George Cruikshank

“The History of Jack and the Beanstalk” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-32.

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 04:41:42 +0000

“The History of Jack and the Beanstalk” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-32. Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/15/2022 - 21:41

Tale Summary

Jack, his mother, and his sister Ady lived in a valley far away from London rimmed with waterfalls. Jack was an unruly boy and refused to listen to anything his mother told him and was incredibly spoiled despite being from a poor family. Danish pirates attacked the town in which Jack and his family lived. After the attack, Jack’s mother had nobody to sell her yarn to because all the other town folk had fled. Needing money for food badly, Jack’s mother sent him and their cow to market to be sold. Jack failed in selling the cow as it had returned home on its own. Jack set out the next day looking for work in order to feed his family. While looking for work, Jack meets a fairy who is disguised as an old woman wearing a dark cloak. The fairy petitioned Jack for his help. The fairy begins to tell Jack of his father who is still alive. Jack’s father is a Saxon knight who was brutally attacked by a Danish Giant and made a prisoner in his own castle. The fairy gives jack a bean and tells him to plant it, climb it, break into his father’s castle, fetch the golden hen which happens to be the Fairy’s sister, and return and fetch the Harp which was the Fairy’s other sister. Once he had done this Jack was to return a third time to rescue his father from the Giant’s clutches. The next day after planting the bean and telling his family of his encounter with the Fairy. Jack’s mother and sister sent him on his way to rescue everyone held captive by the Danish Giant. Upon reaching the castle, Jack meets a “good-natured-looking Giantess”. He begged her for food and a place to stay for the night. She told him of her husband who killed anyone who came near the castle. He agreed to stay anyways. After the Giant had eaten his dinner of a whole ox, he went to the great hall to drink and be with the Golden Hen. After the Giant had drunkenly fallen asleep, Jack crept into the hall and grabbed the Golden Hen. A dwarf in the castle alerted the sleeping Giant of Jack’s thievery. The Giant chased Jack as he ran back to the beanstalk three miles away from the castle. Jack successfully escaped and returned again to take the harp. When Jack returned the third time he found his father. Jack encountered the dwarf a second time, unlike the previous time the dwarf agreed to give them a head start over the Giant because the dwarf had decided to leave the castle. The Giant became entangled in the beanstalk and the next day the King, Alfred, captured him. Jack and his family lived happily ever after.

Fairy Tale Title

The History of Jack and the Beanstalk

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Common Tale Type

Jack and the Beanstalk

Tale Classification

ATU 328A

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-32

Full Citation of Tale

“Jack and the Beanstalk” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-32.

Original Source of the Tale

“The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean” 1734

Tale Notes

This version of the tale is much longer than others and contains a number of unique plot twists. Jack receives the magic bean from a fairy who is a member of his family. Jack has a father who is a knight who owns a castle. The Giant has a wife who is very caring and not bloodthirsty. A Dwarf betrays his master the Giant. The Giant is captured by the King and his army.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Anonymous student, 2022

Book Title

George Cruikshank's Fairy Library

Book Author/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Publisher

Routledge and Sons

Date Published

1870-1879

Decade Published

1870-1879

Publisher City

London

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

Book was a part of the Cramer Collection. “Creamer 113”. Page numbers restart for every new tale.

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"Puss in Boots." George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-27.

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 20:49:42 +0000

"Puss in Boots." George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-27. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/18/2022 - 14:49

George Cruikshank

Tale Summary

A miller, upon his retirement, gifts his youngest son Caraba the mouser cat, Tom Puss. Caraba and Tom Puss grow very close, and even more so when Caraba saves Tom from a savage dog. One day, after going to town to sell flour, Caraba lays eyes on the beautiful princess and is overcome with sorrow that he may never have the status to marry her. On his return to the mill, Tom Puss begins to speak and vows that he will make it possible for Caraba to marry the princess. Tom requests boots, fine clothes, and a sack, with which he promptly leaves the miller's estate to hunt rabbits. An ogre had previously restrained all the king's favorite wild rabbits to a single warren that no man could penetrate. Puss enters this warren and traps several rabbits with ease, going promptly to the king's castle to present them as a gift from the "Marquis of Carabas." The king requests to go to the Marquis' castle the next day. In a convoluted plan, Puss plans for Caraba's clothes to be lost while Caraba is bathing in the river that leads to the castle, where Tom intercepts the king and explains to him that the Marquis' clothes had been stolen. The king provides Caraba with court wear and invites him to join him and the princess in their carriage, while Puss leads them along to Caraba's castle. Ahead of the king, Puss convinces the people working on the land surrounding the castle to tell the king that they work for Caraba, which greatly impresses the king and the princess. Before the king and Caraba arrive, Puss runs ahead to confront the ogre in the castle. Puss requests that the ogre transforms into the smallest mouse, which by the terms of his powers, the ogre is required to do. Tom Puss then kills the ogre, immediately lifting the spell that has been tormenting the condition of the Caraba castle, just in time for the king and marquis' arrival. Tom informs the miller and his family of the restoration of Caraba castle which prompts them to move in. After days together, the princess and king agree for her and Caraba to marry, and at their wedding, Tom announces the origins of his strange feline circumstances. He explains that he was transformed into a cat generations ago while working as a gamekeeper for Caraba's grandfather as punishment for ungratefulness. That same night, while dancing in the garden, Tom stumbles into the bushes and reemerges the next day as Thomas, the gamekeeper, in human form.

Fairy Tale Title

Puss in Boots

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Common Tale Type

Puss in Boots

Tale Classification

ATU 545B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-27

Full Citation of Tale

"Puss in Boots." George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-27.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

Cruikshank adapts Perrault's tale for an English audience. The miller is placed in London and the main character (Caraba) and his siblings are named; the cat is now called Tom (as in tomcat). The miller also does not die at the beginning; he gives the various inheritances to his children. Caraba and Puss have a much deeper and more developed relationship; Caraba actually saved Puss from a savage dog. The event that sends Puss out in his boots is when Caraba is forlorn about not having enough status to have a chance with the princess. The ogre is developed more as a villain; he has corralled all the rabbits so that the king cannot hunt them, which makes it all the more impressive that Puss was able to catch one. The ogre also owns all the lands and the reapers that the Marquis and the king pass through in his carriage. The ogre has a particularity to his shapeshifting power that renders him unable to attack until he has tranformed three times into the animal of a person's request. Once the ogre was killed by Tom, his castle transformed from dingy to pristine, as if a spell had been lifted. Tom Puss returns to the family mill after Caraba is so graciously accepted by the king, where the siblings and parents react to his extraordinary appearance. The story also goes into detail about Tom Puss' roles at the Marquis' new castle, and even the wedding between Caraba and the princess. One of the most striking differences between this tale and the original Perrault rendition is that in Cruikshank's version, Tom is actually the Marquis' grandfather's gamekeeper who was turned into a cat for being ungrateful for his place in the Caraba estate. In the very end, Tom dances into the bushes and emerges once again as Thomas, the old gamekeeper.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Maire Volz, 2021

Book Title

George Cruikshank's Fairy Library

Book Author/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Publisher

Routledge and Sons

Date Published

1870s

Decade Published

1870-1879

Publisher City

London

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

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“Hop O’ my Thumb.” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-30.

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 17:14:08 +0000

“Hop O’ my Thumb.” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-30. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/20/2021 - 10:14

George Cruikshank

Tale Summary

George Cruikshank participated in the Temperance movement, and like other tales in this volume (Cinderella), this version of Hop O’ My Thumb denounces the evils of “strong drink” (alcohol). He also omits the violent scene in which the Ogre kills his own children after being tricked by Hop into thinking they are the 6 brothers. The story begins with a Count who loses all his money by drinking and gambling and must turn to cutting wood in order to support his family. He and his wife the countess have six boys, the smallest one called Hop O My Thumb, or Little Hop. Although tiny, Hop is exceptionally intelligent, sweet, and strong. The count is unable to support his family because he continues to drink and smoke and soon plans to abandon the boys in the woods, rather than watch them starve. Hop overhears the plan and uses white pebbles to mark the way so that the boys are able to return home. After this, the count manages to earn money by writing for a farmer and the family is happy for a while. The mother leaves to find her brother the Baron, and the father resumes drinking and once again abandons the boys in the woods. Hop has used breadcrumbs to mark the trail, but birds eat them. Spying a light in the distance, the boys arrive at the home of a Giantess and her alcoholic, Giant-Ogre husband. The Giantess hides the boys for fear her husband will eat them. When the Giant-Ogre discovers the boys, the wife claims she hid them only to fatten them up and locks them in a room. Hop manages to steal the key and escapes with his brothers. The giant discovers this, dons his seven-league boots, and sets off in pursuit, but falls asleep before finding the boys. Hop steals his boots and brings them to the King, who rewards him and makes the Count his prime minister. All the giants in the land are rounded up and carry out useful labor for the kingdom. Hop’s father the count passes a series of laws outlawing drinking and gambling and promoting public or private education for all children.

Fairy Tale Title

Hop o' my Thumb

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Common Tale Type

The Children and the Ogre/Brothers and the Ogre

Tale Classification

ATU 327/ATU 327B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-30

Full Citation of Tale

“Hop O’ my Thumb.” George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-30.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

Cruikshank created six full-page etchings to accompany the tale of Hop O’ My Thumb that depict nine scenes from the story. Not only does Hop O’ My Thumb leave a trail of white pebbles so he and his brothers can find their way out of the woods, he also marks trees with his knife, a practice Cruikshank says in a note is typical of Native Americans: “This is what Indians do—they notch trees and so find their way through the largest forests” (p. 9). Cruikshank includes comical asides. For example, Hop knows how seven-league boots work because he read about them in a book acquired from London printer and bookseller, Mr David Brogue of 86 Fleet Street.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Nate Jones, 2020

Book Title

George Cruikshank's Fairy Library

Book Author/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Publisher

Routledge and Sons

Date Published

1870-1879

Decade Published

1870-1879

Publisher City

London

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

With each tale in this book, the page numbers restart.

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