Fiction & Fairytales...Retold
/Steal Like An Artist…
If you delve deeply enough into the books we choose to read, more often than not you will reveal a connection to something recognizable. That in fact they capture contemporary narratives from the bones of centuries of storytelling. Mythologies, legends, classics and fairytales have all been plundered for plot in myriad of ways and a upon myriad of occasions that proves incalculable. We keep coming back to these incarnations because the essence of their themes endure and they are as relevant today as they were hundreds, or even thousands of years ago.
As a voracious reader with decades of dedication to the cause of book loving under my belt, I love discovering contemporary authors brave enough to conquer the challenge of a retelling.
There’s a certain delight in distinguishing the parallels as well as the deviations from the original text, discovering whether the author adheres to the plotline or simply uses it as a springboard in a new direction. Is the material approached with reverence, or maybe even better yet, irreverence? An adept retelling doesn’t result in the disappearance of the known, but rather it unveils an alternate pathway to the reader.
The selections I have compiled for you are in celebration of the embarrassment of riches that these tales have given us over the years. These authors have unearthed parts of the stories that were lying dormant and breathed new life into them. They have laid claim to a new depth, and in some cases, a new darkness. They have given voice to those in the background. Their ability to weave fresh tales from beloved works without losing any of the original magic is nothing less than literary sorcery.
So, open the door and take a peek. A bevy of beauties, an abundance of adversaries, a cast of creatures, kings and queens, hags and ingénues, stepmothers and godmothers, pixies, giants and gladiators; which will you find? And what else might await you…
The Fairytales…
Gilded – Marissa Meyer – Origin Is Rumplestilskin
In her latest reimagined fairytale, Meyer brings us a haunting retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller’s daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue. Then she finds her outlandish tales attract the wrong kind of attention and unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. What can possibly go wrong?
Book Of G – Lily Archer – Origin Is A Guessing Game!
A classic villain from the world of fairytales tells his own story. He has a glorious past full of renown, the problem is he can’t remember any of it. His memory is a murky blur, but he has a plan to get back everything he lost. But he must battle his feelings for a woman who challenges him at every turn, the same one who told him he is a villain. Who among us doesn’t love a bad boy with plenty of sarcastic banter at the ready?
Thief, Liar Lady – D.L. Soria – Origin Is Cinderella
A spin on the lie that is the promise of the “Happily Ever After”. This time the princess is the one moving all the chess pieces around, at least until her true love arrives and threatens to ruin the whole scheme. The transformation from poor, orphaned maid into enchanting lady who snagged the heart of a prince didn’t happen like we thought it did. This Cinderella is no demure wallflower!
The Lunar Chronicles – Marrisa Meyer – Origin Is Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel & Red Riding Hood
Futuristic retellings of these beloved fairytales give the reader something entirely new to love. Cinder is a teenage cyborg dealing with an evil stepmother and handsome prince. Scarlet is a spaceship pilot determined to solve the mystery of a missing loved one with the help of a street fighter named Wolf. Cress is a computer hacker imprisoned by a Queen and Winter is a princess in love with a commoner. The best part, these tales are all intertwined.
Unbury Carol – Josh Malerman – Origin Is Sleeping Beauty
Carol is a woman with a dark secret. She has died many times, but it never seems to stick. Each coma lasts for days, a waking slumber indistinguishable from death. Torn between the husband who married her for her fortune and her lost love, she battles to save herself and emerge from a terrible fate.
Girls Made Of Snow & Glass – Melissa Bashardoust – Origin Is Snow White
Mina is a motherless young woman with a vicious magician father. She begins to wonder why her heart has never beat with love for anyone, never guessing it’s been replaced with one made of glass. When she plans to win the Kings heart to become queen, the catch is she will become a stepmother to a beautiful young girl. Can both find a way to reshaped themselves and their ages old story…
The Wrath & The Dawn – Renee Ahdieh – Origin Is A Thousand & One Nights
Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Each night he takes a new bride only to have her executed at sunrise. It’s a surprise when a young woman volunteers. Despite a clever plan up her sleeve, things go awry. I love it when the narrative gets flipped!
Curse So Dark & Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer – Origin Is Beauty & The Beast
Fall in love, break the curse…It once seemed so easy to Prince Rehn, cursed to repeat his 18th year over and over. But there’s a catch, at the end of that time he would turn into a vicious beast bent on the destruction of everyone and everything in his path.
All The Ever After’s – Danielle Teller – Origin Is Cinderella
A luminous retelling, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s “evil” stepmother. As rumors of the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed princess Cinderella swirl, her stepmother records her story. The true story…
Crimson Bound – Rosamund Hodge – Origin Is Red Riding Hood
A young woman serves the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone for a reckless straying from her destined path years earlier. But the threat of eternal darkness still looms, despite her best efforts.
Beauty In Thorns – Kate Forsyth – Origin Is Sleeping Beauty
A spellbinding reimagining set amongst the wild bohemian circle of pre-Raphaelite artists and poets. Following three women lured to be muses in unique ways. A story of love, obsession and heartbreak.
Burning Roses – S.L. Huang – Origin Is Red Riding Hood
Rosa is done with wolves and woods! Hou Yi the Archer is tired and longs to retire. But the world has something else in store for these two. When deadly birds begin to ravage the countryside, threatening everything they have grown to love, they must join forces. A tale of sacrifice and bravery.
The Classics…
The Death I Gave Him– Em X. Liu – Origin Is Hamlet
Hayden’s life is ripped apart when he finds his father murdered in their lab and the camera logs erased. The killer can only have been after one thing, the formula they developed that one day may reverse death itself. Hoping to lure the killer into the open, he steals the research, uncovering a recording his father made before his death with a dying wish. Avenge me…
Fair Rosaline – Natasha Solomon – Origin Is Romeo & Juliet
What if the greatest love story ever told was a lie? The first time Romeo sees young Rosaline he falls instantly in love. Rosaline, independent and headstrong, is unsure of his attentions but with her father threatening her with convent life, she decides to give him a chance. Soon she begins to doubt everything he has told her, especially when his gaze turns to her thirteen-year-old cousin, Juliet. Romeo as a predator? Brilliant and powerful retelling.
Our Hideous Progeny – C.E. McGill – Origin Is Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein’s great niece Mary discovers some old family papers that allude to the shocking truth behind the disappearance of her great uncle under mysterious circumstances. Thinking this could secure her future in the world of scientific discovery, Mary goes on a quest to unravel all the family deep, dark secrets. It’s not the monster we should fear, but the men who make the monster.
Queen Hereafter – Isabelle Schuler – Origin Is Lady Macbeth
She will be queen. Whatever it takes. No matter that she is the daughter of an ousted king or descendant from druids. Determined to never be powerless, Gruoch leaves behind everything she has ever known to travel to the royal home to ensure that the prophecy she has always believed to be true is realized. Passion, ruthless and shrewd. In other words, a perfect homage to Lady Macbeth.
The Mere Wife – Maria Dahvana Headly – Origin Is Beowulf
A modern retelling, set in American suburbia as two mothers, a housewife and a battle-hardened veteran, fight to protect those they love. For those inside this gated community, it's an untouchable paradise. For those outside, an unreachable prison.
These Violent Delights – Chloe Gong – Origin Is Romeo & Juliet
A retelling set in 1920’s Shanghai with a blood feud between two rival gangs gripping the city in chaos. As Juliette takes her rightful place as leader of one of the gangs she squares off against the leader of the other, her first love. You might think you know where this is going…but think again.
The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova – Origin Is Dracula
In exploring her father’s library, a young woman finds an ancient book along with a cache of letters. She is plunged into a world she never imagined; one full of secrets and incomprehensible evil. Unveiling a centuries long quest in search of the truth of the legend of Dracula. A bold reinvention of existing mythologies marries beautifully with new adventures on a monumental scale.
The Diabolic – S.J. Kincaid – Origin Is I, Claudius
A senators’ daughter is summoned to the galactic court as a hostage, but in reality, is the galaxy’s most dangerous weapon in disguise. Nemesis is a diabolic created to kill in order to protect the person she is assigned and sacrifice her own life to do so. As the Empire fractures and rebellion looms, everything becomes more complicated.
Morgan Is My Name – Sophie Keetch – Origin Is Arthurian Legend
Young Morgan of Cornwall lives a happy life until the King Pendragon, with the help of the sorcerer Merlin, murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage. Furious, brilliant, and vengeful, she defies her brutal stepfather, taking up a secret education, despite the threat to her freedom. A fierce and feminist perspective.
Scandalous Confessions Of Lydia Bennet, Witch – Melinda Taub – Origin Is Pride & Prejudice
Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic Pride & Prejudice. Some facts are well known, Mrs. Bennet suffers from nerves, Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet and all five daughters suffer from being females. Turns out they all have more going on than meets the eye, magical powers, and a little irrepressible wickedness.
My Plain Jane – Cynthia Hand – Origin Is Jane Eyre
An irreverent spin on Jane Eyre; a tale of mischief, romance and supernatural mayhem reminiscent of The Princess Bride. An adventure of gothic proportions with a certain gentleman hiding more that skeletons in his closet.
The Myths & Mythic…
Herc – Phoenicia Rogerson – Origin Is Hercules
You expect this to be the story of Hercules; his twelve labors and endless adventures, everyones favourite mythic hero right? Well, it’s not. It’s the story of everyone else; his mother, his lover, his wife and his friends and rivals. Wickedly fun and dark, this is a retelling you won’t want to miss.
Julia – Sandra Newman – Origin Is 1984
Julia is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984 and Britain has been ruled by an ultra-totalitarian regime for as long as she can remember. All her life, Julia has been an ideal citizen, until one day she hands a note to Winston, setting in motion the devasting and unforgettable events of the classic story. A daring retelling with a badass woman at the wheel!
Lavinia – Ursula K. LeGuin - Origin Is The Aeneid
Fought for by the heroine in the Aeneid, Lavinia never utters a single word. Here she is given a voice. Rather than be at the mercy of omens and prophecies like many of her time, she takes her destiny into her own hands.
Circe – Madeline Miller - Origin Is The Odyssey
In Homer’s Odyssey, Circe is an enchantress who falls in love with Odysseus and tricks him into staying with her after she turns his men into pigs. This iteration of the character is made much more complex and enriched in this fascinating retelling. She has the power of witchcraft and the patience to hone her skill and bide her time.
Cecily– Annie Garthwaite – Origin Is War Of The Roses
1431 is a dangerous time for a woman to be defiant. England has been at war with France for 100 years. Power hungry men within a corrupt government set out to manipulate a weak king. And name Cecily’s husband, a loyal duke, an enemy. Courage and cunning are required for Cecily to save her family, but will she be seduced by ambition along the way?
The Silence Of The Girls – Pat Barker - Origin Is The Iliad
A woman at the heart of the Trojan War has been silent…until now. A witness that history forgot, Briseis is now slave to Achilles, who mercilessly butchered her family. Can she somehow become the author of her own story?
The Wolf Den – Elodie Harper - Origin Is Women Of Pompeii
Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father’s death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii’s infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her powers as a she-wolf. Can she find a way to reverse her fortune as she finds other’s like herself?
The Cold Is In Her Bones – Peternelle van Arsdale - Origin Is Medusa
A sheltered girl learns that the village she is never allowed to visit is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random. Now Mila must uncover secrets of the past to save her friend from this terrible curse.
Dark Wife – Sarah Diemer - Origin Is Persephone/Hades
This story is a metaphor for defiance in following the rules set out for us by others as Persephone forges her own path. Rallying against restrictive traditions and finding her place in the world. And in this edition, Hades isn’t so bad after all!
Queen Of Hearts – Colleen Oakes – Origin Is Alice In Wonderland
An imaginative and twisted book tackling the most infamous of villains…The Queen Of Hearts. This is not the story of the Alice In Wonderland we all know, and Alice hasn’t fallen down any rabbit hole. It’s rather a maze of lies and secrets that must be navigated in order to reign over the Kingdom of Wonderland and possess the throne.
