The Fairy Books

This book is divided into two parts: Part I - Detective Stories from Real Life, and Part II - True Stories of Modern Magic. This is not Andrew Lang's Complete "Fair Book " Series as advertised.

I was excited to see this collection, having lost my separate books over many years and many moves. However, sadly with the passage of time my eyes have deteriorated, and the print in this collection is small. It is readable, but my eyes will get tired soon. I will not be able to have a long binge with this edition. Each page has two columns of print. Also, unfortunately there are none of those wonderful illustrations. It will be useful as a reference compendium. The stories are still wonderful.

Around the turn of the last century Andrew Lang published several volumes of folk and fairy tales from around the world. All the volumes were named after colors: "The Red Fairy Book," "The Green Fairy Book," "The Lilac Fairy Book," etc. As the title may reveal, "The Rainbow Fairy Book" is a compilation of tales from all of the different volumes. There are familiar favorites like "Cinderella" and "Puss in Boots" as well as some lesser-known stories like "The Nixy" and "The Water of Life." The table of contents lists the tales and their country of origin, which is interesting, but I would have liked to know which of the "Fairy Books" each was first published in. That's really my only criticism. Other than that it's nearly perfect. This particular edition has very good quality binding, thick, glossy paper and beautiful full-color illustrations. I've had my copy since I was seven. It's seen a lot of love, but it's still in great condition. But I'm not selling it. Sorry.