Good evening and welcome to the sleepy bookshelf.

This season, ahead of our exciting next season on the main feed,

we would like to treat our premium supporters with two Indian

fairy tales selected and edited by Joseph Jacobs. Indian fairy tales is a compilation of 29 traditional

tales from India presented and edited by British Jewish folklorist Joseph Jacobs.

Jacobs was born in New South Wales Australia and left to return for England when he was 18 years old.

He commenced an education at Cambridge, becoming aware of the rampant anti-Semitism arising in Britain at the time.

He then moved to Berlin to study Jewish literature and returned to England to further his studies in anthropology in the 1870s,

and it was here that his interest in folklore developed.

Indian fairy tales was his fifth anthology and was published in 1892.

He pulled many stories from various other collections with the aim of attracting the

enjoyment of British children specifically to these stories. He writes in

his prelude when referring to his illustrator and his ability to bring these stories to life whether Western in origin or Eastern.

It is only further proof that fairy tales are something more than Celtic or Hindu.

They are human.

In this season we will begin with a story of a young prince born to be a great

hero and move on to another about an ivory city and a fairy princess.

We hope you will join us for this season.

However, if you decide that Indian fairy tales aren't your cup of tea,

feel free to explore the rest of the bookshelf.

We're sure you'll find something to help guide you into a restful sleep.

Our premium subscription offers stories to listen to between the seasons on the main feed, like this one.

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