Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales To Fall In Love With


Kate Wolford - 2013
    These are ten tales, much neglected. Editor of Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine, Kate Wolford, introduces and annotates each tale in a manner that won't leave novices of fairy tale studies lost in the woods to grandmother's house, yet with a depth of research and a delight in posing intriguing puzzles that will cause folklorists and savvy readers to find this collection a delicious new delicacy.Beyond the Glass Slipper is about more than just reading fairy tales—it's about connecting to them. It's about thinking of the fairy tale as a precursor to Saturday Night Live as much as it is to any princess-movie franchise: the tales within these pages abound with outrageous spectacle and absurdist vignettes, ripe with humor that pokes fun at ourselves and our society.Never stuffy or pedantic, Kate Wolford proves she's the college professor you always wish you had: smart, nurturing, and plugged into pop culture. Wolford invites us into a discussion of how these tales fit into our modern cinematic lives and connect the larger body of fairy tales, then asks—no, insists—that we create our own theories and connections. A thinking man's first step into an ocean of little known folklore.

A Portable Shelter


Kirsty Logan - 2015
    They spend their time telling stories to the unborn baby, trying to pass on the lessons they've learned: tales of circuses and stargazing, selkie fishermen and domestic werewolves, child-eating witches and broken-toothed dragons. But each must keep their storytelling a secret from the other, as they've agreed to only ever tell the plain truth. Ruth tells her stories when Liska is at work, to a background of shrieking seabirds; Liska tells hers when Ruth is asleep, with the lighthouse sweeping its steady beam through the window. As their tales build and grow along with their child, Liska and Ruth realise that the truth lives in their stories, and they cannot hide from one another. A Portable Shelter is a beautifully produced collection of elegant, haunting short stories from one of Britain's most exciting new talents. Each story is accompanied by an illustration by award-winning artist Liz Myhill. Produced with the assistance of the Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship.

Transformations


Anne Sexton - 1971
    The fairy tale-based works of the tortured confessional poet, whose raw honesty and wit in the face of psychological pain have touched thousands of readers.

Folk


Zoe Gilbert - 2018
    Harsh winds scour the rocky coastline. The villagers' lives are inseparable from nature and its enchantments.Verlyn Webbe, born with a wing for an arm, unfurls his feathers in defiance of past shame; Plum is snatched by a water bull and dragged to his lair; little Crab Skerry takes his first run through the gorse-maze; Madden sleepwalks through violent storms, haunted by horses and her father's wishes.As the tales of this island community interweave over the course of a generation, their earthy desires, resentments, idle gossip and painful losses create a staggeringly original world. Crackling with echoes of ancient folklore, but entirely, wonderfully, her own, Zoe Gilbert's Folk is a dark, beautiful and intoxicating debut.

Beyond the Woods: Fairy Tales Retold


Paula Guran - 2016
    But in truth, they have continued to prick the imaginations of readers at all ages.Over the years, authors have often borrowed bits and pieces from these stories, grafting them into their own writing, creating literature with both new meaning and age-old significance. In the last few decades or so, they’ve also intentionally retold and reinvented the tales in a variety of ways—delightful or dark, wistful or wicked, sweet or satirical—that forge new trails through the forests of fantastic fiction.This new anthology compiles some of the best modern fairy-tale retellings and reinventions from award-winning and bestselling authors, acclaimed storytellers, and exciting new talents, into an enchanting collection. Explore magical new realms by traveling with us, Beyond the Woods . . .

Faeries, Elves and Goblins: The Old Stories


Rosalind Kerven - 2013
    Interspersed with spotlight features on faery folklore, including fascinating quotes drawn from medieval manuscripts and both written and oral folklore, these tales cover faery morals, elvish misdemeanors, the spells cast by goblins, and the sightings of the creatures, as well as their dealings with mortals. The enchanting stories, rewritten to engage a new generation, are each attributed to a British region. With charming illustrations from favorite illustrators throughout, this book reminds readers of the enduring appeal of folklore and mystery for all generations.

Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, and Lore


Skye Alexander - 2012
    From the Irish merrows who come on land to search for human husbands to the fake Fiji Mermaid made popular by P.T Barnum, these sea maidens (and sometimes men) can be found in folklore and mythology from every tradition in the world.Inside this captivating collection, complete with beautiful illustrations throughout, you'll discover the myths surrounding these enigmatic beings, explore the common symbols associated with them, and learn tales of merfolk from around the world. Dive into Mermaids and get swept away!

My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales


Kate BernheimerKaren Joy Fowler - 2010
     Neil Gaiman, “Orange”   Aimee Bender, “The Color Master”   Joyce Carol Oates, “Blue-bearded Lover”   Michael Cunningham, “The Wild Swans”   These and more than thirty other stories by Francine Prose, Kelly Link, Jim Shepard, Lydia Millet, and many other extraordinary writers make up this thrilling celebration of fairy tales—the ultimate literary costume party.   Spinning houses and talking birds. Whispered secrets and borrowed hope. Here are new stories sewn from old skins, gathered by visionary editor Kate Bernheimer and inspired by everything from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” and “The Little Match Girl” to Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard” and “Cinderella” to the Brothers Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel” and “Rumpelstiltskin” to fairy tales by Goethe and Calvino and from China, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Norway, and Mexico.   Fairy tales are our oldest literary tradition, and yet they chart the imaginative frontiers of the twenty-first century as powerfully as they evoke our earliest encounters with literature. This exhilarating collection restores their place in the literary canon.

Folk and Fairy Tales


Martin Hallett - 2002
    Sections group tales together by theme or juxtapose variations of individual tales, inviting comparison and analysis across cultures and genres. An accessible section of critical selections provides a foundation for readers to analyze, debate, and interpret the tales for themselves. An expanded introduction by the editors looks at the history of folk and fairy tales and distinguishes between the genres, while revised introductions to individual sections provide more detailed history of particular tellers and tales, paying increased attention to the background and cultural origin of each tale. A selection of illustrations from editions of classic tales from the 19th to the 21st centuries is also included.

Traditional Irish Fairy Tales


James Stephens - 1920
    and more

Triassic


Julian Michael Carver - 2020
    They are unsure of what happened in space or how they crashed into an uncharted planet. Upon exploration of the new world, they soon realize their destination: The Triassic, the first chapter of the Mesozoic Era. A plan is formulated to escape this terrifying landscape plagued with dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts. The survivors soon discover that there may be an even larger threat looming under the trees than just the dinosaurs, threatening to cut their mission short and trap them all forever in the primitive depths of the Triassic.

The Swan: Carnivale Chronicles


Aja - 2020
    No slow burn, no filler. This couple gets right to the point.Nova Bradford and Mikhail Luther have a long history. They've known each other since they were students at Blythe T. Young Magnet High School. Mikhail was the handsome high school jock with the pretty homecoming queen on his arm and Nova, well Nova was the ugly duckling no one cared about. After years of working on her self-confidence thanks to a friend and therapy, she finally decides albeit reluctantly, to embark on a school reunion cruise to tropical paradise where she will come face to face with her former classmates that taunted her every day.What she doesn't expect to find is Mikhail, alone and not the same young man from school. What follows seems unlikely, but it's also the thing they both need ...

Guards of Emerald Queen


J.S. Striker - 2018
    In her case, there's Nick Matthews, who's the town flirt and thinks she's the next notch on his bedpost. Then there's Ian Matthews, who's supposed to be the easygoing brother. Except there's nothing easygoing about his charm, or the way he looks at her, or the way he kisses her.And there's nothing easygoing about his secret...NickRose Newark thinks she landed the chance of a lifetime when she gets her first interior decorating solo project, and she can't wait to get started. All her excitement goes down the drain, however, when she meets her new client: Nick Matthews, aka the town's playboy.Aka the most potently charming man she's ever met.She's unfazed by that charm, of course--until she starts getting to know the man beneath the glamorous lifestyle. On paper, Nick has it easy and has it all. But the closer she gets to him, the more Rose finds out about his secrets: and they're secrets that make him all the more attractive--and all the more dangerous... Ara Tom Anderson has worked at Coolio's all his life, so selling the place and packing up feels like the best break he can get. Having no responsibilities for the first time ever seems like a solid plan--one that's broken when he finds himself responsible for the safety of Ara Matthews' one night.Things soon start unravelling when he keeps getting her out of trouble and starts realizing that maybe there's more to her than meets the eye. Ara has deep, dark secrets--and they're secrets that he soon finds himself entangled in, much as he finds himself entangled in her hot, brazen kisses...SamuelBeing the healer of four very powerful, very supernatural siblings might seem like the coolest job in the world--but for Natalie Hill, it's just a job, and one that's ending soon. Now she's down to the last person she's supposed to protect: Samuel Matthews, who never really needed help from her, considering he's already a cop and the town's greatest protector.But danger comes in many forms, and Samuel's beast nature is testament to that: a volatile creature that's a contrast to Samuel's usual calm self, one that fascinates her all the more. Natalie knows it's a mistake to get too close to him. But when tension forms and sexual attraction takes shape, it's too late to back out--and all she can do is try to fight for their lives...Adult Content.

Hall of Mirrors: Tales of Horror and the Grotesque. Volume 2


Mike Bennett
    Return to the ruined pier at the farthest, darkest edge of the Internet and accompany Mike Bennett back into the Hall of Mirrors.This time around we have hell and damnation in 'Salvation'; a petty criminal in a tight spot in 'Give Me a Hundred'; something in the woods in 'The Green Man'; a revolting comedy featuring two men and a dog in 'Dessert'; a cockroach problem in 'The Exterminators; humiliation and horror in 'Wet Velvet'; and a ship bound for bloodshed in 'Night Crossing'.So, dust off your ticket stub and roll up once again for Hall of Mirrors Volume 2 – More Tales of Horror and the Grotesque.

Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales


Angela Carter - 1992
    This collection contains lyrical tales, bloody tales and hilariously funny and ripely bawdy stories from countries all around the world - from the Arctic to Asia - and no dippy princesses or soppy fairies. Instead, we have pretty maids and old crones; crafty women and bad girls; enchantresses and midwives; rascal aunts and odd sisters.