do you have any suggestions for books to read about fairy-tales to learn more about their origins?
Sure!! To learn more about the origins of fairy tales one would generally just needs to read fairy tales, as many as possible, as many older versions and retellings as possible, so I would suggest:
Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and introduced by Cornelia Funke (this is a reasonably recent translation of some of the original tales, with a short introduction)
Best-Loved Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (a huge collection of gorgeous Scandinavian tales)
Long Ago and Far Away: Eight Traditional Fairy Tales introduced by Marina Warner (this one I put so, so much emphasis on; this book has eight of the first ever recorded versions of fairy tales that we know today: the original Sleeping Beauty as it was published in ‘Perceforest’, the tale ‘Undine’ that The Little Mermaid came to be based off, and other wonderful stories, as well as a brilliant foreword that provides context. It is the ideal book for learning about the original European fairy tales.)
The World’s Best Fairy Tales: A Reader’s Digest Anthology (if you want a solid but basic introduction to fairy tales, this is the book for you. It has some German, some French, some Russian, Scandinavian, English, Arabian, and I am fairly certain I am forgetting some, as well as a short introduction on the origins of fairy tales in general. This book was my childhood, essentially.)
Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov (the ultimate collection of Russian fairy tales and folk tales)
Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs
Fantastic Worlds - Edited and with Commentaries by Eric S. Rabkin (an anthology of fantasy stories including fairy tales, folklore and myths from a range of countries that discusses their origins and the genre itself)
The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights (these stories are some of the best fairy tales you will ever read and I strongly recommend you read them if you have not already)
A History of Irish Fairies by Carolyn White (this is not so much fairy tales as the myths and folklore of fairies, but it is a brilliant book and helps one to understand a lot of where the ideas of fairies in fairy tales come from)
Mermaids: The Myths, Legends and Lore by Skye Alexander (again this is more folklore than fairy tales but it helps you to understand where a lot of the fairy tales have originated from)
This list is now excessively long I’m sorry but there you go xx
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