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Once upon a Time There Was Truth
or, Why We Need Fairy Tales
Brief Description
Essays on imagining a better world in dark times, from one of our most esteemed scholars of fairy tales Fairy tales take us to a world where magic is commonplace, where wishing works, where the conflicts in our hearts are literalised in the world around us....
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Format: Hardback
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Description
Essays on imagining a better world in dark times, from one of our most esteemed scholars of fairy tales
Fairy tales take us to a world where magic is commonplace, where wishing works, where the conflicts in our hearts are literalised in the world around us. The living, vibrant, democratic genre of the fairy tale draws stories from people and places all over the globe, and spreads them just as broadly.
Yet in a world exhausted by war, famine, climate devastation, and political strife, are these tales still valid? Are they merely an escape, or are they something more? The eminent folklorist Jack Zipes argues here that fairy tales remain relevant and powerful, that they still speak truth to power. Indeed, he writes, we cannot do without them.
In this collection of essays on such beloved tales as “Hansel and Gretel” and “Puss in Boots”; on the authors L. Frank Baum, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and the Brothers Grimm; and on the dubious influence of Disney, Zipes introduces readers to the history of the fairy tale and explores why the stories retain such a fierce hold on our imagination. He argues vigorously for the fighting utopian spirit the tales uphold—something our world sorely needs.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780300282382
Publisher: Yale University Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 09 June 2026
Country: United States
Imprint: Yale University Press
Illustration: 9 b-w illus.
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 140.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 200
About the Author
Jack Zipes is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. He has edited more than twenty collections of fairy tales and many books about fairy tales and children’s stories. He also translates tales, including The Wounded Storyteller: The Traumatic Tales of E. T. A. Hoffmann. He lives in Minneapolis, MN.
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