Fairy Tale: A Very Short Introduction

The characters and images of fairy tales have enchanted readers and audiences for centuries, with their history entangled with folklore and myth. This Very Short Introduction by Marina Warner explores the genre and its literary form, drawing on examples from classics and modern-day realizations to argue that fairy tales are a crucial repository of human understanding and culture.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 192 pages
\n Publication date: 22 February 2018
\n Publisher: Oxford University Press
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From wicked queens, beautiful princesses, elves, monsters, and goblins, to giants, glass slippers, poisoned apples, magic keys, and mirrors, the characters and images of fairy tales have cast a spell over readers and audiences, both adults and children, for centuries. These fantastic stories have traversed cultural borders, and been passed down from generation to generation, ever-changing, renewed with each re-telling. Few forms of literature have greater power to enchant us and rekindle our imagination than a fairy tale. But what is a fairy tale? Where do they come from and what do they mean? What do they try and communicate to us about morality, sexuality, and society? The range of fairy tales stretches across great distances and time; their history is entangled with folklore and myth, and their inspiration draws on ideas about nature and the supernatural, imagination and fantasy, psychoanalysis, and feminism. In this Very Short Introduction, Marina Warner delves into a rich hoard of fairy tales in all their brilliant and fantastical variations, in order to define a genre and evaluate a literary form that keeps shifting through time and history. Drawing on a glittering array of examples, from classics such as Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty, the Grimm Brothers' Hansel and Gretel, and Hans Andersen's The Little Mermaid, to modern-day realizations including Walt Disney's Snow White, Warner forms a persuasive case for fairy tale as a crucial repository of human understanding and culture.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, and new insights to provide concise and accessible introductions to a wide range of topics. Whether you're a student, a professional, or simply a curious reader, these books will help you deepen your knowledge and understanding of the world around you.

\n Weight: 170g\n
Dimension: 113 x 174 x 10 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780199532155\n \n