Children into Swans: Fairy Tales and the Pagan Imagination

by Jan Beveridge

Overview

Fairy tales are alive with the supernatural - elves, dwarfs, fairies, giants, and trolls, as well as witches with magic wands and sorcerers who cast spells and enchantments. Children into Swans examines these motifs in a range of ancient stories. Moving from the rich period of nineteenth-century fairy tales back as far as the earliest folk literature of northern Europe, Jan Beveridge shows how long these supernatural features have been a part of storytelling, with ancient tales, many from Celtic and Norse mythology, that offer glimpses into a remote era and a pre-Christian sensibility. The earliest stories often show significant differences from what we might expect. Elves mingle with Norse gods, dwarfs belong to a proud clan of magician-smiths, and fairies are shape-shifters emerging from the hills and the sea mist. In story traditions with roots in a pre-Christian imagination, an invisible other world exists alongside our own. From the lost cultures of a thousand years ago, Children into Swans opens the door on some of the most extraordinary worlds ever portrayed in literature - worlds that are both starkly beautiful and full of horrors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773596177
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jan Beveridge is an independent researcher. She lives in Elora, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Children into Swans provides an excellent overview of the history of fairy tales from Perrault to the nineteenth-century collectors/authors such as the brothers Grimm – fascinating and accessible, it will be of great interest to a broad range of readers.” Joanne Findon, Department of English at Trent University


“Beveridge provides a concise, comprehensive, scholarly, and fascinating read on myths and fairy and folk tales from Europe, including Scandinavia, during the pre-Christian and Middle Ages through the 19th century. Recommended for mythology scholars and g


“A persuasive tracing of the pagan origins of many elements in the fairy tale tradition. [Beveridge’s] personable, conversational style throughout the book takes the reader along on a journey of discovery—back through centuries to early pagan tales that a

From the Publisher

11/15/2014
In this captivating book, independent researcher Beveridge successfully provides readers with a lively discussion of common concepts and themes found in ancient myths, legends, folk, and fairy tales. Focusing primarily on Celtic and Norse mythology, topics include early storytellers and the preservation of ancient tales via manuscripts; the origins and cultural significance of common mythological characters such as dwarves, elves, and giants; Christianity's effects on traditional myth and ties to pagan celebrations such as Samhain; common themes such as shapeshifting and an alternate, invisible world. The text is well researched and accessible, sprinkled with short fairy and folk tales, myths, and additionally often referencing well-known or seminal poems, stories, and manuscripts such as Walter Wangerin Jr.'s The Book of the Dun Cow, the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, Beowulf, etc. An exhaustive bibliography and helpful notes are included. VERDICT Beveridge provides a concise, comprehensive, scholarly, and fascinating read on myths and fairy and folk tales from Europe, including Scandinavia, during the pre-Christian and Middle Ages through the 19th century. Recommended for mythology scholars and general interest readers alike—Jennifer Harris, Southern New Hampshire Univ. Lib., Manchester

Library Journal