- Hardcover: 803 pages
- Publisher: Gramercy (12 Dec 1988)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0517336324
- ISBN-13: 978-0517336328
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 4.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,144,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Lilly Owens, ed. Illustrated edition of 159 cherished tales that have enchanted readers for generations. Includes The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, Snow Queen, all uncut with beautiful illustrations by Arthur Rackham, Hans Richter, et al. 60 B&W illustrations. 816 pages.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 77 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I purchased this book to read to my two young children but was disappointed when I received it. The text is extremely small and the illustrations are few and far between. The front cover states 'fully illustrated' but this is not the case.
The stories are the ones we all remember but with no colour illustrations and the text being so small it is not suitable for younger children.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a good, sturdy hardback edition, suitable, in my view, mainly for adult readers. The font is tiny, closely spaced, and could intimidate younger readers. The paper is rough and of poor quality; the illustrations are very -- very -- few and far between, black and white, small, and in my opinion, not particularly good. There are also a few punctuation errors, which, while they don't distort the meaning overly, are nonetheless annoying.
Nevertheless, it's good to have Anderson's tales in one durable volume, faithfully translated.
Nevertheless, it's good to have Anderson's tales in one durable volume, faithfully translated.
64 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Hans Christian Andersen, the famous Danish author, wrote 168 fairy tales and 159 of them are included in this mega-book of his works. They are beautifully embroidered, vastly imaginative stories, with a sweet air of melancholy. They are particularly wonderful to read aloud with lots of lively dialogue that invites the use of funny voices, for those like me given to that sort of parental self-humiliation; talking Christmas trees, grouchy toads, haughty queens and toys with an attitude.
It is ironic that Andersen did not consider his fairy tales very important. He wanted to be a "serious" writer and worked much harder on his real projects; plays, novels, poetry, travel books and autobiographies. Those works are largely forgotten while his fairy tales not only live on, but have permeated our culture. Our thinking and even our speech are peppered with references to his stories. The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid and The Red Shoes come to mind.
Do be forewarned that not all of the stories have happy endings and some are really terribly sad. Andersen did not have an easy life. His father died when he was eleven and his existence was rather joyless for a long time after that. He left home at fourteen and wandered about trying different lines of work unsuccessfully until finally, after years of struggle and hardship, he was noticed by important people and gained acceptance. Perhaps the darker images in his writings spring from his own difficult years.
Oddly enough, my own children are especially intrigued by the sadder tales. In our time, we shelter children so from any tinge of melancholy. Their interest and the fact that enormous crowds are flocking to see Titanic, an undeniably tragic story, has caused me to wonder if there is a need in the human psyche to tiptoe a bit around the edges of pathos. Hans Christian Andersen's stories are like small beautifully wrapped gifts, but he leaves a few sad little loose ends so they don't always tie up into perfect !packages.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
fairy tales
bought this book for my grandaughter for christmas could,nt resist having a read myself,brought back childhood memories,excellent book for young children
Published on 29 Jan 2009 by William Campbell
*A NATIONAL HERO*
Hans-Christian Andersen and his wonderful stories and fairy-tales are famous all over the world! He is proberly one of the greatest authors from Denmark, and we are very proud of... Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2003
A deleciously delightful book for children at heart
Hans Christian Andersen aretfully spins tales of love, adventure and comedy in this easy to read collection. Read more
Published on 11 April 1998
The Magician from the North
It ought to be a source of some astonishment that the writings of Hans Christian Andersen have triumphed over the passage of time as they have. Read more
Published on 9 April 1998
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