Russian Fairy Tales - Paperback

by Aleksandr Afanas'ev (Author)

Beautifully illustrated, here is the most comprehensive collection of classic Russian tales available in English.

This comprehensive collection introduces readers to universal fairy-tale figures and to such uniquely Russian characters such as Koshchey the Deathless, Baba Yaga, the Swan Maiden, and the glorious Firebird. The more than 175 tales culled from a landmark multi-volume collection by the outstanding Russian ethnographer Aleksandr Afanas'ev reveal a rich, robust world of the imagination.

Translated by Norbert Guterman
Illustrated by Alexander Alexeieff
With black-and-white illustrations throughout
Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

Front Jacket

Nearly 200 characteristic and colorful traditional folk and fairy tales are brought together in the only comprehensive edition available in English. Of the original 1945 edition, Eudora Welty wrote, "These Russian tales are rambunctious, full-blooded and temperamental. They are tense with action, magical and human, and move in a kind of cyclone of speed....These tales are gorgeous."

Author Biography

ALEKSANDR AFANAS'EV (1826-1871) published his groundbreaking collection of Russian folktales and fairy tales in eight volumes, from 1855 to 1867. His success in polarizing Russian folklore and culture is reflected in the work of writers and composers from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to Igor Stravinsky.

NORBERT GUTERMAN (1900-1984) was a Polish-born translator of scholarly and literary works from French, Polish, Latin, and Russian. Immigrating to the United States in 1933, he also translated works by Bella Chagall, Paracelsus, and Henry Lefebvre.

ALEXANDER ALEXEIEFF (1901-1982) was a Russian-born artist, film animator, filmmaker, and illustrator who created the artwork for Pantheon's first edition of Doctor Zhivago.