The "adult fairy tale" is a literary form popularized by the Italian writers Straparola and Basile in the 16th century, by the French salon writers of the 17th/18th centuries, the German Romantics in the 19th century, and the Celtic Twilight writers of the British Isles at the dawn of the 20th century. At the end of the 20th century, a revival of this form began among three overlapping groups of writers: contemporary "mainstream" authors (such as Angela Carter and Robert Coover); contemporary fantasy authors (such as Tanith Lee and Robin McKinley); and feminist poets (such as Anne Sexton and Carol Ann Duffy). In addition, writers of Young Adult fiction (such as Jane Yolen and Donna Jo Napoli) created sophisticated fairy tale novels that could be read on several levels by readers young and old.
As a new century begins, we're pleased to see that the modern revival of fairy tale literature seems to be growing stronger than ever. Below, you'll find a list of recommended novels, stories, and poetry collections which make deft use of fairy tales, folktales, and folk ballads, re-envisioned for modern readers. We've also included a short list of books about the history of fairy tales, for readers who would like to explore the subject further. For more information on each book, the title link will take you to its page on Amazon.
Adult Fairy Tales
- Manlio Argueta, Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District
- Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride
- Margaret Atwood, Bluebeard's Egg (stories)
- Kate Bernheimer, The Complete Tales of Ketzia Gold
- Kevin Brockmeier, The Truth About Celia
- A.S. Byatt, Possession (winner of the Booker Prize)
- A.S. Byatt, Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice (stories)
- A.S. Byatt, The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye (stories)
- Orson Scott Card, Enchantments
- Jonathan Carroll, Sleeping in Flame
- Hayden Carruth, The Sleeping Beauty (poems)
- Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber (stories)
- Angela Carter, Burning Your Boats (stories)
- Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
- (winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Mythopoeic Award)
- Robert Coover, Briar Rose
- Kathryn Davis, The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf
- Marele Day, Lambs of God
- Pamela Dean, Tam Lin
- Seamus Deane, Reading in the Dark
- Charles de Lint, The Jack of Kinrowan
- Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, Sister of My Heart
- Berlie Doherty, The Vinegar Jar
- Keith Donohue, The Stolen Child
- Emma Donoghue, Kissing the Witch (stories)
- Carol Ann Duffy, The World's Wife (poems)
- Alice Thomas Ellis, Fairy Tale
- Heinz Insu Fenkl, Memories of My Ghost Brother
- Gregory Frost, Fitcher's Brides
- John Gardner, The King's Indian (stories)
- Sandra M. Gilbert, Blood Pressure (poems)
- Hiromi Gotto, The Kappa Child (winner of the Tiptree Award)
- Sara Henderson Hay, Story Hour (poems)
- Alice Hoffman, The Blue Diary
- Kji Johnson, The Fox Woman
- Gwyneth Jones, Seven Fairy Tales and a Fable (stories)
- Graham Joyce, The Tooth Fairy
- Bilge Karasu, The Garden of Departed Cats
- Peg Kerr, The Wild Swans
- Ellen Kushner, Thomas the Rhymer
- (winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Mythopoeic Award)
- Tanith Lee, Red As Blood (stories)
- Tanith Lee, White as Snow
- Tom Le Farge, Terrors of Earth (stories)
- Liz Lochhead, Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems (poems)
- Gregory Maguire, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
- Juliette Marillier, Daughter of the Forest
- Sara Maitland, Angel Maker (stories)
- Dennis L. McKiernan, Once Upon a Winter's Night
- Patricia A. McKillip, Winter Rose
- Hadyn Middleton, Grimm's Last Fairytale
- Robin McKinley, Rose Daughter
- Robin McKinley, Beauty
- Robin McKinley, Deerskin
- Susanna Moore, Sleeping Beauties
- Lisel Mueller, The Private Life and Waving from the Shore (poems)
- Louise Murphy, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
- Eilis Ni Dhuibhne, The Inland Ice and Other Stories (stories)
- Rachel Pollack, Godmother Night
- Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (stories)
- Anne Sexton, Transformations (poems)
- Delia Sherman, The Porcelain Dove (winner of the Mythopoeic Award)
- Nancy Springer, Fair Peril
- Lisa Russ Spaar Glass Town
- Gwen Strauss, Trail of Stones (poems)
- Sheri S. Tepper, Beauty
- Gioia Timpanelli, Sometimes the Soul: Two Novellas of Sicily
- Joan D. Vinger, The Snow Queen (winner of the Hugo Award)
- Marina Warner, Indigo
- Sylvia Townsend Warner, Kingdoms of Elfin (stories)
- David Henry Wilson, The Coachman Rat
- Susan Wilson, Beauty
- Patricia C. Wrede, Snow White, Rose Red
- Jane Yolen, Briar Rose (winner of the Mythopoeic Award)
Fairy Tale Fiction Anthologies
- Mike Ashley, editor: The Mammoth Book of Fairy Tales
- Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors: The Poets Grimm:
20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales - Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, editors:
- *adult anthologies (Snow White, Blood Red series)
- Snow White, Blood Red
- Black Thorn, White Rose
- Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
- Black Swan, White Raven
- Silver Birch, Blood Moon
- Black Heart, Ivory Bones
- Wolf at the Door
- Swan Sister
- Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers, editors: Little Red Riding Hood
in the Big Bad City, contemporary fantasy fiction inspired by fairy tales - Wolfgang Mieder, editor: Disenchantments, an anthology of fairy tale poetry.
- Terri Windling, editor: The Armless Maiden.
- Jack Zipes, editor: Don't Bet on the Prince,
contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England.
Young Adult Fairy Tales
- Francesca Lia Block, The Rose and the Beast (stories)
- Dia Calhoun, The Phoenix Dance
- P.W. Catanese, The Brave Apprentice
- P.W. Catanese, The Mirror's Tale
- P.W. Catanese, The Thief of the Bean Stalk
- Barbara Cohen, Roses
- Gillian Cross, Wolf
(winner of the Carnegie Medal) - Cameron Dokey, Beauty Sleep
- Cameron Dokey, Golden
- Eleanor Farjeon, The Glass Slipper
- Eleanor Farjeon, The Silver Curlew
- Nicholas Stuart Gray, The Seventh Swan
- Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl
- Nancy Holder, Spirited
- Dahlov Ipcar, The Queen of Spells
- Diana Wynne Jones, Fire and Hemlock
- Eileen Kernaghan, The Snow Queen
- Patrice Kindl, Goose Chase
- Andrea Koenig, Thumbelina
- Gail Carson Levine, Ella Enchanted
- Gregory Maquire, The Dream Stealer
- Gregory Maquire, Mirror, Mirror
- Sophie Masson, Serafin
- Sophie Masson, Malkin
- Robin McKinley, The Door in the Hedge (stories)
- Robin McKinley, A Knot in the Grain (stories)
- Robin McKinley, Spindle's End
- Donna Jo Napoli, Zel
- Donna Jo Napoli, Beast
- Donna Jo Napoli, The Magic Circle
- Donna Jo Napoli, Breath
- Donna Jo Napoli, Bound
- Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen, Spinner
- Edith Pattou, East
- Philip Pullman, I Was a Rat!
- Peter Rushforth, Kintergarten
- Gary D. Schmidt, Straw Into Gold
- Ursula Synge, Swan's Wing
- Debbie ViguiƩ, Scarlet Moon
- Suzanne Weyn, The Night Dance
- Jane Yolen, Tales of Wonder (stories)
Further Reading
- Anna E. Altmann and Gail de Vos, editors, New Tales for Old:
Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults,
and its sequel, Tales, Then and Now - Kate Bernheimer, editor, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall:
Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales (Expanded Edition) - Hilda Ellis Davidson & Anna Chaudhri, editors, A Companion to the Fairy Tale
- Elizabeth Wanning Harries, Twice Upon a Time:
Women Writers and the History of the Fairy Tale - Donald Haase, editor, Fairy Tales and Feminism:
New Approaches - Catherine Orenstein, Little Red Riding Uncloaked:
Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale - Valerie Paradiz, Clever Maids: The Secret History
of the Grimms Fairy Tales - Susan Seller, Myth and Fairy Tale in
Contemporary Women's Fiction - Maria Tartar, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales
- P.L. Travers, What The Bee Knows:
Reflections on Myth, Symbol, and Story - Marina Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde:
On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers - Jane Yolen, Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie,
and Folklore in the Literature of Childhood - Jack Zipes, The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales