Forty Four Turkish Fairy Tales (paperback)

Brand-new, hot-off-the-press direct to you - published to raise funds for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

This paperback volume is a treasure chest of classic Eastern tales drawing on the rich folklore of Turkey. Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales has not been in print for almost 100 years, mainly because the original edition had lavish production standards. On the used market, mint copies of the 1913 original can cost up to four figures. This volume is appropriately titled Fairy Tales because something definitely 'fairy' occurs. There are talking animals, flying horses, birds that magically change into beautiful maidens, quests to win the hand of a princess, magical objects, simple, yet brave, peasants, wizards, witches, dragons and dungeons, epic journeys, and loveable fools. The majority of these stories contain encounters with 'Dews', or Turkish supernatural beings, better known in the West as 'Genies.' Sometimes the Turkish Dews are also called 'Arabs!' There are many other specifically Turkish elements and references in the stories, for which the glossary at the end of the book is of particular help. So this isn't simply an orientalised set of European Tales, but was drawn from an authentic Turkish oral storytelling tradition by Dr. Ignacz Kunos.

Plus, there are almost 200 illustrations exquisitely crafted by Willy Pogany. While our production is not as lavish as the original, it does contain the original illustrations.

Note: some of the illustrations could be considered unsuitable by 21st Century standards because they can be considered as caricatures with obvious ethnic stereotypes. However, in most cases, the illustrator is portraying imaginary creatures, which are supposed to be grotesque. Also to be remembered is the book was originally produced in 1913 when the world’s attitudes towards racial tolerance and acceptance were quite different to those of today.