A compilation of nine fairy tales from “The Happy Prince and Other Tales”
The Happy Prince
The Nightingale and the Rose
The Selfish Giant
The Devoted Friend
The Remarkable Rocket
and “A House of Pomegranates”
The Young King
The Birthday of the Infanta
The Fisherman and His Soul
The Star-Child
I remember reading “The Happy Prince”and “The Selfish Giant” when I was a child. Sad but beautiful stories about miseries in the world and the fragility and beauty of love. “The Remarkable Rocket” reads like a political satire of the idle and pompous; “The Young King” decries the cruelty of wealth and power.
I don’t quite appreciate “The Nightingale and the Rose” and “The Birthday of the Infanta”. One character died giving her heart’s blood to make a beautiful red rose, another died from shame of his own ugliness. IMO, their lives were sacrificed needlessly in the name of love, or rather, on the altar of beauty.