“The History of the Fairy Tale” Week Begins December 13

All are invited to a weeklong celebration of the meaning and mystery of fairy tales.

Come hither into the marvelous, mysterious, complex and fascinating world of fairy tales for grown-ups at the Wonders and Marvels website all week beginning December 13. The History of the Fairy Tale week will feature guest blog posts, book giveaways, profiles of the earliest fairy tale writers, and much more.

“Fairy tales weren’t initially written for children. The earliest tales are full of sex, desire, and violence. Hardly the stuff of sweet dreams,” says cultural historian Holly Tucker, who curates Wonders and Marvels.

Among the guest posts from university professors and specialists of the fairy tale will be “5 Fairy Tales about Fairy Tales,” “5 of the Best Tales You’ve Never Read,” and “5 Reasons Why I Would Not Read These Fairy Tales to My Child.”

All week long, readers will be eligible to win copies of fairy tale collections such as The Complete Tales of Charles Perrault (Oxford University Press.)

Those who wrote the earliest fairy tales were many times as colorful as their tales. Readers will be treated to the profiles of such fairy tale authors as Giovanni Francesco Straparola, Giambattista Basile, Madame d’Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, and Madame de Beaumont (author of “Beauty and the Beast.”)

Stayed tuned, as the fun begins December 13th. And if you haven’t signed up for the newsletter for updates, please do so here.

Graphic: The Frog Prince art ©Kris Waldherr 2001. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: charles perrault, Fairy Tales, giambattista basile, giovanni francesco straparola, history, madame d'aulnoy, madame de beaumont