A review by jasonfurman
The Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar

4.0

A nice concept for a collection, The Classic Fairy Tales is divided into sections for each of the classic stories (Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella, Bluebeard and Hansel and Gretel). Each section has a somewhat lengthy introduction, that is a little heavy on feminist psychoanalysis/Bettleheim etc., but still interesting. Then it has five or six variants of the stories, including the classic Grimm and/or Perrault versions, versions drawn from other cultures around the world (like Egypt and China), and often modern versions by the likes of Roald Dahl or Margret Atwood. The juxtaposition works quite well. In addition it has sections for Hans Christian Anderson and Oscar Wilde containing their classic stories. Like all Nortons, it has an extensive set of critical readings at the end, not all of which I read, but a few of which were interesting.