| Description |
1 online resource (300 pages) : illustrations |
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text file |
| Summary |
Annotation 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. |
| Audience |
College Audience McGill-Queen's University Press. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Part one History. Early Storytellers -- The Oldest "Fairy" Tale -- The Manuscript -- Folk Tales and Fairy Tales. |
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Part two Characters. Fairies -- Elves -- Dwarfs -- Household Spirits -- Water Dwellers -- Giants -- Souls and Spirits. |
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Part three Stories from the Pagan Year. Festival Days -- Beltaine -- Samain -- Midwinter and Midsummer. |
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Part four Storytellers' Themes. Wishing, or Dreams Come True -- The Triple Form -- Shape-Shifting -- Omens and Prophecies -- Between Two Worlds -- Spells -- Trees -- The Invisible World -- A Fairy Tale Almost Forgotten. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Fairy tales -- Europe -- History and criticism.
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Fairy tales. |
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Europe. |
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Fairy tales -- Europe -- Classification.
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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Classification.
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Electronic books.
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Criticism, interpretation, etc.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Children into swans. (CaOONL)20149036469 |
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Print version: Beveridge, Jan, 1945- Children into swans. Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2014 0773543945 (OCoLC)879528710 |
| ISBN |
9780773543942 |
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0773543945 (Trade Cloth) |
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9780773596160 (electronic book) |
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077359616X (electronic book) |
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9780773596177 (electronic book) |
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0773596178 (electronic book) |
| Standard No. |
9780773543942 |
| Report No. |
JSTOR purchased |
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