This volume is appropriately titled Fairy Tales because something definitely ‘fairy’ occurs. There are forty four children’s stories of talking animals, flying horses, birds that magically change into beautiful maidens, quests to win the hand of a princess, magical objects, simple, yet brave, peasants, wizards, witches, dragons and dungeons, epic journeys, and loveable fools, giants, ogres and so much more.
 
The majority of these stories contain encounters with ‘Dews’, or Turkish supernatural beings, better known in the West as 'Genies.' Sometimes the Turkish Dews are also called 'Arabs', although we don’t know why. There are many other specifically Turkish elements and references in the stories, for which the glossary at the end of the book is of particular help. So this isn't simply an orientalised set of European Tales, but was drawn from an authentic Turkish oral storytelling tradition by Dr. Ignácz Kúnos . Plus, there are 17 colour plates and over 200 BnW illustrations exquisitely crafted by Willy Pogany. While our production is not as lavish as the original, it does contain facsimiles of the original illustrations.
 
This volume is a treasure chest of classic Eastern tales drawing on the rich folklore of Turkey. Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales has not been in print for almost 100 years, mainly because the original edition had lavish production standards. On the used market, mint copies of the 1913 original can cost in the thousands.
 
Note: some of the illustrations could be considered unsuitable by 21st Century standards because they can be considered as caricatures with obvious ethnic stereotypes. However, in most cases, the illustrator is portraying imaginary creatures, which are supposed to be grotesque. Also to be remembered is the book was originally produced in 1913 when the world’s attitudes towards racial tolerance and acceptance were quite different to those of today.