The Red Fairy Book was published by Longmans, Green in 1890, following the enormous commercial success of the Blue. It drew from a wider range of sources, including French literary fairy tales (Madame d’Aulnoy), Scandinavian saga (the Kalevala), Romanian folklore, and additional tales from Perrault and the Grimms. Notable inclusions are “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” “Rapunzel,” “The Golden Goose,” and “The Story of Sigurd.”
The Red Fairy Book was illustrated by H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed, and its success confirmed that Lang’s project was not a one-off curiosity but a sustainable publishing venture. The volume pushed further into Norse and Celtic material than the Blue had, reflecting Lang’s own scholarly interests in comparative mythology.
Collecting The Red Fairy Book
First edition (Longmans, Green, London, 1890): Red cloth with gilt decorations.
Market values:
- Fine condition: $1,000–$3,000
- Very good: $400–$1,000
- Good (wear to cloth): $150–$400
Projected values (2026–2036): Strong appreciation. Second in the series, high demand.
Expanding the World
Published in 1890, just a year after The Blue Fairy Book, the Red volume expanded Lang’s source material dramatically: French romance, Scandinavian saga, Romanian folktale, and Russian byliny sit alongside the Grimm and Perrault material of the first volume. The book includes some of the most beloved stories in the series — “Rapunzel,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” among them. H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed provided the illustrations, establishing the visual style that would carry through the series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Andrew Lang? Andrew Lang (1844–1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and anthropologist — one of the most prolific writers of the Victorian era. He is best remembered for the twelve-volume “Coloured” Fairy Books, which he compiled (though the actual translation and adaptation work was done largely by his wife Leonora and other collaborators). Lang chose the stories, supervised the editing, and wrote the prefaces.
Did Lang write the fairy tales himself? No. Lang compiled and edited them, drawing from folklore collections, literary sources, and oral traditions worldwide. The translation and retelling work was done primarily by his wife Leonora Blanche Lang and a team of female collaborators. Lang’s contribution was curatorial: he selected the stories, arranged them, and wrote prefaces that placed them in scholarly context.