Description

Filled with wit, political satire, and sexually charged humor, these literary fairy tales by Johann Karl August Musäus (1735-1787) capture an entirely different sensibility from those of Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm. In the tale "Melechsala" a prince finds himself in a thrupple marriage with two women. In "Loyalty" a couple declare that their love for each other will live forever beyond their deaths, only for the wife to fall in love with one of her servants after her husband dies in battle. Musäus also tackles some of the classic tales in surprising, hilarious ways, such as "Richilda," his retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," in which the evil queen goes to preposterously great lengths to poison her competition.