Happily Ever After Is Not All That It Seems... (A Handy Infographic)

Just sent to me today as part of a promotion for a book any fairy tale student (or regular reader) should have, is this great infographic, created by the Norton Critical Editions team. We see a lot of infographics floating around these days but one of the best things about this one is I know the team will have done their research properly to create it, so you can trust this summary and use it confidently for reference.

I love the artwork too - very nice, yet easy to quickly reference all the information. Look at that neat list of referenced fairy tales at the bottom to. It's a very neat resource to have on hand. (Can we get a poster please?)

Here's a link to the Norton Critical Edition of The Classic Fairy Tales, edited by Maria Tartar, if you don't already have a copy, or need another to give to a friend.

In case it's not already clear, this book is highly recommended for any fairy tale study library, from the casual student to those more inclined to serious scholarship.

Here's the summary:

Fairy tales shape our cultures and enrich our imaginations; their narrative stability and cultural durability are incontestable. 

This Norton Critical Edition collects forty-four fairy tales, from the fifth century to the present. The Classic Fairy Tales focuses on six tale types: "Little Red Riding Hood," "Beauty and the Beast," "Snow White," "Cinderella," "Bluebeard," and "Hansel and Gretel," and presents multicultural variants and sophisticated literary rescriptings. Also reprinted are tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde. 

"Criticism" gathers twelve essays that interpret aspects of fairy tales, including their social origins, historical evolution, psychological drama, gender issues, and national identities. 

A Selected Bibliography is included.