Favorite Fairy Tales

These are the tales that shaped generations. Collected here are fourteen fairy stories that once haunted the dreams and sparked the imaginations of notable men in their childhoods. From Jack's battle with giants to Aladdin's magical lamp, from the transformable beauty of the Beast to the journey of an ugly duckling becoming something glorious, these are the old stories that endure because they speak to something deep in the human experience. Peter Newell compiled and illustrated this collection, preserving not just the tales themselves but the particular magic that made them stick in memory. Whether encountering them anew or revisiting childhood favorites, readers will find the archetypal struggles here: the youngest child who triumphs, the curse that hides a blessing, the beauty within that exceeds the surface. Some of these stories are famous. Four are nearly forgotten. All of them carry the strange power of the oldest tales we know.