Good Fairy Tale Anthologies

Ooh! DC Comics put out a big book of grimm. It's all done by different cartoonists. I'm loving it. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1563895013/?tag=absolutewritedm-20 They're showing it as out of print, but I bought my copy from big box bookstore only a few months ago. The stories are wonderfully gruesome and nasty.

sleepsheep said:

Please move this thread if this isn't the correct forum for it...

I was wondering if anyone can suggest a good illustrated anthology of fairy tales, either Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson. I am looking for something with at least a dozen stories, and plenty of illustrations. Would also like to avoid the Disney-fied version of these stories, aiming for a more authentic (if scarier) versions.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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You might want to check out the classic "color" books compiled by Andrew Lang. They are available on line, though the illustrations are not.

H.J Ford did many of the illustrations

rugcat said:

You might want to check out the classic "color" books compiled by Andrew Lang. They are available on line, though the illustrations are not.

H.J Ford did many of the illustrations

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Classics, indeed. I read them all in elementary school, back in the 1960s. If you want earlier editions with the illustrations, like the ones I read, be prepared to lay out some serious money.

Same for East of the Sun and West of the Moon, with illustrations by Kay Nielsen. I let one slip through my fingers that was priced at $250, and have regretted not coming up with the cost of it in time ever since. An absolutely gorgeous book.

Are you interested in reading pleasure for yourself or a family member, or are you looking for inspiration re: book design and illustration?

They may be too old-school for your taste, but I'm very fond of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and Maxfield Parrish's illustration work. They each illustrated a number of anthologies-- Grimm's fairy tales, Hans Christian Andersen stories, Aesop's Fables, Mother Goose tales, Arabian Nights, etc. Since much of their work was originally published around 1900-1930's or so, a lot of the stories they illustrated are much darker than the sweetened versions we see nowadays. Original editions might run you hundreds or thousands, but their works get reprinted in editions of varying quality, so you might want to ILL something or read up on the reviews before you actually buy it.