Russian Fairy Tales - Softcover

Afanas'ev, Aleksandr

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0394730909 ISBN 13: 9780394730905

Publisher: Pantheon, 1976

Synopsis

The most comprehensive collection of classic Russian tales available in English introduces readers to universal fairy-tale figures and to such uniquely Russian characters such as Koshchey the Deathless, Baba Yaga, the Swan Maiden, and the glorious Firebird. Beautifully illustrated, the more than 175 tales culled from a landmark multi-volume collection by the outstanding Russian ethnographer Aleksandr Afanas'ev reveal a rich, robust world of the imagination.

Translated by Norbert Guterman
Illustrated by Alexander Alexeieff
With black-and-white illustrations throughout
Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"A beautiful book. I recommend it to all readers, young and old, who are interested in the folktale and its unique qualities." -- Isaac Bashevis Singer, The New York Times Book Review

"Luckily someone garnered these jewels before they were lost, bound them into one volume before they disappeared...it is filled with action, magic, and humanity...." -- St. Louis Globe-Democrat

"The oral folk tradition in Russia was truly a magic spring. As in the fairy tale, it flowed inexhaustibly, reviving, consoling, and enlightening all who partook of it... these stories have an ingenuity that marks them as uniquely Russian."

From the Inside Flap:

Nearly 200 characteristic and colorful traditional folk and fairy tales are brought together in the only comprehensive edition available in English. Of the original 1945 edition, Eudora Welty wrote, "These Russian tales are rambunctious, full-blooded and temperamental. They are tense with action, magical and human, and move in a kind of cyclone of speed....These tales are gorgeous."

About this edition

• Publisher: Pantheon
• Publication date: 1976
• ISBN 10: 0394730909
• ISBN 13: 9780394730905
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 672