From the Bookshelf of Into the Forest…

Fairytale in the Ancient World

Graham Anderson

Start date: July 15, 2017

Finish date: September 14, 2017

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Dec 16, 2008 Christine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-criticism-biography, rapunzel, myth-and-lore-criticism-history

I read the paperback edition of this book. Anderson makes good connections between modern well known fairy tales, such as "Cinderella" to ancient stories (myths and legends). Anderson does not just limit himself to stories of Greece and Roman, but older Jewish legends as well as Persian legends as well. He makes a good case for "Cinderella" and "Snow White" but for some of the other tales, "Godfather Death" for instance; he seems to be stretching a bit too far. ...more

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Sep 11, 2017 Margaret rated it it was ok

Shelves: fairytale-myth-inspired, nonfiction

With this academic study, Anderson provides a comprehensive and at times exhausting examination of fairytale antecedents in ancient (mostly Western) mythology. It's a thorough, well-researched study, with chapters focusing on specific fairy tales--like "Cinderella," "Snow White," and "Little Red Riding Hood"--as well as general categories of tales. If this sounds like something you need for research purposes, you should definitely pick it up. It lacks the engaging prose style of some other fairy ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 04, 2017 Rachel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: based-on-fairy-tales-myths-etc, nonfiction, 2017-into-the-forest-challenge

I would give this 3.5 stars.

Fairytale in the ancient world is a scholarly nonfiction book that looks at the the connections between modern fairy tales and ancient folk tales/mythology. Broken down, it's fascinating to see how stories like Cinderella, Snow White, and rapunzel all have ties to more ancient stories. The locations may differ but key parts of the story remain the same (Cinderella stories always center around someone who was wronged or downcast, they recieve help from a mythial creat ...more

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