How we make them
How we work: from the old book to the finished audio drama with voices, music and sound effects.
A text that belongs to everyone
We only record texts that are in the public domain, so they belong to no one any more. For an English story that goes for the translation too: Margaret Hunt, whose translation of the Grimms' tales we read, died in 1912. If you hold the rights to a work of your own and would like us to record it, write to us at info@copsetale.com.
Unabridged, word for word
We read the printed text, not a retelling. We take it from carefully proofread transcriptions of the old books and compare it with the scans of the originals when in doubt. We take nothing from existing audio dramas, films or modern adaptations.
The cast
Every role gets a synthetic voice of its own. From a large voice library we choose a fitting one for each character, with British voices for the Victorian English of the translation.
Still, now and then we miss a mistake. If you notice something, send us the time from the read-along text.
Music and sound effects
A Copsetale story is more than a reading. Every story gets its own title music, specially composed for it, and music accompanies the story through its scenes. Sound effects make the world of the tale audible, from a drip in the well to the coach. So you can get lost in the story.
The sound effects are made on the computer, without other people's recordings. Under the voices everything stays quiet: whoever speaks should always be easy to understand.
And the children?
This website has no ads, no cookies and no tracking. Every story is fully recorded and listened to by us before it comes out.
The old fairy tales are not always gentle. The princess throws the frog against the wall, and the wolf ends up in the well. We don't smooth that over. If you're unsure, listen to a story yourself first; the whole text is on every story page to read along.