Fairy Tales for Grown-Ups

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Enchantment
Orson Scott Card

Follows one man from ninth-century Russia to present-day America as he struggles to rescue a princess and her kingdom, find true love, and overcome the blackest of evil.


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The Book of Lost Things: A Novel
John Connolly

Taking refuge in fairy tales after the loss of his mother, twelve-year-old David finds himself violently propelled into an imaginary land in which the boundaries of fantasy and reality are disturbingly melded.


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The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
Jasper Fforde

Unconvinced that a former convict and millionaire philanthropist has been murdered by his suicide-victim ex-wife, detective inspector Jack Spratt and his assistant, Mary Mary, uncover a plot involving money laundering and asylum-seeking titans.
Sequel:
The Fourth Bear


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Stardust
Neil Gaiman

Living in a Victorian countryside town overshadowed by an imposing stone barrier, Tristran is compelled to retrieve a fallen star for the woman he loves and crosses to the wondrous other side of the barrier, where he encounters dangerous rivals for the star.


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Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life & Times
James Finn Garner

A whimsical adaptation of classic fairy tales and bedtime stories removes all kinds of bias and objective language from such traditional tales as “Chicken Little,” “Rapunzel,” “The Three Little Pigs,” “Cinderella,” and many others.
Also:
Once Upon a More Enlightened Time: More Politically Correct Bedtime Stories


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The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
William Goldman

A classic fairy tale romance retells the tale of a drunken swordsman and a gentle giant who come to the aid of Westley, a handsome farm boy, and Buttercup, a princess in dire need of rescue from the evil schemers surrounding her.


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The Fairy Godmother
Mercedes Lackey

In the mystical realm of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, the newest Fairy Godmother tries to help three impossible princes find the women of their dreams, while fending off an evil sorcerer who is determined to destroy her kingdom.
Sequels:
One Good Knight,
Fortune’s Fool,
The Snow Queen


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The Fire Rose
Mercedes Lackey

In a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” set in 1905 San Francisco, destitute scholar Rosalind Hawkins takes a job reading to a recluse under a werewolf spell.
Book One of the Elemental Masters Series


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White as Snow
Tanith Lee

In a dark fantasy based on the fairy tale “Snow White,” Arpazia and her unwanted daughter, Coira, are lured into the woods by the elder gods, who are seeking to restore their worship in a land where a new religion threatens to transform life for everyone.


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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
Gregory Maguire

A retelling of the classic fairy tale of Cinderella, told from the point of view of one of the ugly stepsisters, turns the entire legend around in a thoughtful look at what it means to be beautiful.


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Mirror Mirror: A Novel
Gregory Maguire

A retelling of “Snow White” set in Renaissance Italy draws a link between the original fairy tale and the Borgia family’s infamous practice of poisoning its enemies.


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Daughter of the Forest
Juliet Marillier

Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum, faces the difficult task of having to save her family from its enemies, who have bewitched her father and six older brothers while forcing her to choose between the life she has always known and a special love.
Sequels:
Son of the Shadows,
Child of the Prophecy


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The Rats of Hamelin: A Piper's Tale
Adam McCune & Keith McCune

Blends history and fantasy to reshape the hazy legend of the pied piper, introducing rivalries, ancient tales of vengeance, and a hero who tries to walk the fine line between justice and mercy.


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Once Upon a Winter's Night
Dennis L. McKiernan

In a retelling of the classic French fairy tale “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” Camille, the daughter of a poor crofter, is forced to wed a mysterious prince in exchange for wealth for her family.
Sequels:
Once Upon a Summer Day,
Once Upon an Autumn Eve,
Once Upon a Spring Morn,
Once Upon a Dreadful Time


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Winter Rose
Patricia A. McKillip

Two sisters, one delicate and sensible, one rough-hewn and sensual, fall in love with an aristocrat who returns to claim his family’s abandoned estate, only to fall victim to the curse of his legendary grandfather.


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The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
Louise Murphy

A retelling of the classic fairy tale, set in Nazi-occupied Poland, follows two Jewish children, left by their father and stepmother to seek refuge in a dense forest, as they wander the woods until being taken in by Magda, an eccentric old woman.


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Beauty
Sheri S. Tepper

Exploring a fundamental truth of being human, this recasting of the tale of Sleeping Beauty offers an allegorical look at the importance of saving the Earth and preserving beauty.


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In the Night Garden
Catherynne M. Valente

A collection of interconnected fairy tales for adults journeys into a fantastical world populated by living stars, wild horsewomen, snake-gods, and beast-princesses.


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