A review by wendylioness
The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth

5.0

These newly discovered fairy tales remind me a little bit of the Grimms fairy tales, with a few differences. The characters here feel a little more interesting, with one or two minor details of the manner in which they are doing something, or a more precise detail. There is less description of place and objects here than in the Grimms fairy tales, which the Grimm brothers lengthened for literary purposes. And there is some crassness in some of the tales here, which while not pleasant, lends a sense of character to the specific culture these tales came from.
Many of the stories I enjoyed a lot - there are even some artists in it. I enjoyed the story of Ashfeathers, which is very much a Cinderella story but with a nobleman instead of a prince and a church instead of a ball. King Goldenlocks is a good one too, though that one is available for anyone to read online.
Some of the stories made me laugh, too.
And then a few of them I detested, one in which a clever thief does much harm to everyone he meets and gets away.
I kind of want to buy this book for myself, or another collection of Schonwerth's stories somewhere. It's fascinating.
I'd recommend it more to older readers who love traditional folk tales - these stories are definitely not for children.