It is not widely known that the Caucasus corridor, the geographic home to the nation of Georgia, was a well travelled arm of the famous Silk Route that linked Asia and Europe. Silk, merchandise, and stories were traded through this region for countless generations. On one hand, Georgia shared a religious and political connection with Byzantium (Christendom), and on the other a constant cultural discourse with Persia and Turkey (Islam). In later years, links to Russia further enriched the cultural traditions of this crossroad of civilisations. It is therefore not surprising that the nation of Georgia overflows with folklore. We invite you to enjoy Georgian Folktales, a short collection of thirty-eight traditional stories from Georgia, Mingrelia and Guria translated by Marjorie Wardrop in 1894. Princes, kings, viziers, wicked stepmothers, princesses, fools, speaking serpents, and simple folk who make good abound in the pages of this delightful volume. The twenty-eight Mingrelian proverbs are an added bonus and provide additional insight into the culture of the region. Many of the themes in these stories are also reflected in European folklore, giving credence to the claim that folklore originated in Asia eons ago and was transported to Europe by the Gypsy and Roma folk. Indeed, some of these stories closely parallel those published in Abela Publishing's Gypsy Folk Tales and Roumanian Folk Tales. A percentage of the sale from this book will be donated to scholarships for the underpriviledged in Georgia.

Full of third sons, talking birds, enchanted places, beautiful women and impossible journeys, these charmingly illustrated stories have a magic-realist, almost absurd quality, and they are told and translated with enough shamanstvo to keep you reading. In his introduction and extensive accompanying gloss, Michael Berman skilfully locates them in their historical, religious, storytelling and shamanic contexts with a scholarship that is both thorough and accessible, making it complementary to the reader's enjoyment. A nice collection. David Ronder

Excerpt from Georgian Folk Tales As a relaxation from these more arduous studies, I amused myself by turning into English the originals of the following stories. I showed the manuscript to Dr. E. B. Tylor, who told me that it presented many features of interest to folklorists, and advised me to publish it; it is, therefore, fitting that I should dedicate the book to the creator of the modern science of anthropology, and he has kindly given me permission to do so. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.