SOURCE: "Introduction" to Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves, edited by Jack Zipes, Methuen, 1987, pp. xiii-xxix.

In the following essay, Zipes highlights the changes in social conditions that led to a resurgence of fairy tales during the Victorian era and comments on the themes of change and social injustice that are found in many fairy stories.'

In contrast to France and Germany, England did not experience the flowering of the literary fairy tale for children until the middle of the nineteenth century. This late flowering is somewhat puzzling, for Great Britain had been a fertile ground for folklore in the Middle Ages. Dazzling fairies, mischievous elves, frightening beasts, clumsy giants, daring thieves, clever peasants, cruel witches, stalwart knights, and damsels in distress had been the cultural staple of the peasants who told their tales at the hearth and in the fields throughout the...