Читать книгу The Doll Story MEGAPACK ® - Frances Hodgson Burnett - Страница 5

INTRODUCTION: HELLO, DOLLY! by Robert Reginald

Dolls—those cute and cuddly replicas of minature children that have been hugged and cherished to distraction by generations of young people (and their elders). Dolls come in many forms, including nutcrackers, teddy bears, voodoo dolls, talking dolls (real and fictional), and sexy dolls (the images, not real women)—and have been constructed from all kinds of materials. They’ve also been dressed both elaborately and simply (or not at all!) over the past two centuries, using a wide variety of fabrics and styles.

So it’s not surprising that creative writers have responded to the devotion that many children maintain for dolls, producing fictional accounts that have thrilled the fans and readers of each new generation. This anthology includes twenty-five stories, six poems, and one play relating to dolls. Some are classics—Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess always ranks near the top on readers’ lists of their favorite doll tales—while others are less well known.

Other classic tales include “Nutcracker and the King of Mice,” by E. T. A. Hoffmann (the inspiration for Tchaikovsky’s great work); “Dolly and I,” by Oliver Optic; “The Doll and Her Friends,” by Julia Maitland; “The Dolls’ Journey from Minnesota to Maine,” by Louisa May Alcott; “Raggedy Ann Stories,” by Johnny Gruelle; and “Racketty-Packetty House,” also by Burnett. More recent stories include “The Doll,” by Edmund Glasby; “The Doll’s Ghost,” by F. Marion Crawford; “The Doll,” by Vernon Lee; “The Dybbuk Dolls,” by Jack Dann; “Smothered Dolls,” by A. R. Morlan; “Lukundoo,” by Edward Lucas White; “The Man Who Wasn’t Nice to Pumpkin Head Dolls,” by Darrell Schweitzer; “Tiny Doll-Face,” by Marilyn “Mattie” Brahen; “Doll,” by Don Webb; “Mrs. Corter Makes Up Her Mind,” by August Derleth; and “The Doll,” by Barry Pain.

There’s something here for everyone—good writing, great reading, and just plain fun!

—Robert Reginald & Mary Wickizer Burgess, 17 Aug. 2013