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I’m quite fond of retellings of well-known fairy tales. I’ve written some thoughts about fairy tales here, and I’ve even retold a couple myself:
A Fair Trade is based on Jack and the Beanstalk, told from the point of view of the old peddler who traded magic beans for a cow. Who got the better end of the deal, I wonder?
A Troll With No Bridge is loosely based on the Billy Goats Gruff—in that the story has a troll and a bridge in it. There aren’t any goats (at least, not that I can remember mentioning).
A Mother’s Love is a retelling of Snow White from the “evil” stepmother’s point of view. There’s no poisoned apple, but there is a poisoned apple pie.
I think what I like about fairy tale retellings is that such stories don’t go the way you’d expect. They’re told from a different point of view than readers are accustomed to. They’re an homage to the source material and yet uniquely and wholly their own beautiful story.
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher is one of the best I’ve read in a long time.
It’s a short and (in the words of the author) sweet retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Yes, there’s a princess trapped in the tower, and yes, she is sleeping, but this story isn’t about her. Not really.
Ms. Kingfisher wrote in the book’s Acknowledgements that in many ways, Thornhedge came about by asking the simple question, “Why?”
Why—what a delightful start to finding a story’s beginning. That’s usually where such things start. And many other “why’s” get asked before the story is all said and done.
If you’re curious about the answer to the question, “Why trap an enchanted, slumbering princess within a thorny, bramble-filled hedge?” Well, you might just have to pick up Thornhedge and give it a read.
Until next time,
Al
