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Oxford Myths and Legends
English Fables and Fairy Stories
A collection of nineteen English favorites including Jack and the Beanstalk and Tom Thumb
242 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
James Reeves
207 books10 followersJohn Morris Reeves, later known as James Reeves, was an English writer principally known for his poetry, plays and contributions to children's literature and the literature of collected traditional songs. His published books include poetry, stories and anthologies for both adults and children. He was also well known as a literary critic and broadcaster.
He was born in Harrow, and educated at Stowe School and at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read English and co-founded with Jacob Bronowski the literary magazine Experiment. He began his writing career as a poet in 1936, and in 1945 turned his attention to writing for young readers. His first book of poems for children, The Wandering Moon, appeared in 1950, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone, with whom Reeves sustained a lifelong friendship and collaboration. Reeves worked as a teacher until 1952, when his failing eyesight forced him to retire and he became a full-time writer and editor.
He succeeded Bronowski as editor of Epilogue: a critical summary (Riding, Graves). He was also an editor of some of the works of Robert Graves. His prose work for children commenced in 1956 and included short stories. "His real achievement, however, lies in his poetry, which is generally regarded as the best British 'serious' children's verse since Walter de la Mare - though the poems are usually far from serious in subject-matter."(Carpenter, Prichard)
- from Wikipedia
He was born in Harrow, and educated at Stowe School and at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read English and co-founded with Jacob Bronowski the literary magazine Experiment. He began his writing career as a poet in 1936, and in 1945 turned his attention to writing for young readers. His first book of poems for children, The Wandering Moon, appeared in 1950, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone, with whom Reeves sustained a lifelong friendship and collaboration. Reeves worked as a teacher until 1952, when his failing eyesight forced him to retire and he became a full-time writer and editor.
He succeeded Bronowski as editor of Epilogue: a critical summary (Riding, Graves). He was also an editor of some of the works of Robert Graves. His prose work for children commenced in 1956 and included short stories. "His real achievement, however, lies in his poetry, which is generally regarded as the best British 'serious' children's verse since Walter de la Mare - though the poems are usually far from serious in subject-matter."(Carpenter, Prichard)
- from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 5, 2019
saman
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2016
A surprisingly enjoyable collection of fables. The consistency and the charm of Reeve's writing style were extremely pleasing, which is one of the reasons it is suitable for a quick, fun read in the day. The endings are also very satisfying: sweet and lighthearted, like many of English stories.
October 12, 2018
Very basic retelling of classic folktales. I recognize this was probably the intention, but it makes for a somewhat bland reading experience. I did get some entertainment out of how bizzare some of the stories got...my favorite was the golden snuff box which made exactly zero sense and featured a lot of talking animals and parties.
April 5, 2026
Ah, finally, some decently written fairy tales. Compared to my previously read English Fairy Tales and Legends by Rosalind Kerven it was great to have a more consistent ‘traditional’ authorial voice that actually made the stories feels like old legends, rather than unnecessarily updating them. (Though one lack of an update was unintentionally funny, where a character is called an ‘impudent slut’, probably meaning the older definition that she is untidy rather than meaning that she’s sleeping around!)
There’s a decent array of stories, from the more well known (Jack and Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, Tim Tom Tat), through to ones that were new to me like The Golden Snuffbox. There’s even the story of Molly Whipple, a sort of female version of Jack the giant killer which was a nice change from all the stories about men called Jack or John!
There’s a nice range of tone as well, with lots of tricksters and fools, as well as more violent, crueller kings and princesses who get their magical comeuppance.
The book is also illustrated throughout with nice black ink illustrations and a few large ones in black and red.
There’s a decent array of stories, from the more well known (Jack and Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, Tim Tom Tat), through to ones that were new to me like The Golden Snuffbox. There’s even the story of Molly Whipple, a sort of female version of Jack the giant killer which was a nice change from all the stories about men called Jack or John!
There’s a nice range of tone as well, with lots of tricksters and fools, as well as more violent, crueller kings and princesses who get their magical comeuppance.
The book is also illustrated throughout with nice black ink illustrations and a few large ones in black and red.
December 28, 2015
Quite a good collection of fairy tales. It was interesting how many of the stories I had come across before in Andrew Lang's coloured fairy books, or my Brothers Grimm or Perraults collections.
I was particularly intrigued by how many there were of slightly changed, but still obviously the same, versions.
For example, Tom Tit Tot was near identical to Rumpelstiltskin, except the girl had a name and wasn't a miller's daughter; The Golden Snuff Box definitely reminded me of The Three Crowns (in the Lilac fairy book); Johnny Gloke was The Brave Little Tailor; The Donkey, the Table, and the Stick was Two in a Sack (almost); and The Fish and the Ring was definitely the same story as one I've read before, although I can't remember where.
That's what I like about fairy-tales, how there are so many variations of stories one previously thought to be obscure.
And this collection is well written, and a good mix of stories.
I was particularly intrigued by how many there were of slightly changed, but still obviously the same, versions.
For example, Tom Tit Tot was near identical to Rumpelstiltskin, except the girl had a name and wasn't a miller's daughter; The Golden Snuff Box definitely reminded me of The Three Crowns (in the Lilac fairy book); Johnny Gloke was The Brave Little Tailor; The Donkey, the Table, and the Stick was Two in a Sack (almost); and The Fish and the Ring was definitely the same story as one I've read before, although I can't remember where.
That's what I like about fairy-tales, how there are so many variations of stories one previously thought to be obscure.
And this collection is well written, and a good mix of stories.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews