Abstract
IN bringing together this collection of tales Miss Fleming has cast her net wide. Japan, China, India, North America, Egypt, Mesopotamia, ancient Greece, and the British Isles, to name only some of the sources, have contributed to a whole which, viewed merely as a collection of folk-tales, is charming both in subject-matter and in style. The author has, however, had more in view than to provide a pleasant pastime for an idle hour. Her aim has been to present in these traditional stories, in which the spirit of the original is preserved as nearly as possible, a picture of the culture and modes of thought of primitive and early historic peoples in a form that can be utilised and interpreted by the teacher, whether of history or social geography, and at the same time appreciated by the child. Miss Fleming adds in an appendix three essays in which she expounds her philosophy of the use of the folk-tale in education and the principles of selection. If any further indication were needed of the thought, wide reading, and experience which have been laid under contribution in the making of this book, it would be afforded by these essays.
Ancient Tales from Many Lands: A Collection of Folk Stories.
R. N.
Fleming
By. Pp. 193 + ix plates. (London: Benn Bros., Ltd., 1922.) 10s. 6d. net.
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Ancient Tales from Many Lands: A Collection of Folk Stories . Nature 109, 269 (1922). https://doi.org/10.1038/109269a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/109269a0