Joseph Jacobs
Folklorist Joseph Jacobs is credited with helping many folk tales be saved from extinction, and he helped popularize many of the tales we still read today, including Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Jacobs edited Folklore, a journal from England’s Folklore Society, and several anthologies. As most of the fairy tale collections available featured tales with German and French origins, he wanted English children to read their own heritage as well. He began collecting English fairy tales, with the first anthology English Fairy Tales, and in 1892, published Celtic Fairy Tales.
With Celtic Fairy Tales, Jacobs wanted to help preserve the Celtic lore, saying, “The Celtic folk- tales have been collected while the practice of story-telling is still in full vigour, though there are every signs that its term of life is already numbered. The more the reason why they should be collected and put on record while there is yet time.” As he collected the tales for Celtic Fairy Tales, Jacobs didn’t try to retell the stories in plain English, but instead, held their original language as faithfully as possible. One reason, he cited, is because the few words that the reader doesn’t know can add color and enhance the narrative. Celtic Fairy Tales features 26 tales from the Celtic people, with stories of both the natural and the magic. A second volume, More Celtic Fairy Tales, arrived in 1894. Indian Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs’ first book of folklore from India, was published in 1910.
The Fairytalez Audio App for Apple and Android devices features several of the author’s fairy tales and folk tales in audiobook.
Fairy tales by Joseph Jacobs
- A Lac of Rupees for a Piece of Advice
- A Lesson for Kings
- The Ass in the Lion's Skin
- The Ass, the Table and the Stick
- Andrew Coffey
- Binnorie
- The Broken Pot
- The Boy Who Had a Moon on His Forehead and a Sun on His Chin
- Black Bull of Norroway
- Black Bull of Norroway
- Beth Gellert
- The Battle of the Birds
- Brewery of Eggshells
- The Buried Moon
- Catskin
- Cap-of-Rushes
- The Cruel Crane Outwitted
- Childe Rowland
- The Charmed Ring
- Connla and the Fairy Maiden
- The Cat and the Mouse
- Conal Yellowclaw
- The Cauld Lad of Hilton
- Cinder-Maid (Joseph Jacobs' Version of Cinderella)
- Coat O'Clay
- The Children in the Wood
- The Gold-Giving Serpent
- The Golden Arm
- Guleesh
- The Golden Ball
- Gold-tree and Silver-tree
- Gobborn Seer
- How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune
- How Fin Went to the Kingdom of Big Men
- How the Raja's Son Won the Princess Labam
- Henny-Penny
- Harisarman
- Hereafterthis
- The Horned Women
- Hudden and Dudden and Donald O'Neary
- How the Wicked Sons Were Duped
- The Hedley Kow
- The Hobyahs
- Jack Hannaford
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- Jack and His Golden Snuff Box
- Jack the Giant-Killer
- Johnny-Cake
- Jack and His Comrades
- Johnny Gloke
- The Lion and the Crane
- The Lambikin
- Loving Laili
- Lazy Jack
- The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh
- Lawkamercyme
- The Lad with the Goat-Skin
- The Lambton Worm
- Mr. Vinegar
- Mouse and Mouser
- The Magic Fiddle
- The Master and His Pupil
- Molly Whoppie
- Mr. Fox
- Mr. Miacca
- My Own Self
- The Magpie's Nest
- Munachar and Manachar
- Master of All Masters
- Punchkin
- Pride Goeth Before a Fall
- Preface
- The Pied Piper
- The Prince and the Fakir
- The Pigeon and the Crow
- The Peddlar of Swaffham
- Princess of Canterbury
- Stupid's Cries
- Smallhead and the King's Sons
- The Story of the Three Little Pigs
- The Story of the Three Bears
- The Soothsayer's Son
- The Son of Seven Queens
- The Strange Visitor
- Sun, Moon and Wind Go out to Dinner
- The Shepherd of Myddvai
- The Sprightly Tailor
- Sir Gammer Vans
- The Story of Deidre
- Scrapegoat
- A Son of Adam
- Tom Tit Tot
- The Three Sillies
- Teeny-Tiny
- Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse
- The Tiger, the Brahman and the Jackal
- The Talkative Tortoise
- The History of Tom Thumb
- Three Feathers
- Tom Hickathrift
- The Three Heads of the Well
- Tattercoats
- The Tale of Ivan
- The Three Cows
- The Three Wishes
- Whittington and His Cat
- Why the Fish Laughed
- The Well of the World's End
- The Wooing of Olwen
- The Wee Bannock
- The Wise Men of Gotham
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