The Immortal Gazette: The Tale of Tales – Giambattista Basile, the Forgotten Fairy Tale King
Alice sat in her usual chair, idly flipping through the pages of a heavy, ancient book with a cover so elaborate it looked like it belonged in a treasure vault. Loki, lounging nearby with his boots up on the table, raised an eyebrow at her choice of literature.
“What is that?” he asked, unimpressed. “Another one of those dusty mortal tomes you insist on reading?”
Alice smirked, snapping the book shut with a thud. “Oh, this little relic? Just The Tale of Tales by none other than Giambattista Basile. You know, the actual father of fairy tales.”
Loki sat up, suddenly interested. “Wait—he was the original? Not Perrault or the Brothers Grimm?”
“Oh, please,” Alice scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. “Those guys just did remixes of Basile’s work. He was writing fairy tales before it was cool. If you really want to educate yourself, let’s start at the beginning.”
Rumplestiltskin leaned forward, intrigued. “Alright, Alice, enlighten us.”
Alice grinned. “Gladly. Giambattista Basile was an Italian courtier, poet, and storyteller born around 1575 in Naples. He spent his life working for noble families—think Renaissance-era game of thrones but with more poetry and fewer beheadings. He collected folktales from all over southern Italy and wove them into The Tale of Tales, also called Lo cunto de li cunti in Neapolitan dialect.”
Loki rubbed his chin. “So… a Renaissance fairy tale collector? Like a fancy bard?”
Alice pointed at him dramatically. “Exactly! But what makes him legendary is that The Tale of Tales is the first known collection of fairy tales in history. We’re talking the original versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and more—before the Grimms or Perrault ever got their hands on them.”
Rumplestiltskin raised an eyebrow. “And I assume they were much… darker?”
Alice let out a mischievous chuckle. “Oh, you have no idea. Take Sleeping Beauty, or as Basile called it, Sun, Moon, and Talia. In his version, Talia doesn’t wake up from a prince’s kiss—she wakes up because she gives birth while unconscious. Yeah, you heard me right. The ‘prince’ basically helps himself while she’s asleep, and later, her children wake her by sucking the splinter from her finger. Fairy tale magic, huh?”
Loki’s smirk faded. “That is not the charming bedtime story I was expecting.”
“Oh, it gets better,” Alice said, flipping the book open again. “His Cinderella—called The Cat Cinderella—has murder in it. Cinderella doesn’t just suffer under her stepmother—she straight-up has her killed so her father will marry someone else. And then the new stepmother turns out even worse.”
Rumplestiltskin cackled. “Now that’s a plot twist I can appreciate.”
Alice nodded. “Basile’s stories weren’t meant for children. They were crude, poetic, witty, and sometimes downright disturbing. His Tale of Tales is structured like a story within a story, where ten storytellers entertain a princess over five days, creating a total of fifty tales.”
Loki raised an eyebrow. “So, it’s like a Renaissance-era Arabian Nights?”
Alice snapped her fingers. “Exactly! Except way more chaotic. He packed it full of satire, weird humor, and bizarre plot twists. His Cinderella doesn’t get a glass slipper—she gets a weird lost shoe. His fairy tale heroes are often bumbling fools who stumble into fortune. He mocked nobility and played with social themes, all while spinning the wildest tales.”
Rumplestiltskin tapped his chin. “And yet… no one remembers him.”
Alice sighed dramatically. “Oh, the tragedy of it! The Brothers Grimm loved his work and stole—I mean, borrowed—a lot of his tales. Charles Perrault took inspiration from his versions. But because Basile wrote in an obscure Neapolitan dialect, and because Renaissance Italy wasn’t exactly broadcasting fairy tales across Europe, he never got the credit he deserved.”
Loki smirked. “So, let me get this straight. This Basile guy gave us the blueprints for half of modern fairy tales, made them wildly dark and weird, and then got erased from history?”
Alice lifted her teacup in a solemn toast. “A crime against literature.”
Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “If only he had a better PR team.”
Alice laughed. “Exactly! If Basile had lived in an era of publishers, printing presses, and good branding, he’d be the name in fairy tales. Instead, Perrault and the Grimms get all the fame, while he’s just a footnote in history.”
Loki leaned back, grinning. “Well, now I definitely need to read this Tale of Tales.”
Alice smirked. “Oh, you should. You’ll never look at fairy tales the same way again.”
With that, she flicked the book open again, its ancient pages whispering secrets long forgotten, waiting for those curious enough to uncover them.
Bloodthorn Publishing🩸 proudly presents our compilation of Fairy Tales from The Tale of Tales in our own Unique ballad form.
Experience the magic of Giambattista Basile’s classic 17th-century collection, The Tale of Tales (Pentamerone), reimagined by us into 50 captivating ballads. The Tale of Tales stories were originally published between 1634 and 1636, we have transformed these timeless tales into unique lyrical narratives, blending the charm of traditional storytelling with the allure of music, lyrics, and melodies.
We hope you enjoy our enchanting journey through Basile's rich tapestry of fairy tales, now brought to life in song, lyrics, and music.
🖋️✨📜🖤
