The Red Fairy Book - Illustrated: Tolkien's Bookshelf #4 - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0987555421 ISBN 13: 9780987555427

Publisher: Quillpen Pty Ltd t/a Leaves of Gold Press, 2013

Synopsis

THE PROFESSOR'S BOOKSHELF #4: THE RED FAIRY BOOK - ILLUSTRATED 'I have been a lover of fairy stories since I learned to read,' Professor J.R.R. Tolkien once stated. 'The Red Fairy Book' was one of Tolkien's favorites. Fantasy and medieval literature specialist Douglas A. Anderson asserted, 'As a child Tolkien found delight in the variously colored fairy tale books of Andrew Lang. Especially he enjoyed "The Red Fairy Book", for it contained Lang's retelling of one of the greatest dragon stories in northern literature, that of Fafnir from the "Volsung Saga."' Dart-Thornton’s introduction sheds more light on Tolkien’s connection with ‘The Red Fairy Book’ and its editor, Andrew Lang. 'The Red Fairy Book' was illustrated by H.J. Ford and Lancelot Speed. As a child, and later as an adult, Tolkien was exposed to these pictures as he leafed through the pages of the fairy tales. Consciously or unconsciously, he came under their spell. More than 100 drawings adorned the pages of the original 1890 edition. This is a close replica of that edition, with every illustration and embellishment included. Twenty-first century readers are able to enjoy the pictures as young Tolkien would have enjoyed them. This gorgeously illustrated book was a source of immense joy to Tolkien as he was growing up, and contributed to his conception of 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings'.

About this title

About the Author:

Andrew Lang's Fairy Books-also known as Andrew Lang's "Coloured" Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's Fairy Books of Many Colors-are a series of twelve collections of fairy tales, published between 1889 and 1910. Each volume is distinguished by its own color. In all, 437 tales from a broad range of cultures and countries are presented. Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was a Scots poet, novelist, and literary critic. Although he did not collect the stories himself from the oral tradition, the extent of his sources, who had collected them originally-with the notable exception of Madame d'Aulnoy-made the collections immensely influential. Lang gave many of the tales their first appearance in English. As acknowledged in the prefaces, although Lang himself made most of the selections, his wife and other translators did a large portion of the translating and retelling of the actual stories. According to Anita Silvey, "The irony of Lang's life and work is that although he wrote for a profession-literary criticism; fiction; poems; books and articles on anthropology, mythology, history, and travel...he is best recognized for the works he did not write." Many of the books were illustrated by Henry J. Ford, with Lancelot Speed and G. P. Jacomb-Hood also contributing some illustrations.

About this edition

• Publisher: Quillpen Pty Ltd t/a Leaves of Gold Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0987555421
• ISBN 13: 9780987555427
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 468
• Editor: Lang Andrew
• Illustrator: Ford Henry Justice