The first in-depth examination of the meaning of colour in fairy tales. Text in English and German.

Colours have fascinated us since time immemorial, and their profound symbolic and cultural-historical meanings are reflected in varying narrative forms. In folk and literary fairy tales especially, colours are not simply attributes or superficial occurrences, rather they open up further levels of interpretation. Why, of all things, is the head gear of a young unimposing girl red? Why is the beard of a knight who murders women blue? The current book explores these and other fascinating questions - colour by colour.

Sabine Schimma illustrates in short essays, complemented by three interviews with experts conducted by Peter Stohler, that it is still worthwhile engaging with the cultural history of colour in these stories.