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Chapter II  Chapbooks and Fairytales

In Great Britain, fairytales that recount unrealistic events set in the distant past used to be considered inappropriate for children for religious reasons. In the late 18th century, however, all kinds of stories were made available through chapbooks (booklets featuring popular contents and cheaply distributed by peddlers), attracting and fascinating many children.

Behind the popularity of children's stories in chapbooks were the spread of reading by children in a wider social stratum through Sunday school and the growing desire of those children to read "their own stories" that had once been narrated orally. On the other hand, a movement condemning fairytales as unenlightened and superstitious from a religious, moral and educational perspective grew stronger during the same period, leading to the popularization of moralistic stories.

Nevertheless, fairytales continued spreading gradually, particularly after the publication by Newbery around 1768 of English translations of stories by Charles Perrault (1628-1703), who had been highly acclaimed in France. Other translations of children's stories and folktales from around the world followed, such as stories by Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859) in 1823 and Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) in the 1840s. The resulting revival of fairytales gave rise to a new literary trend of fantasy fueled by creativity and imagination.

Thumbnail of The Oracles : containing some particulars of the history of Billy and Kitty Wilson : including anecdotes of their playfellows, &c. : intended for the entertainment of the little world.

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The Oracles : containing some particulars of the history of Billy and Kitty Wilson : including anecdotes of their playfellows, &c. : intended for the entertainment of the little world.
Publication etc.
London : Printed for J. Harris, [1804]

Detail of The Oracles : containing some particulars of the history of Billy and Kitty Wilson : including anecdotes of their playfellows, &c. : intended for the entertainment of the little world.

Thumbnail of The Pentamerone, or, The story of stories

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The Pentamerone, or, The story of stories /
by Giambattista Basile ; translated from the Neapolitan by John Edward Taylor ; with illustrations by George Cruikshank.(The Children's library)
Publication etc.
New York : Cassell, 1893.

Detail of The Pentamerone, or, The story of stories

Thumbnail of Histories or tales of past times told by Mother Goose with morals

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Histories or tales of past times told by Mother Goose with morals /
written in French by M. Perrault, & Englished by G.M. Gent ; newly edited by J. Saxon Childers.
Publication etc.
London : Nonesuch Press, 1925.

Detail of Histories or tales of past times told by Mother Goose with morals

Thumbnail of The fairy ring : a collection of tales and traditions

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The fairy ring : a collection of tales and traditions /
translated from the German of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm by John Edward Taylor ; illustrated by Richard Doyle.
Publication etc.
London : J. Murray, 1857.

Detail of The fairy ring : a collection of tales and traditions

Thumbnail of Fairy tales

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Fairy tales /
by Hans Christian Andersen.
Publication etc.
London : Ward, Lock & Co., [1900]

Detail of Fairy tales

Thumbnail of The cricket on the hearth : a fairy tale of home

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The cricket on the hearth : a fairy tale of home /
by Charles Dickens.
Publication etc.
London : Bradbury and Evans, 1846.

Detail of The cricket on the hearth : a fairy tale of home

Thumbnail of Fairy know-a-bit

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Fairy know-a-bit /
by A.L.O.E.(A nutshell of knowledge.)
Publication etc.
London : T. Nelson and Sons, 1866.

Detail of Fairy know-a-bit