People who love fairy tales will pick up every fairy tale retelling and every nonfiction title on fairy tales that is available. People is me.
This is a lovely book that sheds light on the broader tradition of storytelling and fairy tales, not just the Grimm's we all know and love.

An enjoyable read spanning centuries and continents as Nicholas Jubber traces the origins of fairy tales and their authors. From the streets of 16th century Naples to Kashmir, from markets of Aleppo to the literary salons of Enlightenment France, this is an exuberant yarn, encompassing cultural and social (as well as literary) history, oral traditions, personal travelogue and let’s not forget the tales themselves. It’s also well researched and Jubber makes some good points about transmission of tales, how they have changed over time and place and how universal they are. It’s an interesting read although I did find it a little breathless at times. It has inspired me to spend time over holidays dipping into Grimms, A Thousand and One Nights as well as Angela Carter’s wonderful collection, it’s been too long. Three and a half stars, which I’m rounding up to four for its sheer enthusiasm.

My thanks to John Murray Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Fairy Tellers.

this was such an interesting read! i would recommend it to anyone interested in the roots of the fairy tales we always hear about but not exactly know the origins of. also that cover is just so pretty.

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with the digital copy.