I recently learned that Andrew Lang had written his own fairy tale,
The Chronicles of Pantouflia. I don't believe it's very common for fairy tale collectors and writers to overlap-the Grimms never wrote original fairy tales, or other collectors such as Russia's Afanasyev, or Norway's Asbjornsen and Moe
(correct me in the comments if I'm wrong!). And while authors such as Andersen sometimes drew from folklore, his tales were clearly his own literary version of the tale.
I was hoping that a fairy tale written by someone so familiar with the traditional folktale might be more influenced by the older tales-what might Lang's unique perspective, having collected tales from around the world, translate into his own original story?
It seems to be a book that hasn't generated much interest (it
doesn't even have its own wikipedia page), so who knows if I'll ever get a copy myself. You can read the summary of one plotline,
Prince Prigio, here, although it seems like it's not that much different than other literary fairy tales published during the Victorian era. For example, one of the main themes is that the Queen does not believe in fairies, and Prince Prigio has to learn for himself that they exist. That in itself gives away that it isn't a timeless fairy tale, but a fantasy story. Belief is never really a theme in fairy tales-the characters hardly even react to talking animals or magical enchantments. In the story, Prigio also uses knowledge he has gained from the
Arabian Nights to defeat a dragon-a humorous touch, but not quite "timeless".
Still, it would be an interesting read for a fairy tale fan-have any of you read it? What did you think?
I've never heard of that story before!
ReplyDeleteBut I've always loved Lang's colored fairy books. I really liked the version of "The Three Little Pigs" that was included in the Green Fairy Book. If only we could find out where Lang heard that version of the story.
Speaking of "Three Little Pigs," I actually grew up with both the Joseph Jacobs version, and the watered-down version where the pigs run to the brick house. When I was a kid, I preferred the version where the first two pigs died (maybe I'm a weirdo). I also have noticed that the Jacobs version is more focused on the third pig's attempts to fool the wolf, rather than the wolf blowing down the houses (which only takes up the first few paragraphs). It's funny how adaptations took just the very beginning of the story and made it seem like that part was the main story. Ugh. I mean, what's so bad about the Jacobs version as it is?
I haven't looked into the history of "Three Little Pigs" much, that would be an interesting future post to do!
DeleteI haven't read this book or heard of it until now. But it sounds like it might be a prime choice for Fantasy Literature Rewind (along with almost a dozen other children's fantasy books. Sigh).
ReplyDeleteOoh yes-would love to see you review it as a Fantasy Literature Rewind! Although apparently it's pretty rare (see below) so we'll all have to keep an eye out...
DeleteIt might be available on Kindle. But it also might be just part of it.
DeleteI'd love to read this book and have searched and searched for a copy. I had a collection of Lang's books but had to let them go in one of my many moves. Alas! x
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DeleteBummer! I only have the Blue Fairy Book myself. The good news about the colored books is they're easier to find in libraries and bookstores!
DeleteAll of the colored fairy books are also on Project Gutenberg!
DeleteI just looked it up-All of the colored fairy books are available in a free Kindle format (http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=node%3D154606011&field-keywords=andrew+lang), and there's tons of other books Lang published I had no idea about! Everything from religion to a book about archaeological forgeries ("The Clyde Mysteries")! I'm realizing how profoundly little I know about Andrew Lang.
DeleteAlso, "Chronicles of Pantouflia" is available in a Kindle version for only $.99: http://smile.amazon.com/Chronicles-Pantouflia-Prince-Prigio-Ricardo-ebook/dp/B008A4CEKM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461678347&sr=1-1&keywords=andrew+lang+chronicles+of+pantouflia
I just purchased "My Own Fairy Book" by Andrew Lang which features the two Pantouflia stories and another story he wrote in it. It will be featured in "Fantasy Literature Rewind" someday, but I'm not sure when. I still want to cover the works of Oscar Wilde and Frank Stockton as well as a couple of books by E. Nesbit and I probably should give one of L. Frank Baum's books a proper entry someday. (sigh).
DeletePerrault wrote Riquet with the Tuft, so it's not entirely unheard of
ReplyDeleteGood to know! Although, my impression of Perrault is that he was a literary fairy tale author-he borrowed from fairy tales he knew but made them his own and wasn't attempting to collect authentic folklore, more like Andersen
DeleteI think Perrault's stories may have moved into or influenced the folk tradition, though. As did some of the stories of his contemporaries. With Andersen, while he did write down some folk tales like "The Wild Swans", most of his best remembered stories ("The Ugly Duckling", "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Snow Queen", etc) were stories of his own creation.
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