I guess I'll answer my own questions as well. If you've been reading my blog you probably already know that my favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast, although I also love 12 Dancing Princesses and basically anything that's been made into a ballet featuring music by a Russian composer-Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Firebird, Swan Lake, and Nutcracker (not technically a fairy tale, but I still love it).
My lifelong obsession started back when the Disney movie came out, and all through childhood and teenagerhood I was known for loving Belle, except for a brief lull around middle school when Disney princesses were no longer cool, but in high school it became retro (I even brought my lunch to school in a plastic Beauty and the Beast lunchbox!). Around high school I started google searching the story to attempt to learn a little more about the history, and like many of you, my searching led me to Surlalune. It hadn't even occured to me at the time that people would have written entire books on the history and significance of fairy tales until a friend in college told me about Besty Hearne's Beauty and the Beast: Visions and Revisions of an Old Tale. First I hunted it down at a Chicago Public Library, and eventually got a copy of my own. Around that time I discovered the folklore section at my library (398.2 for all libraries using the Dewey decimal system!) and devoured all the books there. I started this blog a couple years ago to help me remember what I'd read, and where, and to share my love of fairy tales with others who share the same interests, because none of my friends could care less about the significance of the differences between the Villeneuve and Beaumont versions of Beauty and the Beast. I've loved finding a community of people who also love fairy tales! Thanks for visiting and reading and sharing your own knowledge!
The book arrived yesterday, thank you so much. It looks fascinating, and I'm itching to get started :o)
ReplyDeleteSo glad it arrived safely! Enjoy!
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