The Tale of Tales

The name of Giambattista Basile (1583–1632), the author of «The Tale of Tales», has only recently become known to Russian-speaking readers, yet the stories of Basile are well-known to them — in the retelling of Charles Perrault, Carlo Gozzi, and the Brothers Grimm. However, in the hands of the Neapolitan author, these wandering plots often take on rather unexpected hues: here, Cinderella can give her stepmother a run for her money, and the sleeping beauty does not behave particularly well after awakening... Frivolous and even cruel plots, the intervention of fairies and ogres, heroes who don't mince words, the fervor of youth and the gloom of old age, moral lessons and adventures — all of this is packed into a five-day fairy tale marathon, with fifty entertaining and instructive stories (hence another title of the book — «Pentamerone», «five days»). The edition is illustrated with the works of English artist Warwick Goble.