An illuminating cultural history of the Cinderella tale.

Beginning with the popularized retellings by the likes of Giambattista Basile, Charles Perrault, and the Brothers Grimm, scholar Michelle Anya Anjirbag charts the cultural evolution of the enduring tale of Cinderella. Anjirbag looks back at the folktales that informed this famous story, the various countries and cultures that share similar tales and subsequently influenced later iterations, and then explores what today’s storytellers continue to do with the Cinderella narrative. Instead of taking a strictly historical approach, Anjirbag explores the ways heroes, villains, helpers, and symbols appear in different interpretations, illustrations, and adaptations. As she draws connections between the historical and contemporary preoccupations, concerns, and hopes that the Cinderella story still speaks to in the twenty-first century, Anjirbag reveals how this classic fairytale, at its heart, celebrates our lasting desire for enchantment and transformation.