New Book: The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen from Taschen

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen is officially released this week. This is essentially a companion volume to The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm which was released two years ago. I haven't seen this book in person yet, but the Grimms edition is attractive. And I am always thrilled with any book with a Princess and the Pea illustration on the front. The tale itself is so very short that it rarely gets many illustrations in an anthology like this so it appears the problem was a little solved by putting one on the cover.

This is certainly on my wishlist especially after reading about Jean Hersholt and his translations of Andersen. Read about him in the description below.

Book information:

The cornerstone of modern fantasy…

An exciting new compilation of Hans Christian Andersen’s world-famous fairy tales

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen presents the most famous Andersen stories, including classics such as “The Little Mermaid”, “The Ugly Duckling”, and “The Princess and the Pea,” in a highly esteemed 1942 translation by Jean Hersholt. This lovingly designed book contains a sparkling and unexpected selection of beautiful artwork from the 1840s to the 1980s by such artist greats as Kay Nielsen, the beloved Arthur Rackham, the eccentric Tom Seidmann-Freud (niece of Sigmund Freud), and the groundbreaking film animator Lotte Reiniger, as well as exciting, newly discovered talents. The collection also features historic and contemporary silhouettes, which enrich the presentation of Andersen’s tales in a unique format, pairing one tale with one artist, and make this a fresh addition to children’s libraries as well as to adult art-book collections. In addition to the tales and illustrations, the compilation also contains a presentation of Andersen’s legacy, brief historical introductions to each fairy tale, and extended artists’ biographies in the appendix. Meant for the whole family, this precious edition shares the eternal magic of Andersen’s tales, celebrating his tender, heartfelt stories that have entered both our collective imagination and the literary canon.

Brings together the most famous Hans Christian Andersen tales in a one-of-a-kind design

Includes illustrations by famous artists from Austria, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the Ukraine, and the United States

Features the highly esteemed translation by Jean Hersholt, accessible to readers of all ages

Contains dozens of all-new silhouettes specially commissioned for the book

The following 23 fairy tales are featured in the book:
The Princess and the Pea, The Nightingale, The Swineherd, The Old Man Is Always Right, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Darning Needle, Twelve by Mail, The Brave Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen, The Flea and the Professor, Thumbelina, The Sweethearts, Ole Shut-Eye, Five Peas in a Pod, The Ugly Duckling, Little Ida’s Flowers, The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, The Flying Trunk, The Little Match Girl, The Tinderbox, The Pen and Inkstand, and The Farmyard Cock and the Weathercock

About the translator:
Danish-born Jean Hersholt (1886–1956) was a Hollywood actor and radio star who dedicated years of his life to translating all of Andersen’s tales from the original Danish. His English translations were first published in 1942. He was also an avid collector of Andersen books, letters, and manuscripts, amassing the largest collection of Anderseniana in the United States, and eventually donating it to the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.. Hersholt’s most famous acting roles were as Shirley Temple’s grandfather in the film Heidi (1937) and on the popular radio show Dr. Christian (1937–1954). The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is presented at the Oscars.

The author:
Hans Christian Andersen is known today as the most famous Scandinavian writer ever, and his brilliant talent for storytelling has endeared him to millions. He was born into poverty on April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark, a day that has since become known as International Children’s Book Day. Andersen was the first writer to create fantasy stories for children’s sake, spawning the modern phenomenon of make-believe stories told from the child’s perspective. By the end of his life, Andersen’s tales had made him famous worldwide, and he was deemed a “national treasure” by the Danish government.

The editor:
TASCHEN editor Noel Daniel graduated from Princeton University and studied in Berlin on a Fulbright Scholarship. She earned a master’s degree in London and served as director of a photography art gallery before becoming a book editor. Her TASCHEN books to date include The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (2011), Magic 1400s–1950s (2009), and The Circus 1870s–1950s (2008).

Hans Christian Andersen's first fairytale found

From Hans Christian Andersen's first fairytale found: The Tallow Candle, thought to have been written by schoolboy Andersen, discovered in private archives by Danish historian by Alison Flood:

Experts in Denmark believe they have found the first story written by Hans Christian Andersen.

The Tallow Candle was discovered by local historian Esben Brage in the dense private archives of the Plum family, revealed Danish paper Politiken, which printed the story in its entirety today. Brage was in the reading room at the National Archive for Funen in Odense when he stumbled across a small, yellowing piece of paper at the bottom of a box and realised it might be important. Two months later, experts have now confirmed that the story was written by Andersen.

"This is a sensational discovery. Partly because it must be seen as Andersen's first fairytale, and partly because it shows that he was interested in the fairytale as a young man, before his authorship began," Ejnar Stig Askgaard of the Odense City Museum told Politiken. "And I am in no doubt that it has been written by Andersen." Experts Bruno Svindborg of the Royal Library and Professor Johan de Myliu have also agreed the text was written by Andersen.

I've had no time to read further about this but had to share before I inadvertently closed the tab forever...

New Book: The Teller's Tale: Lives of the Classic Fairy Tale Writers edited by Sophie Raynard

The Teller's Tale: Lives of the Classic Fairy Tale Writers edited by Sophie Raynard is a new nonfiction fairy tale release. This one looks fascinating, but doesn't accommodate the SurLaLune budget to acquire right now, so no in depth review, just the usual basic info. There is mostly the usual suspects discussed with some extra less known tellers. Looks like an excellent volume overall!

Book description:

This book offers new, often unexpected, but always intriguing portraits of the writers of classic fairy tales. For years these authors, who wrote from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, have been either little known or known through skewed, frequently sentimentalized biographical information. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were cast as exemplars of national virtues; Hans Christian Andersen's life became—with his participation—a fairy tale in itself. Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, the prim governess who wrote moral tales for girls, had a more colorful past than her readers would have imagined, and few people knew that nineteen-year-old Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy conspired to kill her much-older husband. Important figures about whom little is known, such as Giovan Francesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile, are rendered more completely than ever before. Uncovering what was obscured for years and with newly discovered evidence, contributors to this fascinating and much-needed volume provide a historical context for Europe's fairy tales.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Sophie Raynard

Part I. Emergence

Straparola: Sixteenth-Century Italy
Basile: Seventeenth-Century Italy

Europe’s First Fairy Tales
Ruth B. Bottigheimer

Giovan Francesco Straparola: 1485?–1556?
Ruth B. Bottigheimer

Giambattista Basile: 1575?–1632
Nancy Canepa

Part II. Elaboration

Perrault and the Conteuses Précieuses: Seventeenth-Century France

Sophistication and Modernization of the Fairy Tale: 1690–1709
Nadine Jasmin (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Charles Perrault: 1628–1703
Yvette Saupé and Jean-Pierre Collinet (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d’Aulnoy: 1650/51?–1705
Nadine Jasmin (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Catherine Bernard: 1663?–1712
Lewis C. Seifert

Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier de Villandon: 1664–1734
Lewis C. Seifert

Henriette-Julie de Castelnau, Countess de Murat: 1668–1716
Geneviève Patard (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force: 1650?–1724
Lewis C. Seifert

Part III. Exoticism

Galland: Eighteenth-Century France

Antoine Galland: 1646–1715
Manuel Couvreur (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Part IV. Didacticism

Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont: Eighteenth-Century France

Jeanne-Marie Leprince (or Le Prince) de Beaumont: 1711–1780?
Elisa Biancardi (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Part V. Traditionalization

Naubert: Late Eighteenth-Century and Early Nineteenth-Century Germany
The Grimms: Nineteenth-Century Germany
Bechstein: Nineteenth-Century Germany

The Legacy of Eighteenth-Century and Nineteenth-Century German Female Storytellers
Shawn C. Jarvis

Benedikte Naubert
Shawn C. Jarvis

Jacob Grimm: 1785–1863, Wilhelm Grimm: 1786-1859
Donald R. Hettinga

Ludwig Bechstein
Ruth B. Bottigheimer

Part VI. Sentimentalization

Andersen: Nineteenth Century Denmark

Hans Christian Andersen
Peer E. Soerensen

Lister of Contributors
Index

Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales by Mitchell Kalpakgian

Crisis Magazine (A Voice for the Faithful Catholic Laity) recently published an article touting the virtues of Hans Christian Andersen's works. From Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales by Mitchell Kalpakgian:

Proverbs, folk tales, and fairy tales provide a great source of the world’s accumulated wisdom and perennial philosophy. To read Andersen’s fairy tales is to rediscover the adventure of the human story, to experience the sweet taste of goodness, and to marvel at the miraculous nature of reality. In “The Travelling Companion” Anderson portrays good works as forgotten actions done for their own sake and left behind, yet these humble deeds to strangers in remote places performed in the darkness of the night or the silence of a church assume the nature of hidden buried seeds that have a fruitful, potent quality that produces an unforeseen abundance.

A good deed is a travelling companion, a powerful seed, a mysterious power that never really dies or remains unacknowledged even though the sower of these actions never thinks about them as deserving of recognition or rewards. As Andersen shows, the most momentous, surprising boons of good fortune can often be traced to these forgotten deeds of a pure heart. In the story poor John parts with his last $50 to prevent two vindictive rogues from violating the dead body of a man who never paid them his debt. In a lonely, obscure place John pays the debt and performs his simple good deed for a dead man who cannot even say thank you—only to discover later that the dead man is no more dead than a buried seed or the remembered past.

Click through to read the entire article. My favorite part is the discussion of some less popular HCA tales as well as the unexpected source of the article. I had to share the Travelling Companion excerpt here since it is also a Grateful Dead tale, a collection I hope to have out by the end of the year.

New Book: Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron edited by Jonathan Strahan

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron edited by Jonathan Strahan is a new release.

I know at least a few stories are fairy tale inspired or influenced thanks to this review from Kirkus:

Eighteen short tales about witches by some of the wickedest names in fantasy make for a rich anthology. . . . The writers are simply stellar: Ellen Kushner, Frances Hardinge, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Ellen Klages and Holly Black, among others. Neil Gaiman’s contribution is a witchy, weird poem. Garth Nix’s “A Handful of Ashes” features a library and librarian. Delia Sherman’s “The Witch in the Woods” is beautiful and romantic, with deer and bear shape-shifters and no small darkness. Jim Butcher has a Harry Dresden story (“B is for Bigfoot”), and it’s terrific. Jane Yolen makes Hans Christian Andersen’s life a tale itself, and Patricia McKillip’s “Which Witch” makes loud music and crow magic elegantly. The best, however, may be Peter S. Beagle’s “Great-Grandmother in the Cellar” (yes, she is, and she goes back there, too, but not the way she came, in this "Sleeping Beauty" variant). Readers will find much to enjoy. . . .

And with the list of contributing authors, I'm sure many of you will have multiple reasons to hunt down a copy of this book. That's a really strong cast of authors if I say so myself, rather like The Avengers film in book format.
Table of Contents:

1.Introduction: Looking Under the Hat”, Jonathan Strahan
2.“Stray Magic”, Diana Peterfreund
3.“Payment Due”, Frances Hardinge
4.“A Handful of Ashes”, Garth Nix
5.“Little Gods”, Holly Black
6.“Barrio Girls”, Charles de Lint
7.“Felidis”, Tanith Lee
8.“Witch Work”, Neil Gaiman (poem)
9.“The Education of a Witch”, Ellen Klages
10.“The Threefold World”, Ellen Kushner
11.“The Witch in the Wood”, Delia Sherman
12.“Which Witch”, Patricia A. McKillip
13.“The Carved Forest”, Tim Pratt
14.“Burning Castles”, M. Rickert
15.“The Stone Witch”, Isobelle Carmody
16.“Andersen’s Witch”, Jane Yolen
17.“B Is for Bigfoot”, Jim Butcher
18.“Great-Grandmother in the Cellar”, Peter S. Beagle
19.“Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow”, Margo Lanagan

Fairy Tales in Stitches: DMC Fairy Tale Classics Series

Today we have a series of fairy tales kits by DMC with three tales by Hans Christian Andersen. I tried to discover if there were more of these, but three is fun considering we get a Snow Queen and an Emperor's New Clothes along with the ever popular Princess and the Pea. I also like the usage of quotes in the design since words are always important to me. I found most of these on Ebay through international sellers which makes me wonder if they are a European exclusive.

Favorite Adaptations: The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia

Here is the first entry in the Favorite Adaptations Giveaway. This entry is by Christine Ethier and I'm sure is an unexpected choice for many readers here. Read more about the giveaway here to learn how to win a copy of Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross. Remember you only have six days left to submit your own entries.

When I re-read The Little Mermaid as an adult something about it bugged me. This something bugs me more and more each time I re-read the story. It's not the pain the mermaid feels when she walks; all of Andersen's characters seem to get tortured, the Ugly Duckling was a male and he got frozen in the ice. No, with the mermaid, it's how the prince treats her. She sleeps at the foot his bed, he rests his head on her breast. It's like she's his personal lap girl with whom he has groping benefits.

I can't help wondering if Ekaterina Sedia feels the same way for The Alchemy of Stone is very reminiscent of "The Little Mermaid".

Unlike "LM", Mattie, the protagonist, isn't looking for a soul; she's looking for her independence, to be her own person. She is a clockwork girl, which means even so often her gears run down. There is only one key that winds her up. This process makes her feel violated. (In fact, whenever Mattie is opened, it almost feels like a rape. This is a brilliant touch). Guess who has it and doesn't want to share?

You guessed it. Her creator, a man.

Her creator, Lornarri, has freed her, but he still exerts control over her in a variety of ways, not all of which sit well with Mattie, her friends, or the reader. Lornarri reminds me very much of the prince in "The Little Mermaid", crueler, but he has that same selfish thinking, that disregard for the women who are connected to him. A me first attitude, and let's not think about anyone's feelings, at least anyone who is not my equal.

Mattie is an alchemist and despite being non-politic, soon finds herself caught up in the revolution that is taking place in her world. This comes about due to her desire to help the gargoyles. No Disney cutie pies, the gargoyles are the creators and keepers of the city where Mattie lives, and they find themselves dying off without any means of reproduction. In this struggle for control of an unnamed city, Sedia touches on the cause and effects of terrorism, the roots of revolution, and the effects of such violence on the community and the groups within that community. It is true that these issues are not dealt with startling depth. This isn't to say that she does a bad job; she doesn't. In fact, the book is timely in the topics it covers; it is hard not to see some of it as a mirror of current events.

The focus of the book, however, isn't on politics, but on gender roles and the idea of humanity. Reviews on the back of the book liken Mattie to any women and considering the roles of female supporting characters, the idea of a woman's role and woman's independence is what Sedia seems to be examining. Who doesn't feel like a wind-up girl sometimes? These gender roles are also used in "The Little Mermaid". The mermaid wanted a soul, more than she wanted the prince, so she wouldn't become foam on the waves. Mattie is not looking for a soul, though one could she has one and the best one of the novel. Is she more human than those around her? Does she have more of a soul? The same questions are raised in Andersen's tale, when the mermaid's compassion is compared to the thoughtless of the prince. Why do her sisters help her, but the prince cannot even think about her? It is easy to see the connection of this story to Andersen's fairy tale.

Fairy Tale Crafty: 12 Tatted Fairy-tales by Inga Madsen

12 Tatted Fairy-tales by Inga Madsen is a UK release from 2005, not ever readily available in the US. I was rather charmed with it. It actually looks like Madsen took inspiration from HCA's papercuts. I never connected fairy tales and tatting before, but here you go! I'll include larger images to help you see the designs better.

Book description:

In this book, the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen and tatting are combined in the most charming way. The author has selected 12 fairy tales and illustrated them with the most lovely and fantastic designs made in tatting. The book includes extracts from the fairy tales, beautiful pictures from the Museum of Hans Christian Andersen in Odense, and clear visual patterns of the tatted designs.

These images came from a bookseller, Georgia Seitz:

And, finally, I found this image on a blog, someone's actual work using the Ugly Duckling pattern from the book. Found at Tatting at KatyDidTat:

Music Month: The Little Match Seller (Silent Night) by The Puppini Sisters

 

The Little Match Seller (Silent Night) by The Puppini Sisters is today's song of the day. Yes, it's a Christmas song. And I cannot believe I have forgotten to share this song the last few years around the Christmas holiday. But that means I can easily share it here today. I fell in love with The Puppini Sisters when they reached the height of their popularity about five years ago. I'll admit this isn't one of my favorites despite the lyrics adapting so well to the melody of Silent Night. But it is rather dreary and I love the pep of the group. Their tight harmonies are amazing and the humor is fun. If it were possible I would have worn out my MP3s from Betcha Bottom Dollar in 2007. I feel so reminiscent now... Of course, you have to have a big retro bone in your body like I do. But it's fun to hear what they do with Wuthering Heights and Heart of Glass, too.

Here are the first two stanzas of the lyrics:

Silent Night, Lonely Night
Streets are dark, no soul in sight
Round and round does the match seller roam
Only trouble awaits her at home
Shivering, hungry and weary
The little girl sits in the snow

Silent Night, Chilly Night
Rooms awash with Christmas lights
Through the windows come laughter and joy
Children squeal while unwrapping their toys
Looking in from the darkness
The little girl sits in the snow

Here is a video of the song using an animated short of the story, not an official Puppini Sisters video but you can hear the entire song this way.

Music Month: The Ugly Duckling by Danny Kaye

The film Hans Christian Andersen has many musical moments featuring Andersen's tales. Today I am sharing Danny Kaye's rendition of The Ugly Duckling for the song of the day since this tale doesn't get much direct representation in music.

And thanks to YouTube, here is a clip of the song from the film, too:

Ballet: The Most Incredible Thing by Hans Christian Andersen

The above is a video of a ballet, The Most Incredible Thing, scored by The Pet Shop Boys and based on the tale by Hans Christian Andersen of the same name. It is really quite fascinating, but then I adore dance and find this mesh of modern music and an Andersen tale works more than it doesn't for me. You may read the tale here. And I love how Andersen's papercuts were included in the visual design of the ballet.

You can read more about the music at Wikipedia and the production's press release on the Pet Shop Boys site (where I found these images) and the first 10 minutes of the video above discuss the development of the ballet before showing the actual performance. So far it has only been performed in the UK, but according to Wikipedia:

After four public preview performances, "The Most Incredible Thing" had its official opening on 21 March 2011 at Sadler's Wells in London. Performances continued until 26 March, and all tickets were sold out. "The Most Incredible Thing" will return to Sadler's Wells in 2012 for two weeks prior to going on tour. The entire production was filmed by the BBC and broadcast on BBC Four on 1 July 2011.

I don't imagine it will come to the US soon, not near me at least, but it at least did well enough to be performed again this year and go on tour.

The Most Incredible Thing: Complete Ballet Score soundtrack is available here in the US and the UK.

Here's a brief description:

Limited two CD release in special packaging. 2011 release from Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe (AKA Pet Shop Boys) , the music for their first ever full-length ballet, The Most Incredible Thing is a collaboration with choreographer Javier De Frutos and Britain's leading contemporary dance theatre, Sadler's Wells. Based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of the same title. Tennant and Lowe proposed Andersen's story as the basis for a new ballet to Sadler's Wells in London in 2007 after a friend, the then Royal Ballet principal, Ivan Putrov, asked Neil Tennant if Pet Shop Boys would consider writing a piece of music for him to dance to at Sadler's Wells. The story is about a competition in a mythical kingdom where the King announces that whoever invents the most incredible thing will win the hand of the Princess in marriage and half of the Kingdom. What follows is creative, destructive but ultimately happy.