Recently, a friend told me she wasn’t going to read my novel because she didn’t read fairy tale retellings. I had no response. After that encounter, I thought about her statement for a long time. I’ve never thought of my books as retellings. I often pitch them as a fairytale characters in a Dungeons and Dragons setting. The D&D idea came first— the fairytale characters later.
I have nothing against retellings and I’ve read quite a few good ones (recommendations at the end of the blog post). I’ve tried to keep my fairytale characters fairly true to their origins (Grimm, Perrault, Andersen). Again, I wanted to see how the original characters worked within a high fantasy setting, how a character like Cinderella would handle an overthrow of an evil monarch, or how Snow White would react to dangerous, mythical creatures. These ideas were my original inspiration.
So is it a retelling? In the first book Kingdom Come, we often start at the end or near the end of the original fairy tale. Technically, some parts of the original story are retold but in a fashion suited for my world. And I say in the novel that the “truth” versus the “story” may not match. For good or bad, the differences from the traditional story are all mine to suit my themes and narrative.
You may ask “What about a genderbender, or LGBQT+ retelling, different POV, different setting?” I have nothing against any of these types of stories, but “switching it up” isn’t my purpose. I’m not interested in writing how a male Snow White would handle becoming king, or how a lesbian Sleeping Beauty would fall in love with another woman. With regards to POV, they’re often told from the antagonist’s perspective which will make them a bit sympathetic, but the villain remain mired in their dirty deeds and usually the fairytale characters haven’t done enough to warrant their animosity, or the original “good” characters are so evil they don’t resemble their source material.
I’m partial to the Grimm stories and keeping the characters true to their origins. “How trite?” you say. “We’ve thoroughly explored these shallow characters?” I would disagree.
These stories have existed for centuries. Not decades or mere years, but centuries! Time is the best judge of whether an art form lasts. I often wonder…is the Mona Lisa good because we as a generation think it’s a masterpiece, or because we were told it was? I think the former. It continues to be judged by time and come out on top.
Fairy tales have lasted for centuries. Even Tolkien’s stories haven’t lasted as long (“Blasphemy!” I hear). They’ve persevered this long because they connect to people generation after generation. Why does this generation feel they are tired and old-fashioned? I think the answer lies in our ability to watch something like “The Little Mermaid” over and over again. It’s a blessing and a curse and the “curse” part is a shame. But that’s where an author injects a bit of imagination and suddenly the story comes alive in a thrilling new way. Unlike my friend who doesn’t read retellings, most of my readers haven’t used the term “retelling” with my stories. I myself would call it a “continuation” story. I’ve often compared my novel to the second act in the play Into the Woods, another continuation story.
Kingdom is a fairytale world populated by the fairytale characters. I want my Cinderella to ride wyverns, my Snow White to face an angry mob of elves unfairly treated by the dwarfs, my Little Mermaid to assist my Little Match Girl find her true love. I’m excited to share these stories with you and I hope you’ll join me on this journey…a journey where the ending is not necessarily known before you reach the final page. I’ll throw some curveballs before you reach the “happy ending,” which, in my stories, are usually bittersweet. But at the end, I hope I’ve stayed true to the characters you grew up with and loved.
For my five fairytale queens, here’s a list of great retellings and other stories about these characters.
Snow White: Winter by Marissa Meyer [retelling and continuation], A Darkness Found by TK White [prequel and different POV], Snow White (Timeless Fairy Tales Book 11) by K.M. Shea [retelling], A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White by Melanie Cellier [retelling], Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente [retelling, different setting – Wild West], Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan [retelling, different setting – 1920/1930s], The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine [retelling], Fairest by Gail Carson Levine [MG retelling], and many, many more.
Snow White / Rose Red: Happily Ever Afters: A Reimagining of Snow White and Rose Red by Melanie Cellier [retelling], Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman by Lilly Fang [retelling], and more.
Cinderella: Cinder by Marissa Meyer [retelling and continuation], All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller [different POV], Sinful Cinderella (Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series) by Anita Valle [different POV], End of Ever After: A Cinderella Retelling by E.L. Tenenbaum [retelling and continuation], Wagon Train Cinderella by Shirley Kennedy [different setting], and many, many more. Probably the most retold story of all fairytales.
The Little Match Girl: Matchless by Gregory Maguire [different POV and setting], The Little Match Girl (Cyberpunk Fairy Tale) by George Saoulidis [retelling], and others (including zombie Match Girl and Match Girl meets Scrooge!).
The Marsh King’s Daughter: The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne [shares title and themes, but not truly related].
Penta: None that I could find!