Books like The fairy tale by Steven Swann Jones

Steven Swann Jones offers a comprehensive study of fairy tales that serves as both an essential introduction and a fresh scholarly contribution. He charts the genre's origins and its development across three millennia, synthesizing psychological, sociohistorical, and formalist approaches taken by researchers. Jones identifies five distinguishing characteristics that set fairy tales apart from myths, legends, and other folk narratives. Through close readings of works such as *The Wizard of Oz* and *The Cat in the Hat*, he illustrates these traits and encourages readers to examine fairy tales from new, multifaceted viewpoints, including considerations of gendered protagonists. The book concludes with a chronology of fairy tales from Boccaccio’s *The Decameron* to Dr. Seuss’s *Where the Wild Things Are*, a reflective bibliography, and a curated reading list, making it an indispensable resource for students, scholars, and general readers alike.

First publish date: 1995