Fairy tales and stories of the 'Arabian Nights' order are not often attempted by modern imaginations, but collections of the old legends are perennially popular. Mr. Andrew Lang has not yet exhausted the supply of these last, although he has to go to countries more and more remote for every new year's gleanings. For the material in his latest volume, ' The Brown Fairy Book ', he has searched the folk lore of the red Indians, the black Australians, the African Kaffirs, and the natives of Brazil and New Caledonia. Besides these, there are some tales of moment from the French and Persian, some of them being specially translated for this work. The beautiful illustrations in color are the work of Mr. Henry Ford.
This book is illustrated and annotated with a rare extensive biographical sketch of the author, Andrew Lang, written by Sir Edmund Gosse, CB, a contemporary poet and writer.