Swedish Folktales and Legends

By George Blecher

Book Overview

A unique collection of Sweden's most charming folktales

Swedish Folktales and Legends is a diverse and representative collection of stories from Sweden's centuries-old folklore tradition. Ranging from the ribald to the romantic, from the rustic to the mythical, these are lively translations of 150 tales drawn from unique sources including the Swedish National Folklore Archives and numerous private collections, while the humorous and dramatic illustrations are gathered from classic volumes of Swedish folktales. Lone Thygesen Blecher's engaging introduction details the purpose and background of folktales and legends as well as the history of their collection. This distinctive selection presents the storytelling artistry of Sweden's lush folkloric tradition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816645752
• ISBN13: 9780816645756
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 383 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

good, but could be better

This collection was reasonably amusing. The selection of characters was diverse, and there was an appropriate mixture of both bawdy and "toilet" humor. However, I kept getting the feeling that I was reading second-hand tellings of the Norwegian classics of Asbjornsen and Moe. This collection truly pales by comparison to the high degree of art evidenced in the A & M stories. By the way, why did the designers of this book choose a paper-bag-colored cover?

Great book!

This is a great book. I read it alot myself and also to mysister. Some of these stories are very funny while others are more'romantic' (sorta). You just have to read it, one of my sister's favorites is "The Princess of Catburg".

Great book!

I just want to say this is a great collection of folk tales. There is a lot of variety and some of the tales are so funny!