Swedish Folktales and Legends

Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

by Lone Thygesen Blecher (Editor), George Blecher

Swedish Folktales and Legends is a diverse and representative collection of stories from Sweden's centuries-old folklore tradition. Ranging from the ribald to the romantic, from the rustic to the mythical, these are lively translations of 150 tales drawn from unique sources including the Swedish National Folklore Archives and numerous private collections, while the humorous and dramatic illustrations are gathered from classic volumes of Swedish folktales. Lone Thygesen Blecher's engaging introduction details the purpose and background of folktales and legends as well as the history of their collection. This distinctive selection presents the storytelling artistry of Sweden's lush folkloric tradition.

Genres: Folklore, Mythology, Fairy Tales, Sweden, Folk Tales, Swedish Literature, Short Stories

383 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Sam]

DNF @ 18% (75/416)

Unfortunately this just wasn’t my cup of tea. I didn’t find the tales particularly interesting or thought provoking, nor did I find it gave much in-depth insight into the folklore as a whole.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

An collection of translated Swedish folktales with little to no contextual information or collection information. Interesting for an overview of folktales and legends for those who do not speak Scandinavian languages.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty comprehensive collection of Swedish folktales and legends, including as it does stories that may have mostly originated elsewhere but were collected inside Sweden's borders. That explains why you will read several that you have definitely read in other countries' collections; tales such as these are notorious travelers who take on unique guises but retain their core plots regardless.

There are a lot of tales that involve poor farmers, and many more that have standard characters: rich misers, kings with daughters they won't marry off until impossible tasks are completed, wicked stepmothers, wise old crones, foolish young men, daring knight-suitors, etc.

There are also several that contain pretty earthy content- including sexual content referred to with diverting language choices. These tales were clearly meant for adults, even though it would seem there were children in the audience.

It's a good collection, but because I've read a lot of tales overall, there were few standouts- hence the average rating.

[Alan Carrillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a really good collection of folktales and legends. Since the book has so many stories, it's probably best to take your time and read a little at a time. The book is divided into 10 different sections, each with a collection of specific folktales with a shared theme. For example, my favorite was "Tales of Heroes and Heroines," which was about people fighting against monsters. The complete categories are:

Animal Tales
Trolls, Giants, Ghosts, and Other Beings
True Dummies and Clever People
How to Win the Princess
Tales of Heroes and Heroines
Metamorphoses
Tales of Men and Women
Moral Tales
Parsons, the Good Lord, and the Evil Ones
Tall Tales, Superstitions, and Jingles

[Jessica Lass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly fun - beware the crass and lewd that pops up. Definitely not all tales are child friendly.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful assortment of tales and lore. Some of them are downright Chaucerian and worth the price of admission alone.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was just not my cup of tea. There were a few stories I enjoyed, but, for the most part, I wasn’t entertained.

[Nicole Corazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. So many familiar tales, and a sprinkling of them that I have never heard before. Well worth the read.

[Liander (The Towering Pile) Lavoie · Rating 1 out of 5]

While some of the stories in this book were fun to read, for the most part I found that the book consisted of a few stories told over and over again with slight variations. I grew weary of it rather quickly, but kept going because I never put a book down unfinished. Maybe it would be better to just read the occasional story from this book. I sure don't recommend reading it all the way through.

[Indra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hay algunas fórmulas de folktales un poco inusuales, y muchas historias que nunca me había topado. Es cierto que dentro del libro sí hay muchas que se parecen y se vuelve algo repetitivo, pero igual incluye muchas historias memorables (ej. trolls atacados por un oso que confunden con un gato), así que aunque le puse 3 estrellas, le tengo cariño.

[Tommaso DeBenetti · Rating 2 out of 5]

The selection of tales is rather puzzling, many are extremely similar to the point of boredom, and others are practically irrelevant. There are a few amusing ones, but it would have been a better book with 1/3 of the pages.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty cool for sporadic reading, but hard to read cover to cover...some repetition between story themes. and i say that as a fan of both folk tales and Swedes!

[Ahimsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many good tales, and quite a few of them bawdy too.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look how diverse my mental collection of fairy tales is!
Just kidding. This is a very good book. It had me laughing so hard I cried. I loved it.