This two-volume set collects 300 of the most entertaining and important folk and fairy tales of Giuseppe Pitre, a nineteenth century Sicilian folklorist whose significance ranks alongside the Brothers Grimm. In stark contrast to the more literary ambitions of the Grimms' tales, Pitre's possess a charming, earthy quality that reflect the customs, beliefs, and superstitions of the common people more clearly than any other European folklore collection of the 19th century. Edited, translated, and with a critical introduction by world-renowned folk and fairy tale experts Jack Zipes and Joseph Russo, this is the first collection of Pitre's tales available in English. Carmelo Letterer's illustrations throughout the volume are as lively and vivid as the stories themselves, illuminating the remarkable imagination captured in the tales.

This two-volume set collects 300 of the most entertaining and important folk and fairy tales of Giuseppe Pitre, a nineteenth century Sicilian folklorist whose significance ranks alongside the Brothers Grimm. In stark contrast to the more literary ambitions of the Grimms' tales, Pitre's possess a charming, earthy quality that reflect the customs, beliefs, and superstitions of the common people more clearly than any other European folklore collection of the 19th century. Edited, translated, and with a critical introduction by world-renowned folk and fairy tale experts Jack Zipes and Joseph Russo, this is the first collection of Pitre's tales available in English. Carmelo Letterer's illustrations throughout the volume are as lively and vivid as the stories themselves, illuminating the remarkable imagination captured in the tales.

It is remarkable how often we consider certain constructs in other peoples' worldview to be -myths, while in our own case we regard equally arbitrary assumptions as inherent to the nature of things. As every anthropologist knows, one's most cherished cultural assumptions tend to remain implicit; in other words, worldview is largely unconscious. This book explores the possibility of plumbing obscure aspects of one's own culture in order to assess what some might call (regarding other cultures) the mythic underpinnings of worldview. Seven explorations in folklore and ethnography exhume a conceptual heritage that still influences perception, albeit in unconscious ways. This archeology of intangible heritage provides the sort of break in intellectual routine that allows us to look a new at familiar things."

Sally Castle's beautifully hand-lettered and illustrated edition of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince sets the story among Reading's parks, squares, rooflines and churches - the town that's shaped her and her artwork and where Oscar spent an unhappy period in gaol. This enchanting combination of fairy story with concrete urban reality, a tale of sacrificial love written with a flourish and swirl, turns a simple book into a gem as precious as the large red ruby that glowed on the Prince's sword-hilt. With an introduction by Michael Seeney, author and collector of Wilde's work.

The work provides a unique study of superheroes and gods in literature, popular culture, and ancient myth. The author selects a number of mythological figures (e.g., Babylonia's Gilgamesh and Enkidu), ancient gods (e.g., Greece's Eros and Tartarus), and modern superheroes (e.g., the United States' Superman and Captain Marvel) and identifies the often striking similarities between each unique category of characters. The author contends that the vast majority of mythological superheroes follow the same archetypal character patterns, regardless of each hero's unique time period or culture. Each of the first nine chapters examines the heroes and gods of a particular region or country, while the final chapter examines modern descendants of the hero prototype like Batman and Spiderman and several infamous anti-heroes (for example, Dracula and The Hulk). Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The ancient Greek myth of Prometheus, the primordial Titan who defied the Olympian gods by stealing fire from the heavens as a gift for humanity, enjoyed unprecedented popularity during the Romantic era. An international coterie of writers such as Goethe, Monti, Byron, the Shelleys, Sainte-Helene, Coleridge, Browning, and Bridges engaged with the legend, while composers such as Beethoven, Reichardt, Schubert, Wolf, Liszt, Halevy, Saint-SaA"ns, Holmes, Faure, Parry, Goldmark, and Bargiel based works of diverse genres on the fable. Romantic authors and composers developed a unique perspective on the myth, emphasizing its themes of rebellion, punishment for transgression and creative autonomy, in great contrast to artists of the preceding era, who more characteristically ignored the tribulations of Prometheus and depicted him as the animator of a naA-ve, Arcadian mankind who, when awakened from their spiritual dormancy, expressed astonishment at the wonders of nature and paid homage to the Titan as a new god. Paul Bertagnolli charts the progress of the myth during the nineteenth century, as it articulates an extraordinary variety of issues pertaining to culture, society, aesthetics, and philosophy. Drawing on archival research, dance history, sketch studies, literary theory, linear analysis, topos theory, and reception history, individual chapters demonstrate that the legend served as a vehicle to express opinions on subjects as diverse as aristocratic patronage, movements of the body on the public stage, rebellion against political and religious authority, outright atheism, humanitarianism of the German Enlightenment, interest in the music of Greek antiquity, industrialization, nationalism inflamed by war, populism, and the aesthetics of musical form. Composers often resorted to varied and unorthodox musical techniques in order to reflect such remarkable subjects: Beethoven outraged critics by implying a key other than the tonic at the outset of the overture to

Myth and the Greatest Generation calls into question the glowing paradigm of the World War II generation set up by such books as The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw.

Including analysis of news reports, memoirs, novels, films and other cultural artefacts Ken Rose shows the war was much more disruptive to the lives of Americans in the military and on the home front during World War II than is generally acknowledged. Issues of racial, labor unrest, juvenile delinquency, and marital infidelity were rampant, and the black market flourished.

This book delves into both personal and national issues, calling into questions the dominant view of World War II as a ~The Good Wara (TM).

A fascinating examination of how Americans think about and write about witches, from the 'real' witches tried and sometimes executed in early New England to modern re-imaginings of witches as pagan priestesses, comic-strip heroines and feminist icons. The first half of the book is a thorough re-reading of the original documents describing witchcraft prosecutions from 1640-1700 and a re-thinking of these sources as far less coherent and trustworthy than most historians have considered them to be. The second half of the book examines how these historical narratives have transformed into myths of witchcraft still current in American society, writing and visual culture. The discussion includes references to everything from Increase Mather and Edgar Allan Poe to Joss Whedon (the writer/director of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which includes a Wiccan character) and The Blair Witch Project.

The tales contained in this unique collection were translated and taken down soon after the Second World War by C. G. Campbell, a major in the British army. Major Campbell was not just a soldier but also an Arabist who took a great interest in the life and culture of the Arabs. At the time of this collection's publication, the well known writer and Middle East expert of the time, H. St. John Philby, described the tales as "A work which can fairly be called a masterpiece."

First published in 2007. This classic work draws together the whole rich field of Jewish Folklore- the popular beliefs, practices, superstitions and traditional wisdom relating to all aspects of life. Dr. Rappaport has organised the book around four main themes: nature, the heavenly bodies and mythological an cosmological motifs; fauna and flora; human life including birth, marriage, illness and death, omens and portents; and supernatural and natural powers including demons and spirits, witchcraft, charms and spells. There are chapters on folk medicine, demonology, customs and practices, as well as a selection of Jewish legends and folktales, and a collection of Hebrew and Yiddish proverbs and popular sayings.

For centuries fairy tales have been a powerful mode of passing cultural values onto our children, and for many these stories delight and haunt us from cradle to grave. But how have these stories become so powerful and why?

In When Dreams Came True, Jack Zipes explains the social life of the fairy tale, from the sixteenth century on into the twenty-first. Whether exploring Charles Perrault or the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen or The Thousand and One Nights, The Happy Prince or Pinocchio, L. Frank Baum or Hermann Hesse, Zipes shows how the authors of our beloved fairy tales used the genre to articulate personal desires, political views, and aesthetic preferences within particular social contexts. Above all, he demonstrates the role that the fairy tale has assumed in the civilizing process-the way it imparts values, norms, and aesthetic taste to children and adults.

This second edition of one of Jack Zipes's best-loved books includes a new preface and two new chapters on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

For centuries fairy tales have been a powerful mode of passing cultural values onto our children, and for many these stories delight and haunt us from cradle to grave. But how have these stories become so powerful and why?

In When Dreams Came True, Jack Zipes explains the social life of the fairy tale, from the sixteenth century on into the twenty-first. Whether exploring Charles Perrault or the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen or The Thousand and One Nights, The Happy Prince or Pinocchio, L. Frank Baum or Hermann Hesse, Zipes shows how the authors of our beloved fairy tales used the genre to articulate personal desires, political views, and aesthetic preferences within particular social contexts. Above all, he demonstrates the role that the fairy tale has assumed in the civilizing processthe way it imparts values, norms, and aesthetic taste to children and adults.

This second edition of one of Jack Zipess best-loved books includes a new preface and two new chapters on J.M. Barries Peter Pan and E.T.A. Hoffmans The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

A fascinating examination of how Americans think about and write about witches, from the 'real' witches tried and sometimes executed in early New England to modern re-imaginings of witches as pagan priestesses, comic-strip heroines and feminist icons.
The first half of the book is a thorough re-reading of the original documents describing witchcraft prosecutions from 1640-1700 and a re-thinking of these sources as far less coherent and trustworthy than most historians have considered them to be.
The second half of the book examines how these historical narratives have transformed into myths of witchcraft still current in American society, writing and visual culture. The discussion includes references to everything from Increase Mather and Edgar Allan Poe to Joss Whedon (the writer/director of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which includes a Wiccan character) and The Blair Witch Project.

This book contains a collection of essays dealing with different re-workings of the Arthurian myth. The papers trace the Arthurian myth, inquiring into its origins in Ancient Rome, and pointing out influences from the Dark Ages up to the present. Reference is made to oral tradition, visual narrative and iconic messages in manuscript illumination, the myth in medieval chivalry and the decay of the latter. Parallelisms are drawn with Christian figures and beliefs, with Irish literature and Gaelic mythology, and with novels and films. The methodological approaches and points of view show great diversity: from an inquiry into the historical sources of the myth, to comparative literature, inter-textuality, feminist criticism, analysis of cinema up to a refreshing practical classroom exercise.

In medieval Europe, a new power was rising. A heresy had infiltrated the Catholic-hierarchy beginning a centuries-long campaign to alter the Churchs original teachings. This heresy was a penitent movement, based on a Babylonian cult of the dead. The bizarre public spectacles they displayed -- and still do today in the streets of Europe -- include acts of penance and self-mortification, but there are smokescreens to draw attention from the movements true workings. The authors led a team of researchers tracking this movement from the Middle East to Italy, Germany and France. Eventually, they realized that the mystery of Rennes-le-Chteau, linked with the extraordinary fortune of one Brenger Saunire, was another episode in the long and intriguing tale of this heretical movement. The Rise reveals that within the world of religion there have long been secret battles between the Church hierarchy and various movements that have tried to penetrate and take it oversometimes successfully!

Myths from the ancient world usually have some supernatural element, a component often generated from a particular intoxicant. These substances promoted a variety of states, including possession by the gods, liberation of the soul or a communion with the spirit world. From Acan, the Mayan god of intoxicating drinks, to Zagreus, the first incantation of Greek Dionysus, this encyclopaedia encompasses intoxicant-related stories from world mythology that explain the origins of a particular intoxicant or how that intoxicant was involved in creating a particular culture. Entries are arranged alphabetically without regard to category (e.g., gods, intoxicants, places, and rites). Different versions of a single myth are presented when pertinent to the overriding theme. Entries record the referenced story, the identity of the culture in which the myth originated, and when applicable information about related plant sources and pharmacological effects. Cross-references are noted in bold and sources appear at the end of each entry. Appendices group entries by category and by place of origin.

Pull up a chair or gather round the campfire and get ready for twenty-five creepy tales of ghostly hauntings, eerie happenings, and other strange occurrences in this all-new addition to the best-selling Spooky series. Set in the Buckeye State's big cities and rural communities, along the shores of Lake Erie in the north to the Appalachian Mountains in the south, the stories in this entertaining and compelling collection will have readers looking over their shoulders again and again. Ohio's folklore is kept alive in these expert retellings by master storyteller S. E. Schlosser and in artist Paul Hoffman's evocative illustrations. Readers will see the mystery of the missing postmaster's cousin solved, relive the long night a ghost captain saved a sinking ship, laugh along with a prankster who capitalizes on a barber's ghost, and feel an icy wind on the back of their necks on a warm Ohio evening. Whether read around the campfire on a dark and stormy night or from the backseat of the family van on the way to Grandma's, this is a collection to treasure.

In the ancient myth, Oedipus ceased to be king when he discovered his crimes. Nonetheless, since the Renaissance, he has ruled the kingdom of the imagination. The twentieth century begins with the Oedipus complex in Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams" and the power of the Oedipus myth continued to manifest itself in an astonishing range of artistic and intellectual work.
As a volume in the "Gods and Heroes" series, this book explores a key figure in ancient myth incisively and accessibly, yet with enough scholarly detail to be an 'all-you-need-to-know' for lower level courses, a platform for further study at a more advanced level or as a reference book of key information for researchers/academics.

In his latest book, fairy tales expert Jack Zipes explores the question of why some fairy tales "work" and others don't, why the fairy tale is uniquely capable of getting under the skin of culture and staying there. Why, in other words, fairy tales "stick." Long an advocate of the fairy tale as a serious genre with wide social and cultural ramifications, Jack Zipes here makes his strongest case for the idea of the fairy tale not just as a collection of stories for children but a profoundly important genre.

Why Fairy Tales Stick contains two chapters on the history and theory of the genre, followed by case studies of famous tales (including Cinderella, Snow White, and Bluebeard), followed by a summary chapter on the problematic nature of traditional storytelling in the twenty-first century.

"The Complete Russian Folktale" makes available to English readers a rich folk tradition that has not been easily accessible or well known in the West. Compared to other European traditions, the East Slavs have an extremely large number of tale types. Using the Russian version of the Aarne-Thompson index to folktale types, and drawing on both archival and written sources dating back to the early sixteenth century, J.V. Haney has assembled and translated examples of the full range of tales. Nearly all of these tales will appear here in translation for the first time. Volume 6 presents tales classified 850-999, which describe the travails of young people who are seeking happiness and love. They portray acts of fate, prophecy, and even divine justice, in a village context of social misery, folk tradition, the aggravations of family life, and the heartaches of the lovelorn. J.V. Haney's extensive introduction and annotations explain the structure of the tales, their place in the A-T system and in folklore studies, and the specifics of their Russian provenance.

This book may set down the myth of June Cleaver once and for all. Chad Dell deftly details a 1950s revolution in the making: millions of women of all ages flocked to wrestling arenas across the country, drawn to a parade of glistening bodies, purple satin capes and characters such as Gorgeous George and Killer Kowalski while millions more roared their approvals as they watched on television. Dell's analysis of television broadcasts, media artifacts, fan club ephemera and interviews with wrestlers and their fans paints a new portrait of women in the 1950s who embraced the power of their passions.

INCLUDES HUNDREDS OF NEW AND EXPANDED ENTRIES From 'Aald Rock' to 'Zeenty-teenty', A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable is an unputdownable gallimaufry of curious items embracing sayings, put-downs, insults, mottos, traditions, legends, folklore, customs, festivals, games, songs, dances, nicknames - and much, much more. This new edition features many expanded entries, as well as completely new ones - including Big Tam, the Third Forth Bridge, the Loony Dook and the War of the One-eyed Woman. The result is a kaleidoscopic snapshot of the Scottish nation, both past and present, from the mythical origins of the Scots in ancient Scythia to the foibles of modern Follyrood, from Sawney Bean to Oor Wullie, from 'The end of an old song' to 'Aw fur coat and nae knickers', from The Heart of Midlothian to 'Ye cannae shove yer granny aff a bus'. In more than 4,500 such entries, A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable weaves an endlessly entertaining tapestry incorporating the texture and fabric of a nation's ever-shifting sense of itself.

Across the world cattle remain absolutely essential to civilization's survival as a source of food, clothing, and labor. Human beings eat beef and ice cream, drink milk, wear leather, and love hamburgers and hot dogs. This book describes the history of the domestication and deification of the cow and bull and their intimate relation to humans. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) scares reveal its continued importance in daily life.

Celtic Lore and Legend includes tales of the heroes and gods from the Great Myth Cycles and tales of witches, ghosts, and fairies--from Sir Walter Scott's Letters on Witchcraft and Demonology and Edmund Burt's Letters from the North of Scotland to Douglas Hyde's Tales of Saints and Sinners and Lady Gregory's Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland. It is also a treasure trove of lesser-known stories, such as Sir Walter Scott's Wandering Willie's Tale, James Hogg's The Brownie of the Black Hags and Don Byrne's A Tale of the Piper. Celtic Lore and Legend is both an examination and celebration of that tradition. It is one of the first attempts to trace the development of these stories from their earliest mythical roots, through the stores of the rural fireside to the writers of fiction who have used Celtic belief as a source for their own stories.