Edith Hodgetts facts for kids

Edith M. S. Hodgetts was a British writer. She was born in Russia and passed away in 1902. She is well-known for writing stories for children. She also collected and wrote down many folk tales and fairy tales.

About Edith M. S. Hodgetts

Edith Hodgetts spent her childhood in Russia. She was the god-daughter of Michael Nicolaevitch and Sophie Nicolaevna. Later in her life, she moved to England.

Her Most Famous Book

Edith Hodgetts is best known for her book, Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar. This book is a collection of Russian fairy tales. It was first published in London in 1890. The book became very popular. It has been reprinted many times since then. It was published again in 1891, 1892, 1972, 1974, 1983, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

Where Her Stories Came From

In the introduction to her book, Edith Hodgetts shared how she found her stories. She said she heard them during her childhood. Her nanny and other people who worked in her home told them to her. She also learned some stories at school. Many of the stories were also translated by her from Russian collections.

Her book is dedicated to her godparents. She wrote: "To their Excellencies Michael Nicolaevitch and Sophie Nicolaevna de Kapoustine, this little book is most affectionately dedicated by the translator, their god-daughter, Edith."

Stories You Might Know

Some of the Russian stories from her book have been published again. For example, The Blacksmith and the Devil and The Wonderful Trade were included in a 2017 book. This book was called The Sorcerer's Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales. It was put together by Jack Zipes.

Her collection includes many other interesting tales. Some of these are:

• Vaselesa the Beautiful
• The Silver Plate and the Transparent Apple
• The Soldier and the Demons
• The Snow-Maiden
• Jack Frost
• Ivan and the Chestnut Horse
• The Three Kopeks
• The Red Flamingoes
• The Witch and the Sister of the Sun
• Princess Vera the Wise
• The Grey Wolf and the Golden Cassowary

When her book was first published, 30 of the 38 Russian stories in it were new to English readers.