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The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1872) Princess Irene discovers a mysterious great-great-grandmother spinning in a tower, while miner boy Curdie uncovers a goblin plot to invade the castle from below. The fairy tale that inspired Tolkien, Lewis, and modern fantasy. Historical Significance: George MacDonald, a Scottish minister and author, published The Princess and the Goblin in 1872. C.S. Lewis wrote that reading MacDonald's Phantastes at age 16 "baptized my imagination" and called MacDonald "my master." Tolkien acknowledged MacDonald's influence on The Hobbit — the goblins tunneling beneath mountains are directly descended from MacDonald's goblins. G.K. Chesterton called The Princess and the Goblin "a book that has made a difference to my whole existence." Without MacDonald, there would likely be no Narnia, no Middle-earth, and no modern fantasy genre as we know it. This public domain classic was originally published in 1872. Free to read and share.

The Arabian Nights (One Thousand and One Nights), translated by Richard F. Burton (1885) Scheherazade saves her life by telling her murderous husband a new story every night for 1,001 nights. Aladdin, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Sinbad the Sailor — the most famous story collection in the world. Historical Significance: The Arabian Nights originated as a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian folk tales compiled over centuries, with roots in Persian, Arabic, Indian, and Egyptian oral traditions. Antoine Galland's 1704 French translation introduced Europe to Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad — stories that may not have been in the original Arabic manuscripts but became the most famous. Richard Burton's 1885-88 English translation was the first unexpurgated version, preserving the sexual and violent content that previous translators had censored. The tales influenced everything from Edgar Allan Poe to Jorge Luis Borges to Disney's Aladdin. Scheherazade herself — the woman who saves her life through storytelling — is the ultimate symbol of narrative's power. This public domain classic was originally compiled over centuries and translated by Burton in 1885. Free to read and share.

Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen Eighteen stories, including The Emperor's New Clothes, The Snow Queen, The Little Match Girl, The Red Shoes, The Fir Tree and The Shadow. The selection also contains The Swineherd, The Real Princess, The Shoes of Fortune, The Leap-Frog, The Elderbush, The Bell, The Old House, The Happy Family, The Story of a Mother, The False Collar, The Dream of Little Tuk and The Naughty Boy. This edition does not include The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid or Thumbelina. Retained English text source: Project Gutenberg ebook 1597.

Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm A selection of 62 tales in English, based on translations by Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes. This edition includes Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red-Cap, Briar Rose, Ashputtel and many other stories. This is a selected collection, not the complete collection of more than 200 Grimm tales. Some familiar stories appear under older English titles: Ashputtel is Cinderella, Briar Rose is Sleeping Beauty, and Snowdrop is Snow White. Retained text source: Project Gutenberg ebook 2591.