The Red Fairy Book

Thirty-seven tales gathered from French, Russian, German and Norse sources: the twelve dancing princesses, Soria Moria Castle, Koshchei the Deathless, the Norka, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Drakestail and, to close, the story of Sigurd. Andrew Lang was a Scottish folklorist and classicist who translated Homer and wrote on totemism; his wife Leonora did much of the retelling, a fact he acknowledged only late. The stories are given plain, without a moral tacked on the end. Its 80 original illustrations have been carefully restored and coloured for this edition.