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1996
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96-1-068
Vol.
1 (1993) 194 p. ISBN 3-86097-180-8: DM 85.00
Vol. 2. 1993/94 (1994) 228 p. ISBN 3-86097-181-6: DM
85.00
Although the title suggests comprehensive coverage, this bibliography cites only monographs, and almost exclusively publications from German- and English-speaking countries. The compilers base their entries on publishers' announcements and partially on book-in-hand evaluation. Volume 2, for example, consists of the basic bibliography arranged alphabetically according to author, plus indexes of authors, German subject terms (volume 3 promises to supply English terms instead), place names, ethnic groups, and series. The reviewer sees no reason to purchase this bibliography for his library, especially because its organization renders it useless as an acquisitions tool. [sh/mjc]
96-1-071
Vol. 1. A - K. 1995. ixx, 771
p.
Vol. 2. L - Z. 1995. p. 773 - 1621
This encyclopedia is a revision and expansion of Das Lexikon der Zaubermärchen (Stuttgart, 1982) by the same author. It now comprises 500 entries (compared to 120 in the earlier edition) and covers all types of folktales. It is an essential handbook for the researcher as well as the lover of folktales and a worthy continuation of the commentary to Grimm's fairy tales in Johannes Bolte and Georg Polivka's Anmerkungen zu den Kinder- und Hausmärchen der Brüder Grimm (1913-32; reprint, 1963). The articles are arranged in alphabetical order, and similar elements of plot and content are keyed to 187 "Leitfassungen," or archetypal versions. The largest number of versions is taken from the brothers Grimms' collection, but regional collections are strongly represented, particularly those included in the two comprehensive series Die Märchen der Weltliteratur and Das Gesicht der Völker. Secondary literature is also keyed to the 187 versions, so that primary and secondary literature for all types are conveniently grouped. Each tale is accompanied by a detailed commentary, as well as the history of its transmission and publication. Those taken from the first edition have been updated. The author also includes his own discussion of psychological and sociological interpretations of the folktale. The indexes -- by abbreviations and short-title, names and motifs, and narrative types, as well as an index to 320 anthologies -- need reworking. [wh/mjc]
96-1-072
This is the first German-language encyclopedia of folktale figures and characters. The 230 articles focus on folk heroes and heroines; topoi such as dragons, witches, and fairies; and discussions of particular tales and prototypical characters. Abundant cross-references exit between and even within articles, so that the volume manages without an index. The work is aimed at the interested layperson, who might ask, "Whatever happened to Sleeping Beauty's children?" (They barely escaped being eaten). For more probing questions, however, one will need to go elsewhere. [wh/mjc]
96-1-073
The author sees in the folktale a literary form that symbolically passes on real-life experiences and guidance to the reader and listener. The encyclopedia is divided into four sections. The first presents short articles on various themes, as well as explanations of symbols and characters alphabetically by keyword. The second consists of short plot summaries of 511 folktales. The third section is a collection of 149 biographies of collectors, storytellers, and authors, and the fourth is a title index to 2,144 folktales, legens, and fables. Appended is a 4,000-entry bibliography. This lexicon is intended for the "interested and questioning layperson," but it is of dubious quality, badly organized and with a content that seems arbitrarily selected. The graphics, however, are admirably done. [wh/mjc]
96-1-074
In this collection twenty-one recognized experts present an overview of folktales and folktale research by country in twenty-one essays, all written in or translated into German. Missing are Poland, Belgium, and the former Soviet Republics, except for Russia. Also included are articles on various aspects of research on folktales. The The title of this work does not indicate the extent to which the collection focuses on fairy tales at the expense of other types of folktales. Contributions throughout are of a solid academic nature. An overview of this kind has not been published since 1932, and it should be of equal interest to the specialist and the layperson, in spite of some technical shortcomings. [wh/mjc]
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