Goble's Fairy Tale Illustrations: 86 Full-Color Plates

by Warwick Goble (Illustrator), Jeff A. Menges (Editor)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a rage for colorfully illustrated books—especially fairy tales and fantasy adventures. English artist Warwick Goble (1862–1943), an expert in watercolor techniques, was among the era's premier illustrators. This one-of-a-kind collection gathers the best of his fairy tale imagery, featuring eighty-six visions of memorable scenes from timeless folk tales.
The international array of illustrations begins with Charles Kingsley's The Water-Babies, followed by pictures from Grace James's Green Willow and Other Japanese Fairy Tales, as well as Folk-Tales of Bengal and the Italian Stories from the Pentamerone . Images inspired by The Fairy Book; The Best Popular Fairy Stories Selected and Rendered Anew include such familiar characters as Little Red-Riding-Hood, Cinderella, Tom Thumb, and Puss in Boots. The collection concludes with imaginative depictions from The Book of Fairy Poetry, including scenes from Shakespeare's fairy classics, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with works by Milton, Tennyson, and other poets. Readers of all ages will cherish this unique book and its splendid combination of art and literature.

Genres: Fairy Tales, Art, Picture Books

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2008

About the author

Warwick Goble (1862-1943) was an illustrator, specializing in fairy tales, children's books, and science fiction and fantasy stories.

He is perhaps most well-known for his illustrations in the first publication of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds and his illustrations for Charles Kingsley's The Water-Babies.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the title says: a collection of color plates, illustrating fairy tales.
There's no text, but you may find a story listed that you haven't read -- this includes tales from Bengal and Japan, as well as stories taken from larger works like the Pentamerone and The Water Babies.

I think Goble's work is lovely and am not sure why it isn't better known today. Not distinctive enough?


"Star Lovers"

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goble's style is refreshingly airy and spare in an age of artistic excess. His illustrations of stories outside his own ethnicity are not quite as reprehensible as some from that era, which is refreshing.

[Elenariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, some from titles I never heard before and now I want to read.
Gorgeous costume designs.

[Stuart Botham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, watercolours by the popular British illustrator Warwick Goble (1862 - 1943)

[Mary Catelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a complete collection, but covering a lot of his illustrations. Including not only a collection of popular European folk tales (many of which are not commonly known), but also The Water Babies, a collection of Indian fairy tales, a collection of Japanese fairy tales, the Pentamerone of Italian literary tales, and a book of fairy poetry.

Some lovely stuff here.