Bechstein, Ludwig
Bechstein, Ludwig (1801–60),German writer. His two widely popular collections of fairy tales, the Deutsches Märchenbuch (German Fairy Tale Book, 1845) and the Neues Deutsches Märchenbuch (New German Fairy Tale Book, 1856) dominated the German fairy‐tale market from their initial appearance until the 1890s, a period during which they far outsold the Grimms' tales. Bechstein borrowed many fairy tales from the Grimm collection, but retold them, with very few exceptions, in a manner that suited the taste and norms of Germany's educated classes. In the rich German wall‐poster tradition, it was usually Bechstein's editions of fairy tales from which publishers preferred to excerpt tales such as his ‘Gestiefelte Kater’ (‘Puss‐in‐Boots’) and his ‘Aschenbrödel’ (‘Cinderella’).
As a young man trained as...
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