Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916) was a folklorist and a scholar of Jewish history and culture. Though a prolific writer and literary critic, he is best remembered today for his works on folklore and fairy tales. In 1890, he published English Fairy Tales and in 1893, More English Fairy Tales. These included such perennials as ‘Jack the Giant Killer’, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, and ‘The Story of the Three Bears’ (a version of which became famous as ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’).

He was born in Sydney, Australia on August 29, 1854, the sixth son of John Jacobs and his wife Sarah. After completing his schooling, he won a scholarship to the University of Sydney for classics, mathematics and chemistry, but immigrated to England at the age of eighteen, in 1872. There, he joined St John’s College at University of Cambridge from where he graduated in 1876. In Britain, Jacobs became aware of widespread anti-semitism. Staunchly opposed to such sentiments, he moved to Berlin in 1877, to study Jewish Literature and philosophy. After his return to England the following year, he became actively involved in opposing anti-Semitism and in the study, preservation and promotion of Jewish history and culture.

It was at this time, too, that he began to develop an interest in folklore. From 1890 to 1916 he edited several collections of fairy tales. The most famous of these collections is perhaps English Fairy Tales (1890), and More English Fairy Tales (1893). Not all of the eighty-seven stories in these two volumes are fairy tales as per the strict definition of the term. Some are ballads, some are close to myths, some are nonsense stories, and there are even half a dozen fables and a nursery rhyme amongst them. Other collections of folklore that he edited include Celtic Fairy Tales (1892), Indian Fairy Tales  (1892), The Fables of Aesop (1894), The Book of Wonder Voyages (1896), and European Folk and Fairy Tales (1916). He was inspired in his endeavours by the work of the Brothers Grimm. From 1899-1900, he also edited the British journal, Folklore.

In 1900 he migrated with his family to the United States of America. Here he worked as revising editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia and later taught  at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. From 1906 - 1916, he  edited the magazine American Hebrew .

During his lifetime, Jacobs came to be regarded as a leading authority on folklore. He also received widespread acclaim for his study of Jewish history and culture.

He died on January 30, 1916, in New York.

Here are some of the English fairy tales that Joseph Jacobs collected and retold.
All the stories presented here are now in the public domain.