This is a fascinating study of the evolution of folktales by focusing on one: the Red Riding Hood (or Red Cap) story from its earliest appearance through the present (as of when the book was written). It includes both discussion and thirty seven examples from the 1697 Charles Perrault version to a couple from 1990, including The Company of Wolves, a strange 1979 story that was turned into an even weirder 1985 movie, which inspired me to re-read this book.
The discussion covers the way different writers in different periods dealt with the subjects and turned it from a story about the dangers of the forest and necessity of obedience to a warning about sexual predators to empowering women with many twists along the way to make political points. Another section discusses the way the illustrations portray both the girl and the wolf. Zipes discusses the way some versions have her and her grandmother handling the problem themselves, and sometimes they need rescuing, and they range from having the disobedient child (and foolish old woman) being eaten, to happy endings.
Some of the modern versions were just silly, but then again, so were some of the Victorian ones.
This has become an iconic story, and I enjoyed seeing that what seems like "obvious" symbolism in the 21st century had completely different meanings in other times and places. I'd gladly read a similar book on Cinderella or other popular stories. ( )

Rating: 4 of 5

The high rating is strictly for content, not for Zipes' analysis. The prologue and first essay were jam-packed with Little Red Riding Hood's history - loved 'em both! But the epilogue, "Reviewing and Re-Framing Little Red Riding Hood," started to bore me about halfway through.

The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood, Second Edition, offered a wealth of information: LRRH's history, a chronological bibliography, notes on the authors, AND a collection of 38 Little Red Riding Hood texts (aka stories). Overall, it was well worth the time it took me to hunt down a copy and the price to buy one. ( )

Jack Zipes has collected 31 versions of the story of Little Red Riding Hood for this book, ranging from 1697 to 1979, including plays, poems and stories. He introduces them with an essay that examines the themes of the story, mainly sexuality and the role of women, and sets a cultural context for the variations that arose over the years. Very interesting!

My one criticism is that I would have preferred to have the stories more interspersed with the analysis, rather than appended to it. I think the book as a whole might have flowed better this way. ( )

The Trials & Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood is a chronological collection of prose, poetry, and play adaptations of the folk story, with variant endings. Zipes shows how changing societies have changed the story over the centuries, to reflect their mores. He even analyzes the way Little Red and the wolf have been portrayed in the illustrations over the years. I may have to look up some of the authors whose adaptations I really enjoyed. ( )

Jack Zipes recounts and analyzes the many ways people have used the story of "Little Red Riding Hood" to reflect their culture- particularly their perceptions of women and sexuality. This collection includes an essay by Zipes on this topic, and thirty-one of the stories used in the essay. It tells the reader many of the ways that we think about LRRH, and also gives a useful collection of variations. ( )