A Guide to Resources on the Web
by William Barker
This page is an introduction to some of the resources
currently available for fairy tales and related short narrative forms. I
have prepared this to go with
course at Dalhousie University on fairy tales. There is a lot
more that could go on here, but this is a start.
Folklore and Mythology
This is an amazing resource, compiled by D.L. Ashliman now retired from the
Department of German Languages and Literatures of the University of
Pittsburgh. It brings together multiple literary and oral-recorded
variants of tales under the Aarne-Thompson numbers.
Grimms' Fairy Tales
A text of the 1884
Margaret Hunt translation prepared by a group of students at Memorial
University of Newfoundland.
On his folklore site D.L. Ashliman gives a
full listing of the
tales with Aarne-Thompson numbers. Ashliman also provides a useful reference page for the
Grimms. He appears to be translating the tales afresh. The German texts appear at
There is a handy
teaching edition of a small number of stories on a site maintained by
Robert Godwin-Jones at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Edgar Taylor
translation of 1812 is found in a text by Gutenberg.
A full set of tales, using a widely circulated but unattributed
translation, but accompanied by a German text in parallel, is found at Northvegr, the
work having been done by Yves Kodratoff.
Charles Perrault's Mother Goose
A bit of background is found at D.L. Ashliman's site for Folk and Fairy Tales (also listed
below). The tales are given in French on the site "à Lyon".
Hans Christian Andersen's Tales
Contains a list, with most in translation, of all of the stories. Translation is by H.P. Paull,
Andrew Lang's Fairy
The Gutenberg texts of the famous colour series
assembled by Andrew Lang (1844-1912), a notable folkore scholar in his
time. Attractively assembled by Laura Gibbs.
Twelve literary variants of the Cinderella story, organized by Michael N. Salda with students from the
University of Southern Mississippi. For a while was off-line.
Little Red Riding Hood Project
Sixteen variants of Little Red
Riding Hood, organized by Michael N. Salda from the University of Southern
Mississippi. As the preceding.
A project devoted to discussion and analysis of Snow White, with 36 variants.
This site gives several locations for a number of the
tales, in the 19th-century translation of Sir Richard Burton.
An outstanding resource for a related genre, the fable. The site was
prepared by Laura Gibbs who is a leading expert in the field.
A thorough bibliography devoted to Snow White in particular and fairy tales in general.
Fairy Tales: A List of Secondary
This list is compiled by the maker of this page, William Barker. Emphasis on
Bibliography on the Brothers Grimm and their Tales
A list by Professor Margaret Yocom at George Mason University.
A guide to resources.
Mythology and Folklore
A very extensive list of links by P.I.B. Burns of Northwestern University.
Folk and Fairy Tales
Another list by by D.L. Ashliman of
The Children's Literature Web
A very full resource, from David K. Brown at the University of Calgary.
Courses on Fairy Tales
Courses that have been offered at various institutions. There are always
new ones cropping up. Regrettably old descriptions are removed from the
internet. This section needs revision.
Brothers Grimm and Fairy
Back to Fairy Tales
Peter Tokofsky has been working as an adjunct professor in the UCLA World Arts and Culture
Department. This appears to be a course he put on at an extension division of Johns Hopkins
University. An excellent range of readings. [Spring 1993; alas, as of
last checking in May 2001, no longer on the web.]
Russian Fairy Tales
A course at University of Pittsburgh by David J. Birnbaum, of the Department of Slavic
Languages and Literature. [Fall 1998]
Critical Approaches to the German Fairy Tale
Taught by Roswitha Burwick from the German Department at Scripps College in Claremont,
California. [Fall 1995; now off the web as of January 2004]
English 513 Folk Narrative
An English course by Margaret R. Yocom at George Mason University. Professor Yocom
provides an excellent Selected
Annotated Bibliography on the Brothers Grimm and their Tales.
[Spring 1999; course description gone as of January 2004]
Back to English Department
Page made by William
Last modified 23 October 2005