Italian Popular Tales

An important reintroduction to this literature this compilation of Thomas Crane''s original translations of Italian folk stories includes new critical analysis.For 19th-century folklorist Thomas Crane the value of collecting translating and reproducing folktales lay in their internationalismtheir capacity to reveal how the customs of a particular group no matter how unique are linked to many others his classic collection edited and updated by contemporary folklorist Jack Zipes Crane traces the roots of Italian folktales to their origins often in the Orient then shows how they diffused in unpredictable and marvelous ways throughout Italy and over the centuries. A contemporary of the brothers Grimm Crane offers a richer more complex selection of oral and literary tales. Unlike the Grimms he doesn''t edit or modify the tales which deal openly with surprisingly contemporary subjects: murder adultery incest child abuse and brutal vengeance.