Adult fairy tales?

[DepthOfTheAbyss]

I’ve seen variances on Beauty and the Beast and Rumplestiltskin in YA fiction. Does anyone know if there are any for adults?

Angela Carter did some

Book of Fairy Tales: www.amazon.co.uk/Angela-Carters-Book-Fairy-Tales/dp/1844081737?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

The Bloody Chamber: www.amazon.co.uk/Bloody-Chamber-Other-Stories/dp/0099588110?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Try Angela Carter: ‘The Bloody Chamber’. A real classic.

I came on to say Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. She's the mistress of adult fairytales.
I also fairly recently read Hag, a collection of new tellings of old fairy/folk stories by different authors. It's variable, as anthologies can be, but there's some really interesting ones. Some are quite disturbing and frightening.

There are also some books which are aimed at an older audience which have a similar vibe to fairytales, or are based on fairytales. The Bear and the Nightingale trilogy by Katherine Arden is one that comes to mind.

I would highly recommend Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Both have a fairy tale/folklore kind of vibe and both excellent.

Neil Gaimans done some great ones. Try snow, glass and apples. Or for a modern original fairy tale James Herberts Once is fabulous.

There the twisted disney tales. I enjoy them. Currently reading the - What once was mine - a twist on Rapunzel

Gregory Maguire (Author of Wicked) has some too. - Mirror Mirror, confessions of an ugly stepsister

For a laugh- the asbo fairy tales

Great list there. Thank you

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a lovely book and based on a Russian fairy tale.

The Good People by Hannah Kent features Irish folklore

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth is historical fiction but a retelling of rapunzel. It's a great read.

Sealskin by Su somebody is about the myth of the selkies but I hated this book with a passion and would be loathe to recommend it.

Lost Boy by Christina Henry is a twisted version of Peter Pan.

Beauty, Rose Daughter and Spindle' End Robin McKinley

@2022HereWeCome

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth is historical fiction but a retelling of rapunzel. It's a great read.

Sealskin by Su somebody is about the myth of the selkies but I hated this book with a passion and would be loathe to recommend it.

Lost Boy by Christina Henry is a twisted version of Peter Pan.

I didn't get past the first chapter of Sealskin.

If you're interested in selkie myths then The Visitors by Simon Sylvester covers that ground and isn't deeply unpleasant.

About half of Ursula Vernon (also writes as T Kingfisher) is adult retellings, novel size and shorts. She's excellent.
And another vote for Neil Gaiman of course.

What ever you do, do not read The Claiming of Sleeping beauty by Anne Rice! Had to delete it off my Kindle. I cursed my curiosity.

The Snow Child mentioned above it one of my favourite books.

@Icenii - I've just looked up the claiming of sleeping beauty. Given that 4 sentences into the blurb on Amazon it references 50 shades of grey I'm not surprised you deleted it. I only lasted 3 chapters of 50 shades - I'm no prude but it so was badly written I couldn't continue.

Not read 50 shades but this one was warped!

Will follow thread as love adult fairy tales.

Christina Henry has a few - they have titles like “The Mermaid” “The Lost Boy” and a series based on Alice in Wonderland. I’ve only personally read The Mermaid so far and it was a fairly dark take on a mermaid story.

Also have read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey and some of Angela Carter’s stuff as pp have suggested.

Juliet Marillier
Daughter of the forest trilogy

Try The Book Of Lost Things by John Conolly

If u fancy something fairy tale but really different try indexing by Mira grant. That’s a huge different way if seeinf fairy tales

The Skin by J.E. Hannaford is another good Selkie (and sirens and witches) story.

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge is YA but not noticeably so. About changelings.

Terri Windling edits MARVELLOUS anthologies of adult fairy tales and has also written some books herself. Tanith Lee and Patricia McKillip are also worth looking out for.

Beauty by Sheri Tepper references a few fairy tales, and is heartbreakingly good. Wylding Hall by Elisabeth Hand is an amazing book