Fairy Tales for Adults

Fairy tales can be enjoyed by all ages. Don't be put off by the fact that a few of the following titles are in the Teen Place—they really are for everyone. This collection focuses first on four specific fairy tales: Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and the Swan Brothers. For each tale we've included a selected list of books and movies. Then you'll find story collections and selected books to help you understand what these tales are really about, plus websites with great bibliographies for further reading.

Beauty and the Beast: Books

With a mysterious, tortured hero and a plucky heroine, this tale is fascinating no matter how many times it is retold. In fact, one of the authors below has written two versions, and both of them are fabulous.

Beauty and Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley: In Beauty, McKinley crafts a perfect heroine in Beauty--a bookworm and the plainest of three sisters. Twenty years after writing this book, she returns to the same tale in Rose Daughter, a tale suffused with magic and roses.

Beauty by Susan Wilson: When artist Alix Miller is commissioned to paint Leland Crompton, she finds a man disfigured by a rare genetic disease who has chosen the life of a recluse.

Cinderella: Movies and a Book

Cinderella's basic rags to riches story remains popular to this day. It's especially popular with filmmakers, as you can see from the number of videos we have listed.

Cinderella (DVD and Videocassette): Lesley Ann Warren plays the title role in this Rogers and Hammerstein musical.

Cinderfella (Videocassette): Jerry Lewis stars as a male version of Cinderella with three stepbrothers. With a little help from his fairy godfather, Cinderfella sweeps the princess off her feet.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire: The traditional elements of the story--wicked stepmother, ugly step-sisters, beautiful daughter--are turned inside out in this Cinderella story set in 17th century Holland.

Ever After (DVD and Videocassette): Drew Barrymore's engaging portrayal of Danielle the "cinder girl" as an independent and competent young woman makes it obvious why the prince fell for her.

Sleeping Beauty: Books

Lacking a wicked stepmother, this tale makes due with a fairy godmother. A princess is cursed to die on her birthday (the age varies), but a kindlier fairy godmother changes it to 100 years of sleep.

Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper: Evading the curse, Beauty slips away while the rest of her castle and village sleep. Stumbling upon some time travelers, she is taken to the grim and desolate 21st century. But this is only the beginning….

Briar Rose by Robert Coover: This postmodern treatment strips away the narrative and instead focuses on interpreting the deeper meanings of the characters and their actions.

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card: Ivan, an Ukrainian-born American graduate student, returns to the Carpathian forest and finds the same sleeping princess he thought he imagined as a boy. When he kisses her, he is transported back to 9th century Russia and into the middle of a Russian fairytale.

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley: Princess Rosie is spirited away by a peasant fairy to escape the curse of the evil fairy, Pernicia. With her royal identity hidden, the princess grows into a strapping tomboy.

Swan Brothers: Books

In this tale, brothers (the number varies) are changed into swans by their evil stepmother. Their sister can break the spell, but only by refusing to speak and weaving them shirts out of stinging nettles.

The Wild Swans by Kate Holmes: This "fractured fairy tale" is a humorous and romantic version of the story. King Richard, longing for a quiet wife, marries the silent girl he finds in the enchanted forest.

The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr: Cast out of her home, Lady Eliza Grey and her enchanted swan brothers flee to Puritan New England. In alternating chapters, which reflect and compliment the first tale, is the story of Elias, a young man in the 1980s, disowned by his parents because he is gay.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier: This beautiful blend of history and fantasy follows Sorcha from Sevenwaters, her father's Irish stronghold, to her imprisonment by the Britons. The story of her family continues in Son of the Shadows and Child of the Prophecy.

Story Collections: Books

Black Thorn, White Rose edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling: A variety of stories retold by well-known authors. This is just one of the several similar titles edited by Datlow and Windling.

Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes: An all star cast of movie stars, celebrities and famous illustrators retell the classic tale.

Once Upon a Galaxy edited by Wil McCarthy, Martin H. Greenberg, and John Helfers: The connections between magic and technology are explored in 14 stories based on famous fairy tales.

Once Upon a Time: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales edited by Lester del Ray and Risa Kessler: Classic fairytales retold by famous fantasy and science fiction authors, including Isaac Asimov and Anne McCaffrey.

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner: Traditional tales are retold so they no longer offend dainty modern sensibilities.

Understanding Fairy Tales: Books

From the Beast to the Blonde by Marina Warner: The book considers these "old wives' tales" and the historical contexts in which they developed.

The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim: Child psychologist Bettelheim demonstrates the ability of fairy tales to educate, support and liberate children's emotions.

The Witch Must Die by Sheldon Cashdan: Explores how fairy tales differ from culture to culture, and how they speak to those cultures.

Great Bibliographies for Further Reading: Websites

Adult Versions of Traditional Fairy Tales: This bibliography will give you plenty of ideas for further reading.

Retold Fairy Tales and Legends: This listing has versions for children and adults.