The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales

By Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth, Erika Eichenseer

ISBN#9780143107422

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

Once upon a time… no….

One day a prince lost his way in the woods. He found shelter in a cave and slept there for the night. When he woke up, an old woman was hovering over him. She had a bear by her side and treated it like a pet….. – The Turnip Princess.

A 150 years ago, author Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth (1810-1886) compiled over 500 fairy tales for a book that he published called Aus der Oberpfalz – Sitten und Sagen (From the Upper Palatinate – customs and legends), unfortunately it didn’t have as much of recognition as the Grimm Brothers books did.

In 2009, Erika Eichenseer the Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) cultural curator, found the 500 stories in the municipal archive of Regensburg, Germany. These stories where inside of thirty “dusty” boxes. For over a century and a half, these stories slept in those boxes, but now Erika, with the help of translator Maria Tatar, and illustrator Engelbert Suss have brought the stories back into the light for fans and readers of folktales and fairy tales, or as some called them, “wonder tales”.

Author Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth, was said to have a patient ear, as he wrote down all of the stories that were told to him orally. His goal was to preserve the oral tradition of his beloved Bavaria. This was what differed him from the Grimm Brothers. His stories are written as they were told, without sugarcoating and leaving them raw with their deaths, magic, punishments, and surreal plot twists.

The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales book has 72 stories of the 500 that were discovered. In the book, the majority of the main characters of the stories are males such as princes, hunters, farmer sons, noblemen, and brothers. But still there are princesses, noble daughters, and mostly three sister groups. In the stories, there are a lot of “Hans” and “Anna”, giving that the research done by Von Schonwerth was centered in Germany.

There was once a farmer, and he had two sons. The mother named one of the boys Hans and nursed him for seven years. Then the father sent him out into the woods and told him to uproot a tree… – Hans the Strong Man.

I liked that in these stories, Herr Von Schonwerth, didn’t change them to suit his audience. The stories are as raw as they were told to him. The characters are abandoned by their parents, other are beaten up; sometimes the prince or princess ends up with their loved one, sometimes they just stay alone because they want to or because they got their revenge and rule the kingdom. Like in the Stubborn Princess, the monarch stays alone after his army conquers the kingdom and kills the princess and her father that stole from him.

Magic and talking animals play an important part in the stories of the Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales. Magical objects help the characters achieve their dreams and goals like, sacks with endless gold, hats that move you from one place to another, shoes made of metal, quills that grant wishes, and more. Animals also help the characters. Some of them talk, while others are really princes or princess curses and later saved. Dragons, birds, fishes, mermen, and other animals can be seen in the book.

The way the stories are listed in the glossary reminds me of the Aarne–Thompson tale type index that is use in fairy tales. I, who really like Fairy tales and folktales, found this book very entertaining. The stories are not that long or difficult to keep track of. Yes, at times the story lines change drastically, but isn’t that the way we tell a story to somebody?

There was once a village near a large body of water, and many beautiful girls lived there. The more often they swam in the lake, the more lovely they became. Everyone adored them. Girls living in other places heard about them. They came in from many different regions to swim there… – In the Jaws of the Merman.

For lovers of fairy tales, wonder tales, and folktales I recommend you to read the Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by author Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth. Even though, he is long gone, it’s time for his work to see the light again, to change the minds of a new generation and to bring back the imagination that is disappearing. Where children are abandoned, princes find their way back, animals transform, and curses are broken, the book has it all, and even the devil makes appearances.

Which fairy tales are you favorite? Tell us in the comments.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*