The Cambridge Companion to Fairy Tales

Fairy tales – they help us make sense of our world, incorporating symbolism and morality tales in stories with a magical undercurrent. For so many of us, the symbols have become part of our cultural identities. As this academic compilation suggests, if we see a girl in a red coat or cloak walking down a woodland path or even a suburban street, without realising it consciously, we will often think of Red Riding Hood, wolves and danger. A red apple will make us think of Snow White.

Compiled by the Harvard Professor Maria Tatar, this work compares fairy tales to...