Hi everyone! So this week I thought I'd go through some of my personal favourites when it comes to my books. Now of course it would take me so much typing space to go through them all so this will be an ongoing topic for whenever I dig up an old favourite from my bookshelf. Today I thought I'd cover fairy tales because as a kid I was (and still am) a huge Disney movies fan. I loved Cinderella, Mulan and Hercules and unfortunately I don't really have much of an excuse to watch them any more, or at least until I have children of my own. However I do have the printed versions, which are somehow a lot more appropriate for my age.
Many fairy tales found in original print were in fact for adults. There were some that acted as warnings for children and others that passed down ancient knowledge for everyone, however a good majority of fairy tales were created with adults in mind. This is fairly obvious to those who will read the original tales because some of them can get quite graphic in a number of ways. None the less they form beautifully written tales. The tales recorded by The Brothers Grimm can get a bit simplistic because they are recorded folk tales, created so everyone can remember them. However I will recommend Hans Christian Andersen for anyone who loves fairy tales and beautiful writing. His first works were rewrites however he wrote many tales himself. One of the first original tales by Andersen that I read was 'The Little Sea Maid' or as we now know it 'The Little Mermaid'. This was admittedly a shock to read as I wasn't aware of the huge difference between Disney versions and the originals. I won't spoil it by talking about events but it was the most wonderfully written story and with such a lovely plot line!
Of course I cannot talk about fairy tales without having a proper reference to The Grimms Brothers. I have to say their tales are much more horrific then Andersens, the last name Grimm seems only too appropriate. The folk stories can get very gruesome and very shocking, some even remind me of NCIS episodes (ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration). However it wasn't all drama for The Grimms Brothers, a lot of their recorded stories discuss morals and the power of love, so not all bad. As I said, some of their stories are simplistic but still wonderful and entertaining. It was quite a shock however to be in Dymocks the other day (I do love dymocks) and see a bound version of Grimms Brothers tales for children. Obviously they had selected stories but considering their intended audience, it's quite interesting to consider the social change.
Of course their are many more collectors and authors of fairy tales out there but these are my two favourites. One of the reasons I really love these old collections is the bindings. I'm a sucker for a beautiful book binding. In fact I do own the most lovely version of 'The Complete Illustrated Stories of Hans Christian Andersen', green linen with gold print! My copy of 'The Brothers Grimm' I like less so, simply because they are original tales however the cover gives the impression that they are for children which some of them certainly are not!
Well I hope you enjoyed this weeks discussion. Let me know, what do you think of fairy tales and which are your favourite stories? Until next week,
Catherine
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