Fairy tales are written both to entertain and to educate.

Published in the shadow of the First World War, F. A. Steel's retellings of forty-one English fairy tales form a classic collection of stories, ranging from the familiar Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding-Hood and The Three Little Pigs to the perhaps less well known The Black Bull of Norroway, Nix Nought Nothing and The Red Ettin.

Originally published in 1918, it reflects the nationalistic concerns of the period. Steel takes the reader on a journey, from Cornwall to Bamburgh Castle via a palace by the sea, as well as high into the sky, where a giant lives. The magical tales in English Fairy Tales are brought to life by one of the best-known illustrators of the time, Arthur Rackham.

Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.