| Children Into Swans: Fairy Tales and the Pagan Imagination Contributor(s): Beveridge, Jan (Author) |
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ISBN: 0773543945 ISBN-13: 9780773543942 Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press OUR PRICE: $26.96 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology - Social Science | Folklore & Mythology |
| Dewey: 398.209 |
| Physical Information: 0.94" H x 6.34" W x 8.54" (1.10 lbs) 300 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Fairy tales are alive with the supernatural - elves, dwarfs, fairies, giants, and trolls, as well as witches with magic wands and sorcerers who cast spells and enchantments. Children into Swans examines these motifs in a range of ancient stories. Moving from the rich period of nineteenth-century fairy tales back as far as the earliest folk literature of northern Europe, Jan Beveridge shows how long these supernatural features have been a part of storytelling, with ancient tales, many from Celtic and Norse mythology, that offer glimpses into a remote era and a pre-Christian sensibility. The earliest stories often show significant differences from what we might expect. Elves mingle with Norse gods, dwarfs belong to a proud clan of magician-smiths, and fairies are shape-shifters emerging from the hills and the sea mist. In story traditions with roots in a pre-Christian imagination, an invisible other world exists alongside our own. From the lost cultures of a thousand years ago, Children into Swans opens the door on some of the most extraordinary worlds ever portrayed in literature - worlds that are both starkly beautiful and full of horrors. |
Contributor Bio(s): Beveridge, Jan: - CA |