm bicentenary will also be celebrated through story-telling events, readings, a creative writing prize, and an exhibition of illustrations.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers: Professor Donald Haase, Neil Philip, and Professor Jack Zipes

Previously this conference was billed as two distinct events. Now Kingston University and The Sussex Centre for Folklore Fairy Tales and Fantasy at The University of Chichester are delighted to announce that they will be collaborating on a single event. Proposals for conference papers are invited on any aspect of fairy tale and storytelling over the last two-hundred years, but particularly in the following subjects:

The Oral Tradition within Grimms’ Tales a The literary origins of the Grimms’ ‘folktales’ a Translations of Grimms’ tales into English a The influence of Grimm upon British collectors of fairy tales a The impact of Grimms’ tales upon world literatures in English a Uses of Grimms’ tales in English-language visual media a Grimms’ tales and Romanticism a Grimms’ tales in Victorian Britain a Grimms’ tales in colonial and post-colonial contexts a Illustrations and art works relating to Grimms’ tales a Grimms’ tales in the electronic age a Memes, Tropes and Unchanging Elements a Telling Stories with Pictures a Songs as Stories a Reading Aloud a Performing Grimm a Packaging Grimm (illustrations, book covers, merchandising etc) a Fairy tales in (popular) culture a Retellings, Revisions and Reworkings a Adapting to New Audiences a New Fairy Tales a Fairy Tales on Stage and on Screen a Gossip, Slander, Rumour and News

This multi-disciplinary conference will welcome contributions from any disciplinary perspective including proposals to read creative work, screen films, mount performances and exhibit visual work.


Abstract submission

Please submit an abstract of approximately 300 words, and a brief contributor’s bio online at:
http://fass.kingston.ac.uk/activities/conferences/abstracts/

Deadline: January 31st 2012.
Enquiries:

Prof Bill Gray (Sussex Centre for Folklore Fairy Tales and Fantasy, University of Chichester) e: bgray@chi.ac.uk

Dr Andrew Teverson (Kingston University) e: fass-conferences@kingston.ac.uk

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