Lang's urge to collect and publish fairy tales was rooted in his own experience with the folk and fairy tales of his home territory along the English-Scottish border. At the time he worked, English fairy-tale collections were rare: Dinah Maria Mulock Craik's The Fairy Book was a lonely precedent. Over a generation, Lang's books worked a revolution in this public perception. The series was immensely popular, helped by Lang's reputation in folklore, and by the packaging device of the uniform books. The series proved of great influence in children's literature, increasing the popularity of fairy tales over tales of real life. It also inspired a host of imitators, like English Fairy Tales and More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, and the American series edited by Clifton Johnson-The Oak-Tree Fairy Book, The Elm-Tree Fairy Book, The Fir-Tree Fairy Book- and the collections of Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith, among others.
- ISBN10 147099934X
- ISBN13 9781470999346
- Publish Date 8 December 2011
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Lulu.com
- Format eBook (OEB)
- Language English