Popular European Folklore Books
Find folklore books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (39)
31.
The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde EN
IrelandDescription:
These special fairy tales, which Oscar Wilde made up for his own sons, include 'The Happy Prince', who was not as happy as he seemed; 'The Selfish Giant', who learned to love little children; 'The Star Child', who suffered bitter trials when he rejected his parents. . . . Often whimsical and sometimes sad, they all shine with poetry and magic.
32.
The Liquid Land by Raphaela Edelbauer EN
AustriaDescription:
A town that doesn't want to be found. A countess who rules over the memories of an entire community. A hole in the earth that threatens to drag them all into its depths. When her parents die in a car accident, the highly talented physicist Ruth Schwarz is confronted with an almost intractable problem. Her parents' will calls for them to be buried in their childhood home -- but for strangers, Gross-Einland is a village that remains stubbornly hidden from view. When Ruth finally finds her way there, she makes a disturbing discovery: beneath the town lies a vast cavern that seems to exert a stran... continue
33.
The Mabinogion by Sioned Davies EN
WalesDescription:
The 11 tales of the Mabinogion combine Celtic mythology and Arthurian romance. This new translation recreates the storytelling world of medieval Wales and re-invests the tales with the power of performance.
34.
The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono EN
FranceDescription:
Twenty years ago Chelsea Green published the first trade edition of The Man Who Planted Trees, a timeless eco-fable about what one person can do to restore the earth. The hero of the story, Elz ard Bouffier, spent his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren section of Provence in the south of France. The result was a total transformation of the landscape-from one devoid of life, with miserable, contentious inhabitants, to one filled with the scent of flowers, the songs of birds, and fresh, flowing water. Since our first publication, the book has sold over a quarter of a mi... continue
35.
Luxembourg36.
The Saga of the Volsungs by author unknown, Jesse L. Byock (translator) EN
IcelandDescription:
One of the great books of world literature--an unforgettable tale of jealousy, unrequited love, greed, and vengeance. Based on Viking Age poems and composed in thirteenth-century Iceland, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend, and sheer human drama in telling of the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer, who acquires runic knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. Yet the saga is set in a very human world, incorporating oral memories of the fourth and fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun and other warriors fought on the northern frontiers of the Roman empire. In his illuminating... continue
37.
The Tinder Box by Hans Christian Andersen EN
DenmarkDescription:
Andersen's bittersweet fairy tales propelled their troubled author to international fame and revolutionized children's writing.
Sweden39.
When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu EN
RussiaDescription:
Nau cannot remember a time when she was not one with the world around her: with the fast breeze, the green grass, the high clouds, and the endless blue sky. But her greatest joy is to descend from her little spit of land to the sea, where the whales gather each morning, gaily spouting rainbows. Then, one day, she finds a man in the mist where a whale should be: Reu, who has taken human form out of his Great Love for her. Together they become parents first to two whales, and then to mankind. Their children grow up, Reu passes on, and still Nau lives. But with each new generation, the old woman'... continue