Short description:

Jack Zipes has uncovered this neglected treasure trove, a 19th-century collection of Sicilian folk and fairy tales. Like the Grimm brothers before her, Laura Gonzenbach, a talented Swiss-German born in Sicily, set out to gather up the tales told and retold among the peasants.

Long description:

In one of the most startling literary discoveries of recent years, Jack Zipes has uncovered this neglected treasure trove of Sicilian folk and fairy tales. Like the Grimm brothers before her, Laura Gonzenbach, a talented Swiss-German born in Sicily, set out to gather up the tales told and retold among the peasants. Gonzenbach collected wonderful stories - some on subjects that readers will know from the Grimms or Perrault, some entirely new - and published them in German. Her early death and the destruction of her papers in the Messina earthquake of 1908 only add to the mystery behind her achievement. Beautiful Angiola is an instant classic: a nineteenth-century collection of stories in the great tradition of fairy and folk tales now translated into English for the first time. Gonzenbach delights us with heroines and princes, sorcery and surprise, the deeds of the brave and the treacherous, and the magic of the true storyteller. The Green Bird , The Humiliated Princess , sorfarina , The Magic Cane, the Golden Donkey, and the Little Stick that Hits are titles destine to become new favourites for readers everywhere. Yet while the stories enchant us, the wry taglines with which they often end ("And so they remained rich and consoled, while we keep sitting here and are getting old") gently bring us back to earth.

"These books are the first English translations of a collection of Sicilian folk and fairy tales, published in High German by a Swiss woman who was born in Messina in 1842!" -- Applessed Quarterly

"Jack Zipes has made accessible to English readers a fine collection of Sicilian folk and fairy tales heretofore little known outside the circle of specialists in Italian folk narrative." -- Linda J. Lee, University of Pennsylvania, Western Folklore

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Laura Gonzenbach's Buried Treasure A Note on the Translation and the Acknowledgements 1. Sorfarina 2. The Green Bird 3. The Snake Who Bore Witness for a Maiden 4. The Sister of Muntifiuri 5. The Story about Ciccu 6. Count Piro 7. Beautiful Angiola 8. Betta Pilusa 9. Lignu di Scupa 10. Don Giovanni di la Fortuna 11. Federico and Epomata 12. The Fearless Young Man 13. Caruseddu 14. How St. Joseph Helped a Young Man Win the Daughter of a King 15. The Courageous Maiden 16. The Humiliated Princess 17. Rags and Leaves 18. The Brave Shoemaker 19. Prince Scursuni 20. Maria and her Brother 21. Autumunti and Paccaredda 22. Giuf&&&224; 23. The Magic Cane, the Gold Donkey, and the Little Stick That Hits 24. The Singing Bagpipe 25. Giovanni and Katerina 26. The Shepherd Who Made the Princess Laugh 27. Beautiful Cardia 28. Quaddaruni and his Sister 29. The Daughter of the Sun 30. Paperarello 31. The Lion, Horse, and Fox 32. Giuseppinu 33. Criv&&&242;liu 34. Saint Oniri&&&224; 35. The Abbot Who Rescued the Princess 36. Fata Morgana 37. The Pig King 38. The Courageous Prince and his Many Adventures 39. The King Who Wanted a Beautiful Wife 40. Ferrazzzanu 41. Sciauranciovi 42. Cacciaturino 43. The Virgin Mary's Child 44. The Story about Ohmy 45. The Daughter of the Prince Cirimimminu 46. The Godchild of Saint Francis of Paula 47. The Story about the Merchant's Son Peppino 48. Spad&&&242;nia 49. King Cardiddu 50. The Princess and King Chicchereddu 51. The Clever Maiden 52. The Robber with a Witch's Head 53. The Clever Farmer's Daughter 54. The Count and his Sister 55. Clever Peppe 56. Maria, the Evil Stepmother, and the Seven Robbers 57. Bensurdatu 58. The Rooster Who Wanted to Become Pope 59. The Brave Prince 60. The Innkeeper's Beautiful Daughter 61. The Beautiful Maiden with the Seven Veils 62. The Merchant's Clever Youngest Daughter 63. Maruzzedda 64. Armaiinu 65. The Golden Lion 66. The Twelve Robbers 67. Three Good Pieces of Advice 68. Tobi&&&224; and Tobi&&&242;la 69. Joseph the Just 70. The Two Brothers 71. The Seven Brothers with Magic Talents 72. The Pious Young Man Who Went to Rome 73. Sabedda and her Brother 74. The Clever Shoemaker 75. The Twins 76. Beautiful Innocenta 77. The Wicked Schoolmaster and the Wandering Princess 78. The Four Princesses 79. Zafarana 80. Peasant Truthful 81. About Joseph, Who Set Out to Seek his Fortune 82. The Wasteful Giovanninu 83. The Banished Queen and her Two Abandoned Children 84. The Pious Child 85. Katerina's Fate 86. Godfather Death 87. Beautiful Anna 88. The Dragon Slayer 89. Saint James of Galicia 90. The Hermit 91. The Prince's Two Children from Monteleone 92. The Clever Farmer 93. The Two Comrades 94. The Story of the Three Sisters Notes Bibliography