Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Listen and read as much as you want
  • Over 400 000+ titles
  • Bestsellers in 10+ Indian languages
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Workers' Tales: Socialist Fairy Tales, Fables, and Allegories from Great Britain

6 Ratings

3.7

Duration
9H 46min
Language
English
Format
Category

Teens & Young Adult

A collection of political tales—first published in British workers’ magazines—selected and introduced by acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional literary forms appeared frequently in socialist-leaning British periodicals, such as the Clarion, Labour Leader, and Social Democrat. Based on familiar genres—the fairy tale, fable, allegory, parable, and moral tale—and penned by a range of lesser-known and celebrated authors, including Schalom Asch, Charles Allen Clarke, Frederick James Gould, and William Morris, these stories were meant to entertain readers of all ages—and some challenged the conventional values promoted in children’s literature for the middle class. In Workers’ Tales, acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen brings together more than forty of the best and most enduring examples of these stories in one beautiful volume.

Throughout, the tales in this collection exemplify themes and ideas related to work and the class system, sometimes in wish-fulfilling ways. In “Tom Hickathrift,” a little, poor person gets the better of a gigantic, wealthy one. In “The Man Without a Heart,” a man learns about the value of basic labor after testing out more privileged lives. And in “The Political Economist and the Flowers,” two contrasting gardeners highlight the cold heart of Darwinian competition. Rosen’s informative introduction describes how such tales advocated for contemporary progressive causes and countered the dominant celebration of Britain’s imperial values. The book includes archival illustrations, biographical notes about the writers, and details about the periodicals where the tales first appeared.

Provocative and enlightening, Workers’ Tales presents voices of resistance that are more relevant than ever before.

© 2018 Princeton University Press (Audiobook): 9780691193007
© 2018 Princeton University Press (Ebook): 9780691185392

Release date

Audiobook: 23 October 2018
Ebook: 16 October 2018

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman
  2. An Unkindness of Magicians Kat Howard
  3. The Golem and the Djinni Helene Wecker
  4. Uprooted: An extraordinary spellbinding fantasy inspired by Slavic folklore Naomi Novik
  5. Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement Angela Y. Davis
  6. Sistersong: A dazzling folklore retelling full of magic, love and betrayal Lucy Holland
  7. The Dispossessed: A Novel Ursula K. Le Guin
  8. The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock: A Novel Imogen Hermes Gowar
  9. The Fellowship of the Ring J. R. R. Tolkien
  10. A Study in Emerald Neil Gaiman
  11. The Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri
  12. Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World Chris Riddell
  13. A Thousand Ships: Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction Natalie Haynes
  14. The Strange Library Haruki Murakami
  15. Parable of the Sower Octavia E. Butler
  16. Pachinko Min Jin Lee
  17. A Skinful of Shadows Frances Hardinge
  18. The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin
  19. One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez
  20. Kindred Octavia E. Butler
  21. Breasts and Eggs Mieko Kawakami
  22. How High We Go in the Dark Sequoia Nagamatsu
  23. Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom: A Story Sylvia Plath
  24. Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
  25. The Essex Serpent: A Novel Sarah Perry
  26. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires Grady Hendrix
  27. The Binding: A Novel Bridget Collins
  28. Her Body and Other Parties Carmen Maria Machado
  29. Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  30. The Anatomy of Fascism Robert O. Paxton
  31. This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor Adam Kay
  32. The Dutch House: A Novel Ann Patchett
  33. Brave New World Aldous Huxley
  34. Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  35. Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body Roxane Gay
  36. So You Want to Talk about Race Ijeoma Oluo
  37. Free Will Sam Harris
  38. Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason Justin Smith-Ruiu
  39. When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt Kara Cooney
  40. Bad Feminist: Essays Roxane Gay
  41. The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt
  42. Capital and Ideology Thomas Piketty