The Three Witch Maidens was originally published in the United Kingdom in 1972, by Methuen & Co. Ltd. The 1977 paperback version was published by The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. under its Beaver Books imprint. The book is an anthology of 15 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders. The back cover states: "Magical characters and strange devices — a Swedish genie, a young African girl for whom the sun means disaster, an apple which rolls across a silver dish to reveal the whole world — wait to be discovered in this collection of folk and fairy tales from many lands. For readers of all ages." Source: Wikipedia (en)