Nicholas Jubber unearths the lives of the dreamers who are behind our most beloved fairy tales such as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast and Baba Yaga. From the Middle Ages to the birth of modern children's literature, they include a German apothecary's daughter, a Syrian youth running away from a career in the souk and a Russian dissident embroiled in a plot to kill the tsar. A journey into the secret history of fairy tales.