author
Joseph Jacobs
1854–1916
Best known for retelling classic fairy tales for children, this Australian-born writer and scholar helped shape the versions of stories like "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Goldilocks" that many readers know today. He also had a wide-ranging career as a folklorist, literary critic, and historian of Jewish life and culture.
3 Audiobooks
As Others Saw Him: A Retrospect, A.D. 54
by Joseph Jacobs
The Story of Geographical Discovery: How the World Became Known
by Joseph Jacobs
Europa's Fairy Book
by Joseph Jacobs
About the author
Born in Sydney on August 29, 1854, he went on to study in England and built a career that crossed literature, folklore, and history. Although he worked in several fields, he is most widely remembered for collecting, adapting, and publishing English and Celtic fairy tales in a lively style that made them popular with generations of young readers.
His books, including English Fairy Tales and Celtic Fairy Tales, helped bring traditional stories into print in forms that were engaging and easy to read aloud. Alongside this work, he wrote on folklore more broadly and was respected as a scholar as well as a storyteller.
He was also deeply involved in Jewish historical and cultural scholarship, writing about the history of Jews in England and contributing to major reference works, including the Jewish Encyclopedia. He died on January 30, 1916, leaving behind a body of work that connects folklore, children’s literature, and historical research.