THE FOLIO SOCIETY

Four beautiful children's classics could you be yours when you join The Folio Society. Plus, receive the Oxford Leatherbound Reference Set - yours to keep forever.

The Blue Fairy Book
This wonderful collection of fairy stories, put together by Andrew Lang at the end of the 19th century, gathers many of the best loved tales of childhood - 'Old stories', Lang calls them in his preface, 'that have pleased so many generations'. They include the best of the English tradition, favourites from Grimm, Perrault, The Arabian Nights and Gulliver's Travels, as well as lesser-known tales and new re-tellings, such as Lang's own 'The Terrible Head' based on the Greek myth of Perseus and the Gorgon. Reared on border ballads told by his old nurse, Lang was reading by the age of four and devoured 'every fairy tale I could lay my hands on'. He was enthralled by trolls and witches, and stories of changelings and devilish hunts. Later the tales of Shakespeare, Homer and Dickens were to fire his imagination.

Introduced by Joan Aiken. Illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk. 384 pages with 15 full-page colour illustrations

The Pink Fairy Book
For The Pink Fairy Book, Lang drew upon a range of cultures and traditions, bringing together 41 stories from Japan, Scandinavia, Africa, Sicily and Catalonia, as well as enduring favourites including 'The Snow Queen' by Hans Christian Andersen and 'The House in the Wood' by the Brothers Grimm. Many had never appeared in any English collection before and Lang had them translated and sympathetically retold. Here, gruesome stories (a princess possessed by a demon devours her guards) have their place alongside unashamedly comic ones (three merry wives play tricks on their husbands to determine which is the most stupid) and an occasional tragic tale (the little, much-loved snow child melts away in the fire's heat).

Introduced by A S Byatt. Illustrated by Debra McFarlane. 368 pages with 12 full-page colour illustrations

The Red Fairy Book
This bold and eclectic anthology opens with the story of 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses' who each night row across the lake with their captured princes and closes with a timeless epic of war and heroism, 'The Story of Sigurd', taken from William Morris's version of The Volsunga Saga. In between are morality tales and animal fables, chilling ghost stories, tongue-in-cheek romances, classics like 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'Rapunzel', little-known stories such as 'The True History of Little Goldenhood', which offers a twist on the traditional Red Riding Hood story.

Introduced by Marina Warner. Illustrated by Niroot Puttapipat. 408 pages with 12 full-page colour illustrations

The Yellow Fairy Book
Ships fly, cabbages turn men into donkeys, a childless couple is sent a baby boy the size of a hazelnut, and a dog, a cat and a mouse join forces to retrieve a magic ring. Amongst the 48 stories in The Yellow Fairy Book are much loved classics such as 'Thumbelina' and 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier', but in this volume Lang also included wonderfully exotic tales from Russia, Hungary, Iceland and America.

Introduced by Maria Tatar. Illustrated by Danuta Mayer. 384 pages with 12 full-page colour illustrations.

PLUS Your Free Gift

Published price US$104.00

Yours FREE

Perfect for any home or office, the Oxford Concise Dictionary and Thesaurus provide easy reference at your fingertips. These fine reference titles are bound blue leather and lettered in gold leaf.

Compact Oxford English Dictionary – 1,348 pages, Over 145,000 words, phrases and definitions, Comprehensive coverage for everyday use, Revised etymologies for greater clarity, New user-friendly design makes words quick and easy to find.

Oxford Compact Thesaurus – 968 pages, Features more than 333,000 alternative and opposite words.

These two leatherbound volumes are bound in bonded blue leather, blocked in gold, with woven silk head bands and spine bands, book size: 8¾" x 5½".