This revised, expanded, and updated edition of the 1979 landmark Breaking the Magic Spell examines the enduring power of fairy tales and the ways they invade our subjective world. In seven provocative essays, Zipes discusses the importance of investigating oral folk tales in their socio-political context and traces their evolution into literary fairy tales, a metamorphosis that often diminished the ideology of the original narrative. Zipes also looks at how folk tales influence our popular beliefs and the ways they have been exploited by a corporate media network intent on regulating the mystical elements of the stories. He examines a range of authors, including the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Ernst Bloch, Tolkien, Bettelheim, and J.K. Rowling to demonstrate the continuing symbiotic relationship between folklore and literature.

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Product details

Listening Length	11 hours
Author	Jack Zipes
Narrator	Stuart Appleton
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	16 June 2016
Publisher	University Press Audiobooks
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B01H47SG02
Best Sellers Rank	156,759 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 193 in Study of Customs & Traditions (Audible Books & Originals) 1,388 in Folklore & Mythology Studies

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D. Juschka

Lovely little book with some great ideas on folk and fairy tale

Reviewed in Canada on 26 January 2018

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Lovely little book with some great ideas on folk and fairy tale. I received well within the parameters of the dates given.

G. Bois

A most useful work and an essential part of anyone interested in ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2015

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A most useful work and an essential part of anyone interested in Jack Zipes exploration of the folk and fairy tale.

jaynecartwright

Perfect

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 December 2013

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Perfect for my current studies loads of facts etc would recommend to anyone even those just interested in these tales.

M. Lawton

Political theory meets fantasy and fantasy loses

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2012

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Who'd have believed that a book which is ostensibly about fairy tales could contain so many references to the proletariat, class struggle and dialectics? This book is a socio-political tract with a decidedly Marxist bent. You will find much in here about exploitation, the failings of capitalism and how it turned a working-class oral tradition into a huge money spinning industry designed to fleece the workers. Much of this is unquestionably true. However, you will find no criticism of the operation of Marxist and Communist regimes, presumably because Zipes feels their motives were rather more benevolent. The history of the twentieth century, though, might lead us to suppose otherwise.

He's good when he talks about specific stories and has some very incisive comments to make about such diverse subjects as The Hobbit, Star Wars, Snow White and Rocky (yes, that Rocky - the film!) He makes no real distinction between modern works of fantasy and archaic folk tales and points out their common roots. Unfortunately he doesn't talk about them enough for my liking and unless you have a taste for rather dry academic books about sociology and politics, you'll find much of this book pretty tedious. It's a fine example of what can go wrong when intellectuals get their teeth into a subject and then gnaw it to death. Zzzzzzzzzz.

6 people found this helpful

Chrissa S. Sandlin

Helpful for Critical Reading

Reviewed in the United States on 7 January 2020

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Although there were more typos than expected (or they are easier to notice when reading more closely), this was a good summary/reminder to pay attention to content, implied moral structure, etc. Also an enjoyable read.

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Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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