The Sorcerer's Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales by Jack Zipes

The Sorcerer's Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales by Jack Zipes was released earlier this year. These are just the type of books I adore--obviously since I work on similar collections myself--with a single theme offered in a wide variety of tales and stories from around the globe. Lovely. And when an expert like Jack Zipes is at the helm, double the loveliness. The book will be reliable and it will be affordable, too. So everyone wins!

The book is worth the price of admission for the introduction alone, but then you actually get the tales to read, too. This is also an excellent gateway book to introduce folklore to Harry Potter fans--a definite marketing angle the book provides, being quite self-aware of that. But J.K. Rowling drew from folklore for her inspiration and here is a book that shows how rich those sources are, even though Rowling was probably unaware of many of these herself.

Book description:

A diverse new anthology that traces the meaning and magic of the sorcerer's apprentice tale throughout history

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" might conjure up images of Mickey Mouse from the Disney film Fantasia, or of Harry Potter. As this anthology reveals, however, "sorcerer's apprentice" tales―in which a young person rebels against, or complies with, an authority who holds the keys to magical powers―have been told through the centuries, in many languages and cultures, from classical times to today. This unique and beautifully illustrated book brings together more than fifty sorcerer's apprentice stories by a plethora of writers, including Ovid, Sir Walter Scott, and the Brothers Grimm. From Goethe's "The Pupil in Magic" to A. K. Ramanujan's "The Guru and His Disciple," this expansive collection presents variations of a classic passed down through countries and eras.

Readers enter worlds where household objects are brought to life and shape-shifting occurs from human to animal and back again. We meet two types of apprentice: "The Humiliated Apprentice," a foolish bumbler who wields magic ineffectively and promotes obedience to authority; and "The Rebellious Apprentice" who, through ambition and transformative skills, promotes empowerment and self-awareness. In an extensive introduction, esteemed fairy-tale scholar Jack Zipes discusses the significance and meaning of the apprentice stories, the contradictions in popular retellings, and the importance of magic as a tool of resistance against figures who abuse their authority. Twenty specially commissioned black-and-white illustrations by noted artist Natalie Frank bring the stories to visual life.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice enlightens and entertains readers with enduring, spellbinding tales of sorcery that have been with us through the ages.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

List of Figures ix
Preface xi
Notes and Acknowledgments xxiii
Introduction
The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Harry Potter, and Why Magic Matters 1

Part I The Humiliated Apprentice Tales

Early Tales
Lucian of Samosata, "Eucrates and Pancrates" (ca. 170 CE) 85
François Pétis de la Croix, "The Story of the Brahmin Padmanaba and the Young Hassan" (1707) 88
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "The Pupil in Magic" (1798) 97

Nineteenth-Century Tales
Robert Southey, "Cornelius Agrippa's Bloody Book" (1801) 101
Sir Walter Scott, "The Last Exorciser" (1838) 103
John Naaké, "The Book of Magic" (1874) 103
Alfred Cooper Fryer, "The Master and His Pupil; or, The Magic Book" (1884) 105
Sheykh-Zāda, "The Lady's Fifth Story" (1886) 110
Edith Hodgetts, "The Blacksmith and the Devil" (1890) 112

Twentieth-Century Tales
Henry Thomas Francis, "The Rash Magician" (1916) 117
Richard Rostron, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1941) 119
Richard Dorson, "The Mojo" (1956) 123
Harold Courlander, "The Do-All Ax" (1957) 124

Part II The Rebellious Apprentice Tales

Early Tales
Ovid, "Erysichthon and Mestra" (8 CE) 129
Rachel Harriette Busk, "The Saga of the Well-and-Wise-Walking Khan" (ca. 3rd Century to 11th Century) 136
Somadeva, "Bhavasarman and the Two Witches" (ca. 1070) 140
Farīd al-Dīn ʿAttār, "The Magician's Apprentice" (ca. 1220) 142
Giovan Francesco Straparola, "Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi" (1553) 144
Sangendhi Mahalingam Natesa Sastri, "The Deceiver Shall Be Deceived" (ca. 1770) 151

Nineteenth-Century Tales
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, "The Nimble Thief and His Master" (1819) 163
Kazimierz Wladyslaw Woycicki, "The Sorcerer and His Apprentice" (1839) 166
Arthur and Albert Schott, "The Devil and His Pupil" (1845) 169
Ludwig Bechstein, "The Magic Combat" (1857) 174
Johann Georg von Hahn, "The Teacher and His Pupil" (1864) 178
Giuseppe Pitrè, "The Tuft of Wild Beet" (1875) 184
Domenico Comparetti, "Oh, Relief!" (1875) 190
François-Marie Luzel, "The Magician and His Servant" (1885) 193
George Webbe Dasent, "Farmer Weathersky" (1888) 202
Jerome Curtin, "The Fisherman's Son and the Gruagach of Tricks" (1890) 209
Edith Hodgetts, "The Wonderful Trade" (1890) 218
Charles Swynnerton, "The Story of Ali the Merchant and the Brahmin" (1892) 227

Twentieth-Century Tales
Leo Wiener, "The Tale of the Sorcerer" (1902) 243
Joseph Charles Mardrus, "The Twelfth Captain's Tale" (ca. 1904) 247
Fletcher Gardner, "The Battle of the Enchanters" (1907) 253
Peter Buchan, "The Black King of Morocco" (1908) 254
Cecil Henry Bompas, "The Boy Who Learnt Magic" (1909) 257
Edith Nesbit, "The Magician's Heart" (1912) 260
Claude-Marius Barbeau, "The Two Magicians" (1916) 272
Hermann Hesse, "The Forest Dweller" (1917) 274
Heywood Broun, "Red Magic" (1921) 281
Dean Fansler, "The Mysterious Book" (1921) 286
Elsie Clews Parsons, "The Battle of the Enchanters" (1923) 289
Romuald Pramberger, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1926) 293
Seumas MacManus, "The Mistress of Magic" (1926) 296
Joseph Médard Carrière, "The Two Magicians" (1937) 306
John Mason Brewer, "The High Sheriff and His Servant" (1958) 311
Corinne Saucier, "The Man and His Son" (1962) 312
A. K. Ramanujan, "The Magician and His Disciple" (1997) 313

Part III Krabat Tales

Joachim Leopold Haupt, "About an Evil Man in Groß-Särchen" (1837) 323
Michael Hornig, "Krabat: A Legend from Folklore" (1858) 324
Georg Gustav Kubasch, "Krabat" (1865) 326
Edmund Veckenstedt, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice, I" (1880; Recorded by Hendrich Jordan) 329
Edmund Veckenstedt, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice, II" (1880; Recorded by Alexander von Rabenau) 331
Johann Goltsch, "The Story about Krabat" (1885) 333
Georg Pilk, "The Wendish Faust Legend" (1900) 334
Jerzy Slizinski, "Krabat" (1959) 344

Biographies of Authors, Editors, Collectors, and Translators 349
Filmography 365
Bibliography 369
Selected and Chronological List of Sorcerer's Apprentice Tales 387
Index 397