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A Book of Witches
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | Ruth Manning-Sanders |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Robin Jacques |
| Cover artist | Robin Jacques |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fairy Tales |
| Publisher | E. P. Dutton |
| Released | 1966 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 127 pp |
A Book of Witches is a 1966 anthology of 12 fairy tales from Europe that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders.
This book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1965, by Methuen & Co. Ltd.
Some of tales from this book are recollected in A Choice of Magic (1971) by Manning-Sanders.
In the foreword, the author writes: "There are good witches and bad witches; but the number of the bad witches is great, and the number of the good witches is small. And since the business of the good witches is mainly to undo the mischief made by the bad ones, their stories are not very interesting." Manning-Sanders indicates that Tatterhood is the only tale in the collection that makes any mention of a good witch. The author goes on to say that bad witches are quite powerful and can fly on broomsticks, stalks of ragwort or even old jars.
- 1. The Old Witch (England)
- 2. Rapunzel (Germany)
- 3. Lazy Hans (Germany)
- 4. The Twins and the Snarling Witch (Russia)
- 5. Esben and the Witch (Denmark)
- 6. Prunella (Italy)
- 7. The Donkey Lettuce (Germany)
- 8. Hansel and Gretel (Germany)
- 9. Tatterhood (Norway)
- 10. The White Dove (Denmark)
- 11. Johnny and the Witch-Maidens (Bohemia)
- 12. The Blackstairs Mountain (Ireland)
Some of Manning-Sanders' other anthologies also include tales about witches. Most notably, Old Witch Boneyleg contains 13 witch fairy tales. Also, the Russian tale Vasilissa Most Lovely (with the notable witch Baba Yaga) can be found in A Book of Enchantments and Curses.