"Fairy tales." . . . "\"Fairy tales are alive with the supernatural - elves, dwarfs, fairies, giants, and trolls, as well as witches with magic wands and sorcerers who cast spells and enchantments. Children into Swans examines these motifs in a range of ancient stories. Moving from the rich period of nineteenth-century fairy tales back as far as the earliest folk literature of northern Europe, Jan Beveridge shows how long these supernatural features have been a part of storytelling, with ancient tales, many from Celtic and Norse mythology, that offer glimpses into a remote era and a pre-Christian sensibility. The earliest stories often show significant differences from what we might expect. Elves mingle with Norse gods, dwarfs belong to a proud clan of magician-smiths, and fairies are shape-shifters emerging from the hills and the sea mist. In story traditions with roots in a pre-Christian imagination, an invisible other world exists alongside our own. From the lost cultures of a thousand years ago, Children into Swans opens the door on some of the most extraordinary worlds ever portrayed in literature - worlds that are both starkly beautiful and full of horrors.\"--Publisher's description." . "\"Fairy tales are alive with the supernatural - elves, dwarfs, fairies, giants, and trolls, as well as witches with magic wands and sorcerers who cast spells and enchantments. Children into Swans examines these motifs in a range of ancient stories. Moving from the rich period of nineteenth-century fairy tales back as far as the earliest folk literature of northern Europe, Jan Beveridge shows how long these supernatural features have been a part of storytelling, with ancient tales, many from Celtic and Norse mythology, that offer glimpses into a remote era and a pre-Christian sensibility. The earliest stories often show significant differences from what we might expect. Elves mingle with Norse gods, dwarfs belong to a proud clan of magician-smiths, and fairies are shape-shifters emerging from the hills and the sea mist. In story traditions with roots in a pre-Christian imagination, an invisible other world exists alongside our own. From the lost cultures of a thousand years ago, Children into Swans opens the door on some of the most extraordinary worlds ever portrayed in literature - worlds that are both starkly beautiful and full of horrors.\"--Publisher's description."@en . "Children into Swans"@en . . "Criticism, interpretation, etc" . "Criticism, interpretation, etc"@en . . . . . . "Ressources Internet" . . . . . "Classification" . . . "Classification"@en . . . . . . "Children into swans : fairy tales and the pagan imagination" . . . . . "Children into swans : fairy tales and the pagan imagination"@en . . "Electronic books"@en . "Electronic books" . "Europa" . . "Fairy tales Europe History and criticism." . . "Heidentum" . . "Motiv" . . . . "LITERARY CRITICISM General." . . "Contes de fées européens Classification." . . "Fairy tales Europe Classification." . . "Märchen" . . "Europe." . . "Contes de fées Europe Histoire et critique." . . "Contes de fées européens Histoire et critique." . . "SOCIAL SCIENCE Folklore & Mythology." . . "Contes de fées Europe Thèmes, motifs." . .