Joseph Jacobs published his “English Fairy Tales” in 1890. In his preface, he asks the question “WHO says that English folk have no fairy tales of their own?” Many of the 140 or so tales he collected had not previously been written down. The English Fairy tales are closer to their folklore roots. Stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, and Johnny-Cake (The Gingerbread Man), are characterised by what a later introduction calls “rude vigour”. The style is plain and unadorned, and the action is often violent.

Here you can read some stories collected by Joseph Jacobs.

You can also listen to them

And now watch the tale

Answer the questions of the quiz