Library Essentials Month: The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm

Yes, I am sure there was little doubt that The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm (Norton Critical Editions) edited by Jack Zipes wasn't going to make the library essentials list.

This book came out a few years after I started SurLaLune. It was another one that made me wish I had always owned it. And that it came in hardcover, but it doesn't. Most of the readers here probably already own this one--it is often used as a textbook after all--but this one gets the highest recommendation. It is actually in my top 10 most important library essentials. Yes, I have many of these materials scattered throughout my library and on the SurLaLune main site, but they are conveniently gathered here in one book. This is a must if one is interested in fairy tales and their histories and variants. The introduction to each subgrouping is very helpful as in the introduction to the whole book and the critical texts at the end. I don't have to reference this one so often anymore, but it was a mainstay when I was still learning so much and it is still pulled regularly from its place on the shelf at my left elbow.

Product description from the publisher:

The first edition of its kind, The Great Fairy Tale Tradition is indispensable for students of fairy tales.

The tales-116 in all-are thematically grouped. Each grouping is introduced and annotated by Jack Zipes, the genre's reigning expert. Twenty illustrations accompany the texts.

"Criticism" includes seven important assessments of different aspects of the fairy tale tradition, written by W. G. Waters, Benedetto Croce, Lewis Seifert, Patricia Hannon, Harry Velten, Siegfried Neumann, and Jack Zipes.

Brief biographies of the storytellers and a Selected Bibliography are included.

And the Table of Contents to cinch the deal:

The Texts of the Great Fairy Tale Tradition

CLEVER THIEVES
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Cassandrino the Thief
Brothers Grimm, The Master Thief

SWINDLED SWINDLERS
Giovan Francesco Straparaola, The Priest Scarpafico
Brothers Grimm, Little Farmer

INCESTUOUS FATHERS
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Tebaldo
Giambattista Basile, The Bear
Charles Perrault, Donkey Skin
Brothers Grimm, All Fur

BEASTLY BORN HEROES
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Galeotto
Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, The Wild Boar
Henriette Julie de Murat, The Pig King
Brothers Grimm, Hans My Hedgehog

THE WISHES OF FOOLS
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Pietro the Fool
Giambattista Basile, Peruonto
Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, The Dolphin
Brothers Grimm, Simple Hans

DANGEROUS SIRENS
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Fortunio
Jean de Mailly, Fortunio
Brothers Grimm, The Nixie in the Pond

DISGUISED HEROES
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Constanza/Constanzo
Giambattista Basile, The Three Crowns
Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, Belle-Belle or the Chevalier Fortuné
Henriette Julie de Murat, The Savage

ENVIOUS SISTERS
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Ancilotto, King of Provino
Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, Princess Belle-Etoile and Prince Cheri
Eustache Le Noble, The Bird of Truth
Antoine Galland, The Two Sisters Who Envied their Cadette
Brothers Grimm, The Three Little Birds

WILD MEN
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Guerrino and the Savage Man
Jean de Mailly, Prince Guerini
Friedmund von Arnim, Iron Hans
Brothers Grimm, The Wild Man
Brothers Grimm, Iron Hans

COMPETITIVE BROTHERS
Girolamo Morlini, Three Brothers Who Become Wealthy Wandering the World
Giovan Francesco Straparola, The Three Brothers
Giambattista Basile, The Five Brothers
Brothers Grimm, The Four Skillful Brothers

TRIUMPHANT APPRENTICES
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Maestro Lattantio and his Apprentice Dionigi
Eustache Le Noble, The Apprentice Magician
Brothers Grimm, The Thief and his Master

BROTHERLY LOVE
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Cesarino, the Dragon Slayer
Giambattista Basile, The Merchant
Brothers Grimm, The Two Brothers

SHREWD CATS
Giovan Francesco Straparola, Constantino Fortunato
Giambattista Basile, Cagliuso
Charles Perrault, The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots
Brothers Grimm, Puss in Boots

VIRTUOUS QUEENS
Giovan Francesco Straparola, The Snake and the Maiden
Jean de Mailly, Blanche-Belle

MAGIC HELPERS
Giambattista Basile, The Ogre
Brothers Grimm, The Magic Table, the Golden Donkey, and the Club in the Sack

FOOLISH PEASANTS
Giambattista Basile, Vardiello
Brothers Grimm, Freddy and Katy

THE REVENGE AND REWARD OF NEGLECTED DAUGHTERS
Giambattista Basile, The Cat Cenerentola
Charles Perrault, Cinderella, or The Glass Slipper
Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, Finette Cendron
Brothers Grimm, Cinderella

THE POWER OF LOVE
Giambattista Basile, Petrosinella
Charlotte-Rose de la Force, Persinette
Friedrich Schulz, Rapunzel
Brothers Grimm, Rapunzel

TERRIBLE CURSES AND LUCKY PRINCES
Giambattista Basile, The Dove
Brothers Grimm, The Two Kings’ Children

THE FATHER’S BETRAYAL
Giovanni Fiorentino, Dionigia and the King of England
Giambattista Basile, The Maiden Without Hands
Brothers Grimm, The Maiden Without Hands

THE ART OF GOOD CONDUCT
Giambattista Basile, Sapia Liccarda
Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier, The Discreet Princess, or The Adventures of Finette

REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS FOR GOOD AND BAD GIRLS
Giambattista Basile, The Three Fairies
Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier, The Enchantments of Eloquence, or The Effects of Sweetness
Charles Perrault, The Fairies
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Aurore and Aimée
Brothers Grimm, Mother Holle

MAGICAL TRANSFORMATIONS
Giambattista Basile, The Three King Beasts
Friedmund von Arnim, The Castle of the Golden Sun
Brothers Grimm, The Crystal Ball

THE FATE OF SPINNING
Giambattista Basile, The Seven Bits of Bacon Rind
Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier, Ricdin-Ricdon
Brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin
Brothers Grimm, The Three Spinners
Brothers Grimm, The Lazy Spinner

GOOD AT HEART AND UGLY AS SIN
Giambattista Basile, The Two Cakes
Brothers Grimm, The White Bride and the Black Bride

FAITHFUL SISTERS
Giambattista Basile, The Seven Doves
Brothers Grimm, The Twelve Brothers

FAITHFUL SERVANTS
Giambattista Basile, The Raven
Brothers Grimm, Faithful Johannes

THE TAMING OF SHREWS
Giambattista Basile, Pride Punished
Brothers Grimm, King Thrushbeard

LUCKY BUMPKINS
Giambattista Basile, The Goose
Brothers Grimm, The Golden Goose

THE FRUITFUL SLEEP
Giambattista Basile , The Sun, the Moon, and Talia
Charles Perrault, Sleeping Beauty
Brothers Grimm, Brier Rose

ABANDONED CHILDREN
Giambattista Basile, Ninnillo and Nennella
Charles Perrault, Little Thumbling
Brothers Grimm, Hansel and Gretel

INCONVENIENT MARRIAGES
Catherine Bernard, Riquet with the Tuft
Charles Perrault, Riquest with the Tuft
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Spirituel and Astre

BLOODTHIRSTY HUSBANDS
Charles Perrault, Bluebeard
Brothers Grimm, Bluebeard
Brothers Grimm, Fitcher’s Bird
Brothers Grimm, The Robber Bridegroom

DANGEROUS WOLVES AND NA¦VE GIRLS
Charles Perrault, Little Red Riding Hood
Brothers Grimm, Little Red Cap

LOVE CONQUERS ALL
Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, The Orange Tree and the Bee
Brothers Grimm, Okerlo

COMPASSIONATE SISTERS AND UNGRATEFUL DEMONS
Caroline Stahl, The Ungrateful Dwarf
Brothers Grimm, Snow White and Rose Red

THE REDEEMER
Albert Ludwig Grimm, The Three Princes
Brothers Grimm, The Queen Bee

THE BEAST AS BRIDEGROOM
Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, The Ram
Jean Paul Bignon, Zeineb
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast
Brothers Grimm, The Singing, Springing Lark

Criticism

Jack Zipes, The Cross-Cultural Connections and the Contamination of the Classical Fairy Tale
W. G. Waters, [Essay from The Facetious Nights of Straparola]
Benedetto Croce, [Essay from The Pentamerone of Giambattista Basile]
Lewis Siefert, The Marvelous in Context: The Place of the Contes de Fées in Late Seventeenth-Century France
Patricia Hannon, Corps cadavres: Heroes and Heroines in the Tales of Perrault
Harry Velten, The Influence of Charles Perrault’s Contes de ma Mère L’Oie on German Folklore
Siegfried Neumann, The Brothers Grimm as Collectors and Editors of German Folklore
...