Tales Published 1870-1879

“Thumbkinetta .” Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Harry Leigh Justice Ward, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1872, pp. 51-58.

Tale Summary There was once a good-wife who longed for a child, and so went to visit an old Witch, who gave her a barleycorn to plant in a flower-pot, promising that something would come of it. As soon as the woman placed it in the soil, a tulip popped...

“The Wild Swans.” Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Harry Leigh Justice Ward, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1872, pp. 1-12.

Tale Summary There was once a king who had eleven sons, and a daughter named Elisa. The boys were very well educated princes, and their sister had what she wanted to entertain her, no matter the cost. Their father married a wicked queen, who had no liking for the children...

“The History of Jack and the Beanstalk” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-32.

Tale Summary Jack, his mother, and his sister Ady lived in a valley far away from London rimmed with waterfalls. Jack was an unruly boy and refused to listen to anything his mother told him and was incredibly spoiled despite being from a poor family. Danish pirates attacked the town...

"Puss in Boots." George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-27.

Tale Summary A miller, upon his retirement, gifts his youngest son Caraba the mouser cat, Tom Puss. Caraba and Tom Puss grow very close, and even more so when Caraba saves Tom from a savage dog. One day, after going to town to sell flour, Caraba lays eyes on the...

Beauty and the Beast sitting across from each other

Crane, Walter. Beauty and the Beast. London and New York: George Routledge and Sons, 1875.

Tale Summary This tale is a simplified retelling of the Beauty and the Beast narrative arc. Beauty, despite her jealous sisters, finds happiness with a prince doomed to live as a beast. When her troubled merchant father goes on a journey, Beauty requests a rose. Unknowingly on the way back,...

“Hop O’ my Thumb.” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-30.

Tale Summary George Cruikshank participated in the Temperance movement, and like other tales in this volume (Cinderella), this version of Hop O’ My Thumb denounces the evils of “strong drink” (alcohol). He also omits the violent scene in which the Ogre kills his own children after being tricked by Hop...