The Grey Fairy Book

Andrew Lang

Mar 2020 · Open Road Media

About this eBook

An international collection of children’s fairy tales: “Some of the first, and best, stories we ever hear in our lives” (The Washington Post).

First published in 1900 by renowned Scottish folklorist Andrew Lang, this classic anthology of fairy tales is part of the series known as the Fairy Books of Many Colors. It contains the best English translations of thirty-five imaginative stories from the oral and written traditions of France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Greece, parts of Africa, and other regions. Guaranteed to enchant and entertain children of all ages, The Grey Fairy Book includes such enduring tales as “Donkey Skin,” “The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar,” “What Came of Picking Flowers,” “The Magician’s Horse,” “The Dog and the Sparrow,” “The White Wolf,” and “The Twin Brothers.”
 
“The old favorite series on which most of us were brought up—and our parents before us . . . Andrew Lang and his associates managed to break the stranglehold of the pious sentimentality handed out to children by collecting—from all over the world—fairy tales of all people, and bringing out the volumes we all know and love.” —Kirkus Reviews

About the author

Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was a Scottish scholar and writer, best known for his folklore and mythological tales. After college, he moved to London and began working as a journalist. He began collecting fairytales and folklore stories for his first collection, The Blue Fairy Book. The Fairy Books contained hundreds of pages of folklore stories, which Lang edited while his wife helped translate. Receiving acclaim, the books totaled in 427 stories combined in twelve collections. Lang also produced his own original writing, including novels, literary criticism, and poetry, but his work did not attain the same literary recognition.