In this revealing collection, Liz Evers reveals the sinister, and often shocking, origins behind the nursery rhymes and fairytales we know and love.
The terrifying events that befell the first Sleeping Beauty when she finally woke up, how Snow White's stepmother really died, and who the wolf actually was in Little Red Riding Hoodthe true stories behind beloved nursery rhymes and fairy tales
Until recently, weird tales of fairy curses and flesh-eating ogres were considered suitable bedtime reading. And the strange-sounding and sometimes violent rhymes we learned by rote were often taught to us in school. But have you ever asked yourself what on earth they were about? And what exactly were the morals and lessons we were meant to learn from them? This book delves into the origins of the best-known rhymes and tales to uncover a legacy of folk superstition, rotten royal families, execution, child marriage, cannibalism, and the multitude of other random acts of cruelty that make up any classic treasury. Youll learn about the bloody history of "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary;" why Margery Daw, the subject of an innocent-seeming seesaw game, was accused of being a "dirty slut;" how pretending to decapitate your little friends to the tune of "Oranges and Lemons" became an acceptable pastime; and the origins of other favorite bedtime rhymes and tales.
Liz Evers is a writer from Dublin, Ireland. When a young niece first asked her to 'tell me a story - ' she started to wonder where all the peculiar tales and rhymes we share with children come from - and a quest to understand their origins began. Her previous books include titles on subjects as varied as Shakespeare, gallows humour, and time.
