English Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are written to both entertain and educate. Published in the shadow of the First World War, F. A. Steel's retellings of forty-one English fairy tales is a classic collection of stories, ranging from the familiar - 'Jack and the Beanstalk', 'Little Red Riding-Hood' and 'The Three Little Pigs' - to the perhaps less well known - 'The Black Bull of Norroway', 'Nix Nought Nothing' and 'The Red Ettin'. Originally published in 1918, it reflects the nationalistic concerns of the period. Steel takes the reader on a journey, from Cornwall to Bamborough Castle via a palace by the sea, as well as high into the sky, where a giant lives. These magical tales are brought to life by one of the best-known illustrators of the time, Arthur Rackham.