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The Princess Nobody

Andrew Lang

First published 1884
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

<br> A fairy tale written to accompany Doyle's drawings printed in color. "The story is freely and whimsically modeled after the old-fashioned fairy tales [really?]; ... Here are fairies ... some lolling upon leaves in Bacchanalian attitudes ... 'Teasing a Butterfly' is composed of rowdy imps--the very gamins of Fairyland. ... War between egg-stealing elves and the birds is quite in the Pompeiian vein of humor." --review <i>Chi. Tribune</i> 1884-12-15 p9 "Literature", under "Books for the Young" <br><br> In review of the book more than the story, "the tale of the Princess Niente ... has the flavor of the 'Arabian Nights'. --<i>SF Chronicle</i> 1884-12-14 p6, under "Holiday Juveniles"

  • "Andrew Lang has written a story, "The Princess Nobody", in which the fairies figure." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch 1884-08-04 p4 "Men of Mark" (first of perhaps 20, quoted in full)
  • "Lang is writing a story ... which will be published with Richard Doyle's well-known series of pictures ..." --NY Times 1884-08-11 p3
  • (quote) Mr. Andrew Lang has boldly essayed to write a fairy tale "after the drawings by Richard Doyle". Of course the drawings have been published before--and more of them than are here--in the most precious and beautiful of all fairy books. [...] long out of print [...] Mr. Lang is properly diffident as to his capacity to write anything worthy [...] But there is probably no living man of letters better qualified to seize and reproduce the spirit of the old fairy tales than Mr. Lang; and, despite an irreverent modern touch here and there, he has done a difficult thing very gracefully and well. To the knowing ones this little book will perhaps be the book of the Christmas season. --The Manchester Guardian 1884-11-19 p7 "Christmas Books: III", lead item

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
1884 Cover The Princess Nobody: A Tale of Fairy Land Longmans, Green and Co. Chapbook
1884 The Princess Nobody: A Tale of Fairy Land E. P. Dutton Chapbook
1987 Cover Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves Methuen Anthology 249
September 1990 Cover La princesa Nadie: Un cuento de hadas José J. Olañeta, Editor Chapbook 9
1991 Cover Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves Routledge Anthology 249
July 2016 The Princess Nobody: A Tale of Fairyland Project Gutenberg Chapbook