
The Fairy Books - Complete Series (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. 400+ Tales in One EditionBy Andrew LangLength133h 55m
About this audiobook
Andrew Lang's The Fairy Books - Complete Series (Illustrated Edition) gathers the celebrated "colour" fairy books into a vast treasury of wonder tales, myths, and folk narratives drawn from Europe, Asia, Africa, and beyond. Written in a lucid, elegant Victorian prose that balances nursery simplicity with antiquarian curiosity, the collection preserves oral traditions while reshaping them for the literary marketplace of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its illustrations deepen the atmosphere of enchantment, making the volume both a work of folklore transmission and a landmark in children's book history. Lang, a Scottish poet, critic, classicist, and folklorist, was unusually equipped to undertake such a project. His wide learning in anthropology, mythology, and comparative literature informed his belief that fairy tales revealed enduring structures of human imagination. Although he relied heavily on translators and collaborators, notably his wife Leonora Blanche Alleyne, Lang's editorial vision gave the series its coherence, range, and lasting cultural authority. This complete illustrated edition is highly recommended for readers interested in folklore, children's literature, mythic storytelling, or Victorian literary culture. It offers not merely entertainment, but an expansive archive of narrative inheritance.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreChildren's Literature
Length133 hrs 55 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 5, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
26The Wonderful Sheep
2Introduction
27Little Thumb
3Historical Context
28The Forty Thieves
4Synopsis (Selection)
29Hansel and Grettel
5The Blue Fairy Book
30Snow-White and Rose-Red
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Bronze Ring
31The Goose-Girl
7Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess
32Toads and Diamonds
8East of the Sun and West of the Moon
33Prince Darling
9The Yellow Dwarf
34Blue Beard
10Little Red Riding Hood
35Trusty John
11The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
36The Brave Little Tailor
12Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper
37A Voyage to Lilliput
13Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
38Chapter I
14The Tale of a Youth Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was
39Chapter II
15Rumpelstiltzkin
40Chapter III
16Beauty and the Beast
41Chapter IV
17The Master-Maid
42Chapter V
18Why the Sea is Salt
43The Princess on the Glass Hill
19The Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots
44The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou
20Felicia and the Pot of Pinks
45The History of Jack the Giant-Killer
21The White Cat
46The Black Bull of Norroway
22The Water-Lily. The Gold-Spinners
47The Red Etin
23The Terrible Head
48The Red Fairy Book
24The Story of Pretty Goldilocks
49Preface
25The History of Whittington
50The Twelve Dancing Princesses