Il Pentamerone

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Il Pentamerone
by Giambattista Basile

Il Pentamerone is essentially the first full collection of European literary fairy tales. Written by Giambattista Basile and published in 1634-6, the Italian tales predate Charles Perrault by at least 50 years and the Grimm Brothers by 200 years. The book is not as well known today since it was originally written in the difficult Neapolitan dialect and was not translated into English until 1847 by John Edward Taylor. However, the book contains stories that are very similar to well-known tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White, and others.

List of Illustrations by Warwick Goble

List of Illustrations by George Cruikshank

The Tales

1. How the Tales Came To Be Told

2. The Myrtle

3. Peruonto

4. Vardiello

5. The Flea

6. Cenerentola

7. The Merchant

8. Goat-Face

9. The Enchanted Doe

10. Parsley

11. The Three Sisters

12. Violet

13. Pippo

14. The Serpent

15. The She-Bear

16. The Dove

17. Cannetella

18. Corvetto

19. The Booby

20. The Stone in the Cock's Head

21. The Three Enchanted Princes

22. The Dragon

23. The Two Cakes

24. The Seven Doves

25. The Raven

26. The Months

27. Pintosmalto

28. The Golden Root

29. Sun, Moon, and Talia

30. Nennillo and Nennella

31. The Three Citrons

32. Conclusion

These tales came from:

Basile, Giambattista. Stories from the Pentamerone. E. F. Strange, editor. Warwick Goble, illustrator. London: Macmillan & Co., 1911. The text of this book is based on John Edward Taylor's translation from 1847.