Kinderleben oder das Mährchen ohne Ende: The Story without an End (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture, 1)
Books / Hardcover
Books › Literary Criticism › American › General
ISBN: 1571130616 / Publisher: Camden House, April 1995
A fascinating analysis of one of the most popular children's works of all time.
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Kinderleben oder das Mahrchen ohne Ende is a unique product of late German Romanticism. As a Kunstmarchen, or "artificial" fairy tale (as opposed to the earthier tales collected by the Grimm brothers et al.) it combines fairy tale aspects with philosophical ideas, specifically those of idealism. Although one edition appeared in Germany, there were over thirty in England and the United States. The second edition is of special interest because A. Bronson Alcott added a preface in which he called the story an "emblem of the spiritual life."The commentary, including notes on the nine illustrators and a list of all editions of the work, will facilitate further research. The publication is of value to students of children's books and their illustrators as well as to intellectual historians. It is equally important for the study of German Romanticism, especially of the Kunstmarchen, and of the reception of German Romanticism in the English-speaking world. Republication of the story and its translation will again make available a work that, in spite of its occasional slips into kitsch, is a literary discovery.
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