Gina Conkle’s blog last week, about the Cinderella twist in The
Lady Meets Her Match, reminded me that
fairy tales are the gift that keeps on giving. First, in their original
form—whether written by Perrault, Andersen, or the Brothers Grimm, then, for
all the countless variations and adaptations they inspire.
Pamela Sherwood
Cinderella alone has
more than 300 variants, which English folklorist Marian Roalfe Cox (1860-1916)
compiled in a single volume in 1893. The research geek in me would love to get
my hands on that book, someday. Most of us were probably introduced to the girl
with the missing shoe through Charles Perrault’s version from 17th
century France, but she has also appeared throughout the ages in China, Italy,
Scotland, and Germany (the version referenced in Stephen Sondheim’s fairy-tale
musical, Into the Woods).
Modern authors and filmmakers have likewise introduced their
own takes on fairy-tales, sometimes by changing no more than an element or two. But
alter the outcome of one event, switch POV, or reverse a character’s moral
orientation, and—just like magic—you have another story, at once familiar and
new.
What if . . . the evil queen was an innocent trying to introduce
Christianity into the kingdom and Snow White was a devil worshipper (Tanith
Lee’s “Red As Blood”)? What if . . . the wolf who terrorized Little Red Riding
Hood was actually a kindly creature tricked by a deceitful child (Jane Yolen’s
“Happy Dens: A Day in the Old Wolves’ Home”)? What if . . . the prince fouled
up the spell surrounding the Sleeping Beauty by arriving a day too early
(Patricia C. Wrede’s “Stronger Than Time”)?
Changing the setting also introduces fascinating new
dimensions. Remember the ‘80s TV series, Beauty and the Beast, which was updated to modern New York City (where the Beast--Vincent--rode on top of subways and lived in a mysterious underground community)? Outlandish as the set-up sounds, I enjoyed the first two seasons of the show--and flatly refuse to acknowledge the existence of the third!
Fantasy author
Mercedes Lackey sets her fairy-tale infused Elemental Masters series during the
Edwardian period, and—later—the WWI era. In her Cinderella-inspired Phoenix
and Ashes, the heroine is a frustrated
scholar bound to servitude and the hearth by her evil stepmother’s spell and
her “prince” a young aviator, grounded by injuries and shell-shock. The result
is an affecting blend of fantasy and history that demonstrates the fairy-tale’s
versatility and evergreen appeal.
Amazon Kindle Nook Apple Kobo Google |
Lately, I’ve been having some fun with fairy tales myself,
taking a brief hiatus from straight historical romance to publish a collection
of fantasy short stories. “Awakened,” the title story, is a variation on Sleeping
Beauty, in which the princess falls into her enchanted slumber just after
the French Revolution and awakens in the last years of the 19th
century, to a world she could never have imagined . . . and choices she never
dreamed were possible. (You can read an excerpt here on my website.)
What twists or variations on fairy tales have you seen and
enjoyed?
Comment by midnight PST, 4/13 and I’ll send a signed copy of
Awakened and Other Enchanted Tales to
one respondent! The book also includes a bonus excerpt from A Scandal in Newport, a novella featuring Amy Newbold and Thomas Sheridan, the secondary couple from Waltz with a Stranger.
Pamela Sherwood
NEWSLETTER
ETA: Renee G wins the giveaway for Awakened! Please contact me at pamela@pamelasherwood.com with your mailing address so I can send you your book. (I tried the email address attached to your profile, but it was returned as undeliverable.) Thanks!
ETA: Renee G wins the giveaway for Awakened! Please contact me at pamela@pamelasherwood.com with your mailing address so I can send you your book. (I tried the email address attached to your profile, but it was returned as undeliverable.) Thanks!
Congratulations on your new book, Pamela!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ash!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome giveaway, and the book sounds fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shana! I admit, these stories are close to my heart, as is the whole fantasy/fairy tale genre. Fairy tales were among the first things I learned to read.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorites but I think they all hit a cord - maybe because you hear the tales when you're really impressionable.
ReplyDeleteThanks, catslady! I guess, when it comes to fairy tales, Sondheim had it right when he wrote the song "Children Will Listen" for "Into the Woods."
DeleteLoved that movie!
DeleteI saw the Broadway show first, when it ran on PBS, but the movie's a good adaptation!
DeleteI've always loved fairy tale but have had a soft spot for Beauty and the Beast over all others - and I have to agree about the 3rd season of the TV series. Gina's Meet the Earl at Midnight is a great retelling of Beauty. I can't wait to read your latest, it looks great!
ReplyDeleteBeauty and the Beast has become increasingly special to me as well, Glenda! Thanks for your interest!
ReplyDeletenot really a fan of retellings
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Well, the originals still hold a powerful appeal, bn100! Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the book - your new take on the old tales sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Renee! While the title story is a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, I pay homage here and there to other fairy tales in some of the remaining stories.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a nice twist on a familiar tale. I love Mercedes Lackey's tales (athough I am most fond of the Valdemar or Hawkbrothers series) but I am sadly behind on the fairy tale series. Tanya Huff also does a nice twist on some of the traditional elements of fairy tales. Congrats on the release!
ReplyDeleteThanks, E.L.F.! I think the last Elemental Masters book was a take on Little Red Riding Hood--it skirted a bit too close to horror for my liking, so I just skimmed it heavily. But I have enjoyed Lackey's takes on Beauty & the Beast (The Fire Rose), Snow White (The Serpent's Shadow), and Cinderella (Phoenix and Ashes).
ReplyDelete