Giambattista Basile (1575–1632) was born near Naples, Italy, and was an accomplished poet, courtier, and feudal administrator. Today he is remembered for The Tale of Tales, the first integral collection of fairy tales published in Europe; it includes the first literary versions of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, and many other classic tale types. Nancy L. Canepa (translator and introducer) is an associate professor of French and Italian at Dartmouth College. Jack Zipes (foreword) is a preeminent fairy tale scholar who has written, translated, or edited dozens of books, including The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. He is a professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. Carmelo Lettere (illustrations) is an Italian artist. Originally from Lecce, Italy, he now lives in New Hampshire.
