Monday, October 7, 2019

Of Glass & Fur Slippers (Appreciate A Translator Today!) + Our Top 10 List of Translated Fairy Tale Books

There is one group of magicians who are, too often, unsung in the field of fairy tales: TRANSLATORS.
(This post is dedicated to them, with sincere and ongoing gratitude for all their amazing work.)

We applaud writers, illustrators, storytellers, scholars, and researchers of all kinds fairly readily. After all, the work is impressive, eye-and-heart-catching and puts wonder into our hands. Yet their achievements would not have been possible without translation practitioners, who combine art, time-travel, and engage in, let's just call it what it is: "wizardry". (You may prefer the term alchemy, though that only covers part of what they do.)

What these "wizards" do is the work of fairy tale itself.
They are engaged, daily, in the ultimate fairy tale magic:
the art of transformation.

Cendrillon, Or the Case Of Verre vs. Vair
You've probably heard of the confusion regarding Cinderella's slipper, a.k.a. verre vs. vair a.k.a. glass vs. fur: "What if Perrault didn't mean to write "glass slipper" at all? And if he didn't, how did we end up with this iconic motif?"

Note: We think discussion of this notorious confusion over Cinderella's slippers is not only an interesting example of (mis)translation but a wonderful metaphor for discussing it, because of the properties of glass itself. We quote the insightful Midori Snyder to help explain:
"The properties of glass, like the properties of iron are transmutable, given enough heat. It is a substance that can waver between a solid-state and liquid. I know that blacksmiths have often been regarded ambivalently by traditional communities because of their ability to work with matter that is in a state of transformation--almost like a form of alchemy. Such power is regarded as both necessary, but also a little frightening. Add to it, the manipulation of fire and its ambiguous properties. So a glassmaker and the production of glass is similar to the Blacksmith and the production of iron object--making use of fire to transform matter, the very plastic nature of the element and its refusal to remain a solid (glass never entirely surrenders its liquid state, and even old glass windows are thicker at the bottom than the top because over time they "melt" back down)."
Apt, no?

Let's take a dive into the verre vs. vair translation controversy:
All the glass dress sculptures in this post are by the amazing glass artist Karen LaMonte
It began with someone looking at Perrault's text, the specific words chosen and written (and translated from French to English) and the word "BUT"*.

Let's follow those BUTs (there are more than you'd think) to unravel this translation knot, in the hope we can discover what the true intention of the author was. We're going to try and break it down step-by-step, so you can have an idea of the types of rabbit holes, detours and dead-ends researchers have to contend with when translating fairy tales.

Ready? (Hold onto your hats!)
BEGIN!

Instead of transcribing well-known tales and collecting them into a volume, Perrault chose to write them down as literary fairy tales, embellishing as he wished and judged appropriate for the story. Cinderella's tale often involved a shoe but Perrault was very specific about it. He not only used a shoe but described it very deliberately, using his chosen detail three times in his text: pantoufle de verre (glass slipper). In fairy tales, three is NOT a coincidence! (Note: to check that number, you will need to check French texts, not English.)

BUT why verre?
Why did Perrault specifically choose/use the word verre, to describe the slipper? Other types of slippers are seen in earlier versions of Cinderella tales Perrault may have referenced, as well as variants further afield, but nowhere before was the shoe described as being verre - GLASS. It is peculiar to Perrault's literary version of the tale at that time. At first, it seems to be a simple case of "author's choice" in creating a literary fairy tale. After all, the French loved to add wondrous details (to reflect French society, or imply the wonder French society could become) and reference the fae (or fée) in their stories at that time.

BUT then...

... in the mid-1800's French novelist and playwright, Honoré de Balzac, and later a French lexicographer, Émile Maximilien Paul Littré, best known for an important French dictionary, (ie. each considered impressive regarding their scholarship) both insisted that someone had mistakenly substituted pantoufle de vair (fur slipper) for pantoufle de verre (glass slipper), when translating Perrault's French text to English, so that Cinderella's slipper was originally akin to "SQUIRREL FUR". So convincing were the pair's arguments (even twenty years apart) that Encylopedia Brittanica printed this conclusion at one point as part of their Cinderella entry. Despite the 'error theory' having been dismissed since the early 19th century, (and Encylopedia Britannica revising their entry) the theory has continued to make the rounds in (popular) media ever since.

BUT!
(It's a very important 'but')

... Perrault's original text uses the word verre, meaning glass. So it was not a mistranslation from French to English at all. Neither was it a misprint. Perrault was apparently picturing glass slippers, along with his fairy godmother character, before 1697 (when his collection of tales was first published). He even subtitled Cendrillon with "ou la petite pantoufle de verre" ("or the little glass slipper"). He purposefully emphasized it.

BUT what if...

... Perrault, whom, most scholars agree, did not create these tales from scratch but wrote a literary work based on older, known tales**- misheard vair, in an oral account, believing it to be verre? (This would make it an interpretation-and-translation error!)

BUT the problem with this...

... is that vair was a medieval word***, which had fallen out of everyday use in the French language by the time Perrault was taking notes and creating his version, so the effect of a tin ear creating an incorrect transcription is highly unlikely too.

BUT it turns out...

... there was an exception with regard to French texts in Perrault's time, referencing and discussing medieval knighthood and heraldry, as well as the associated riches, which include references to vair. In this context, vair is referencing a glamorous type of squirrel fur (specifically a special grey squirrel fur). So vair was in use as a specialized description for a luxury item.† (See Language Log for text sources.)

BUT then...

... looking a little further into the word vair, an unverified source (a French-Wikipedia article, which we cannot adequately translate ourselves to confirm) states vair -squirrel fur- was never used for shoes! Which makes sense, since they would be somewhat clunky in having to retain fur, even using thin leather. If Cinderella had indeed shod herself in grey fur shoes, however elegant they were, wouldn't they likely have stretched out in having been tried on by multiple ladies with many different feet? (We are getting into physics here, rather than allowing a tale to have its own illogical logic in magic, we know. Bear with us. For part of this discussion is, in fact, whether logic should be applied.) "Vair" does seem an odd choice for a "most beautiful in all the world" shoe.
Mary Blair made Cinderella and the Prince into a glass slipper!


 BUT not just...

... for that reason either. Folklorist, Elizabeth Andrews, in Ireland (a country which has its own old Cinderella stories, one of which is speculated as [possibly] pre-dating Perrault) had her own doubts about verre and vair, and an additional thought about the origins of a glass shoe. She mentions the following in a footnote, in a volume of Ulster Folklore# (1913), attached to a discussion of magic footwear made by a magical being, in this case, a dwarf. (Note that Andrews is aware of the work of Balzac, Littré and Marianne Rolfe Cox. The full footnote includes reference to each scholar's conclusions.):
May it not be that Cinderella's glass shoe was really green and derived its name from the Irish word glas, denoting that colour, which is familiar to us in place-names? (FTNH Ed.. - eg. Glasgow, Glasnevin, Glaslough etc see HERE) I make this conjecture with diffidence. I know the usual explanation is that the shoe was made of a kind of fur called in Old French vairr... A fur slipper, however, does not appear very suitable for a ball. (pp. 47 of Ulster Folklore by Elizabeth Andrews, printed 1913 from research in the late 1800s)
Could the inspiration for a glass shoe -via glas either accidentally or purposefully mistranslated to verre-  have come to Perrault by way of an earlier version? Could he have actually been referencing a green glass shoe? Although a green shoe (not made of glass) is very possible for Perrault's time, what would it mean to actually wear a green pair of shoes then? The Sun-King, Louis the XIV, whose court, customs, edicts, superstitions and strict dress etiquette Perrault was intimately familiar with††, no doubt would have some specific thoughts about the wearing of elegant green shoes. Shoes were very important in symbol and code for the Sun King's court. "Handing the king his shoes became the most important activity for the nobility". (source) King Louis the XIV was the ultimate power dresser (it's a fascinating subject) and different shoes told the court a lot. Red was the monarchy color, (D'Aulnoy, who wrote her own†† Cinderella the same year as Perrault, used the description of “red velvet mules completely encrusted with pearls”) and sumptuary laws restricted the wearing of red, or red-heeled, shoes.

 BUT if...

... Perrault had intended that Cinderella wear green shoes, glass or not, perhaps to link her to the "green of Fairyland" or because green made a particular statement in the French court (we do know court ladies had directions on how to "green their hair", and that green Egyptian‡ marble was a luxury item in the palace), he would have said so, and made it clear. Instead, Perrault uses verre, which is 'glass', not the Irish glas, or the French vert/verte (the color green), or émeraude (emerald) or any other variations that might allude to money or jealousy or any other forms of green. (See HERE for the numerous ways vert/e is used in French!) If there is anything to the green-to-glas-to-glass-to-verre theory it's a tenuous connection at best, and, considering the form and execution of Perrault's many other works, unlikely.

BUT apart from...
... the court ladies' hair coloring, there are no specific notes (that we've found) about the color green in fashion, or specifically, green shoes, in the Sun King's court. No matter what angle you approach this etymology from, if there is an Irish connection, it does not appear Perrault was focused on the color green. From the Folk-lore Journal Vol I; Vol 11 by Folklore Society (Great Britain), discussing Irish tales and, specifically, a Jack and giant tale from Ireland, which has blue glass shoes (which may have inspired Elizabeth Andrews' avenue of thought), it would appear that due to the estimated date of recording/noting the fact the Irish tale (ie. writing it down, noting its existence) it is more likely to have been influenced by the Perrault's French Cinderella, than the other way around.

Unless, of course, the Irish tale was in circulation orally, had found its way to France, was heard by Perrault and history was made.

Or not. Oral sources are nigh impossible to track and verify! (A constant challenge for fairy tale scholarship.)

BUT there has been...

... much more folklorist research on glass shoes than at first appears, with particular credit due to Marian Roalfe Cox, who published her extensive Cinderella tales research in 1893. SurLaLune includes this note among the annotations for Perrault's Cinderella on the website:
To read more about the shoes in Cinderella variants around the world, especially see Marian Roalfe Cox's Note 48 (about halfway through the note) in her Cinderella book. She addresses the vair vs. verre issue and tells of other materials comprising the shoes in other versions. (Keep in mind that Cox wrote the note in 1893.)
Another echo of a slipper shape by the pair, by Mary Blair
The link to an e-text version of Roalfe's Note 48, also hosted at SurLaLune, provides a fascinating look at vair vs. verre, along with other glass slippers. Her conclusion is that, although there are other tales (six, by her count) that include a glass slipper, most of them seem to have been influenced by Perrault's. So influence from other (a.k.a. earlier) tales looks highly unlikely at this juncture. After an enjoyable detour, (and we recommend a physical copy to accommodate flipping back and forth to check all of the above!), we find ourselves back in the same place we left, and the mystery remains.

 BUT with regard to...

... glass shoes in pre-Perrault Cinderella tales, there is another lead. We can quote another researcher's findings:
“pantouffles de verre” (though in various spellings) are in Perrault’s tale, and also in Catalan, Irish and Scottish versions. The Grimm brothers’ has golden slippers — not much better than glass, I’d think, to dance in all night. "
We quickly find he is referring to a paper by Paul Delarue, titled "From Perrault to Walt Disney: The Slipper of Cinderella", included in Alan Dundes (excellent) book, Cinderella : A Casebook. Delarue writes:
"The motif of the glass slipper is traditional and can be found in several foreign tale types for each of which I will cite only one example." (See image of the relevant page portion below.) 
[NB: The Catalan version referenced is not included. Cox has a Catalan glass slipper tale, "La Ventafoches/The Fire-blower", in her six but it's dated as 1871, nearly 200 yers after Perrault.]
BUT...

... the tales mentioned have no dates, sources or time periods attached to the descriptions so are difficult to find, let alone put in a timeline. How long before Perrault were they in circulation? It is these Scottish and Irish tales with glass shoes which, IF they pre-date the 1690's, AND had made it to Europe, MAY have inspired Perrault's use of a glass shoe. (That's a lot of conditions!)  And, importantly, is it even possible Perrault could have known about them? Without notes from Perrault's time suggesting the possibility, this appears to be another dead-end for a precursor to Perrault's pantoufle de verre.

BUT what about...

... the concept of GLASS ITEMS in other fairy tales, especially those older than Perrault's, that may have inspired the concept of changing the all-important, magically-bestowed shoes to glass? While there is no doubt glass, at this point in history, was considered a precious, luxury item, how common was it to have (magic) glass items or motifs appear in fairy and folktales?  
Fortunately, to help us explore this angle of origination, Delarue (in Cinderella: A Casebook) also gives an overview of other unusual items made of glass (ie. beyond the magic looking glasses of Snow White, The Snow Queen, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lady of Shalott). We've extended this into a list below and added the broad geographical regions these motifs were first used, according to information we can find:
  • glass shoes (France, Scotland, Ireland)
  • some glass castles (particularly in the regions of Russia, Romania, and Hungary)
  • a glass forest (Czech Republic, Romani tale)
  • a tree with glass leaves (France)
  • a few glass or crystal mountains, and also hills (esp. Northern Europe)
  • glass boats (Celtic & Middle East)
  • glass coffins and cases (Europe)
  • one glass beard (of a giant, origin unknown)
  • glass-covered land "sharp as razors" (Armenia)
  • glass bottles that trap spirits & djinn (Europe, Middle East & India)
  • a glass dog (America/US)
  • a glass tunnel (Italy, Middle East)
  • a glass man (Hungary)
  • a glass key (Europe/France)
  • glass knives/blades of glass (Middle East)
  • 3 glass distaffs/spindles (France - Special note: this motif was used in The Subtle Princess by Perrault's niece Marie-Jeanne L’Heritier de Villandon, also a fairy tale salon writer. The distaff was to shatter if the daughter given it, lost her virtue. Published in 1696, the year before Perrault published his Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre, in 1697.)
(Note: While it would be more useful to list the dates when these tales were recorded, as well as speculated dates in which they were being orally circulated, we, unfortunately, do not have the resources available.)

Considering there are hundreds of tales, this is a short list. As uncommon as the concept of a glass item, often magic in origin, in fairy tales is, it is still common enough, especially in Europe and the UK, that using glass connected with fairy magic would have seemed appropriate. Glass shoes, however, remain unusual (and pinning down any that might have appeared before Perrault is proving troublesome to verify). Was Perrault just using a rare but proven fairy tale convention in creating his glass shoe?

 BUT, historically speaking...
Mary Blair's castle also looks like glowing glass
... what about AMBER?‡‡ (Yes - the fossilized tree-resin as shoe material). Scholar and writer of folklore Maria Leach writes:
"Amber mountains and amber islands were the forerunners of the glass mountains and islands in the folktales of Scandanavia, central and eastern Europe, and the British isles....The word glass, originally meaning 'resin' or 'amber' was applied to glass when that product was introduced into northern Europe."  (Quote via Ellen Datlow.)
It turns out that this almost-glass-like substance was indeed used for shoes prior to Perrault's literary writing, which may have influenced his word choice too. A theory about Perrault referencing slippers made of AMBER, makes far more sense in consideration than at first glance. Amber shoes were luxurious, designed to disguise sweaty feet in both sight and smell, and oh yes, were an existing item! (Novelty glass shoes, slippers and boots didn't appear until the 1800's.) Amber shoes were also a memorable part of the narrative of a notorious scandal of a beautiful Spanish actress named Elena Osorio approximately sixty-five years before Perrault penned his fairy tales. Osorio was said to have lamented falling from her high station in the scandal, and despaired of having to trade in her "amber slippers for crudely bound sandals"; a juicy and distinctive detail that Perrault likely would have known. Amber even has a linguistic connection, though it's a German one (glaesum/glesum are used to refer to amber in D.H. Green's Language and History in the Early Germanic World).

 BUT...
... amber in French is ambre, which is very close to ombre, French for 'shadow', which makes for a lot of confusion. It also doesn't sound as delicate as verre, and the sound of words in the telling of tales, even as they transformed to literary ones, remained important. Unless ambre and verre could be used interchangeably in France during Perrault's time (which, along with crystal, is a possibility, though a vague one, as seen in this article on the "new science" production of glass portraits of Louis the XIV, created in the late 1600's), this theory is still a little wobbly in its footing too. (All puns intended. Sorry, not sorry.)

So, if this is the case, we could be back to square one. Which leaves us with...

BUT WHY VERRE?

Why did Perrault decide to use such a specific (and impractical) description of Cinderella's slipper? Was it simply an author's educated conclusion that verre (glass) fulfilled all the criteria the fairy tale he was expanding into literary form, required? A memorable motif; a simple but evocative word that rolled easily off the tongue; implied luxury; symbolic purity (and virginity); fragility; innate, delicate nobility in being able to walk, run and dance without breaking them; magically fitting the one foot it was made (enchanted) for; but perhaps most simply of all: Magic?

And we've ended where we began.
(Except we now have extra BUTs!)

Perhaps you are now satisfied that verre was not a mistake; that it was both an informed and creative choice by Perrault as a writer.

Or perhaps, because it is not a solid theory, has been constantly debated by well-educated minds, is at odds with "literary logic" and cannot be completely proven... you are not satisfied. At all.

 BUT - that is the point.
Word choice matters, and means different things to different people.

With the rabbit holes of speculation and theory that surround the single word verre, one begins to see how translation, specifically of fairy and folktales, is a fascinating, complicated, and often under-appreciated, process. (And we didn't even take all the detours on the Verre vs. Vaire journey available to us! We didn't consider sexual symbolism, social rebellion, colloquial terms, supernatural beliefs, courting customs, traditions and so very many more.)

As one blogger wrote (re exploring the concept of the slipper mistranslation): "This makes me think of a miscopying of letters in the genetic code resulting in a mutation of the original which is then repeated in all subsequent versions."

However we ended up with Cinderella having glass on her feet, the image has become inseparable from the tale. 

The term "glass slipper" now recalls Cinderella the world over, even for folks who have never read the tale, so ubiquitous has the association become. It is now intrinsically part of this canonical conte de fées.
by Mary Blair

A translator needs to take all these types of elements (and more) into account before settling on the best word for a translation. Though most words are unlikely to have as great an impact as verre, you can never know what the ripple effect will truly be until the new translation is out there. (No pressure translators!) A translator's work and final text is not only affected by linguistics but also by history, current use of language, social understandings past and present, and having to build bridges between cultures. When it comes to fairy tales, the translator has an additional, very important role too: they must also, ultimately, be a Storyteller.

So, to summarize: good translators must be wizards!

Now is the perfect time to show a little love for these heroes as September 30 was International Translation Day.
Hug a translator today!^

Our Top 10 Translated Fairy Tale Books
We thought it would be useful to give you a "Top 10" list of translated fairy tale books we love and greatly appreciate (in no particular order):

1. The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, translated and edited by Jack Zipes, illustrated by Andrea Dezsö
Description: For the very first time, The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm makes available in English all 156 stories from the 1812 and 1815 editions. These narrative gems, newly translated and brought together in one beautiful book, are accompanied by sumptuous new illustrations from award-winning artist Andrea Dezsö.



2. Giambattista Basile's The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones (Series in Fairy-Tale Studies) by Giambattista Basile, translated by Prof. Nancy L. Canepa
Description: The first unabridged English translation taken directly from Basile's monumental Lo cunto de li cunti (1634-1636), this edition is fully annotated and illustrated, with an extensive bibliography.


 3. Mother Goose Refigured: A Critical Translation of Charles Perrault’s Fairy Tales (Series in Fairy-Tale Studies) by Associate Professor Christine A. Jones, translations (also) by Christine A. Jones
Description: Mother Goose Refigured presents annotated translations of Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tales that attend to the irony and ambiguity in the original French and provide a fresh take on heroines and heroes that have become household names in North America.




4. White as Milk, Red as Blood: The Forgotten Fairy Tales of Franz Xaver von Schönwerth by Franz Xaver von Schonwerth, translated by Shelley Tanaka, illustrated by Willow Dawson
Description: This striking, richly illustrated edition of long-lost German fairy tales is not a book for children. It is a book for adults. ... Following the tradition of illustrated fairy-tale collections, this is the very first fully illustrated, full-colour edition of Franz Xaver von Schönwerth's work.



5. The Oddly Modern Fairy Tales Series. For example, Fairy Tales for the Disillusioned: Enchanted Stories from the French Decadent Tradition edited by Gretchen Schultz and Lewis Seifert (a fairy tale newsroom favorite)
Description: A newly translated collection of subversive French fairy tales by writers from the Belle Époque. The wolf is tricked by Red Riding Hood into strangling her grandmother and is subsequently arrested. Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella do not live happily ever after. And the fairies are saucy, angry, and capricious. Fairy Tales for the Disillusioned collects thirty-six tales, many newly translated, by writers associated with the decadent literary movement, which flourished in France in the late nineteenth century... Subverting the conventions of the traditional fairy tale, these old tales made new will entertain and startle even the most disenchanted readers.

Description: In one of the most startling literary discoveries of recent years, Jack Zipes has uncovered this neglected treasure trove of Sicilian folk and fairy tales. Like the Grimm brothers before her, Laura Gonzenbach, a talented Swiss-German born in Sicily, set out to gather up the tales told and retold among the peasants. (Collection spans two volumes.)







7. Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino by Italo Calvino, translated by George Martin
Description: "800 pages of fairytale glory... 200 tales about villains with silver noses, queens that give birth to apples, talking birds, a pastry that’s a woman, and so much more." (BookRiot) This collection (Fiabe italiane) is a collection of 200 Italian folktales. Calvino began the project in 1954, influenced by Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale; his intention was to emulate Straparola in producing a popular collection of Italian fairy tales for the general reader. He did not compile tales from listeners, but made extensive use of the existing work of folklorists; he noted the source of each individual tale, but warned that was merely the version he used.


8. Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki, translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki
Description: This collection of Japanese fairy tales is the outcome of a suggestion made to me indirectly through a friend by Mr. Andrew Lang. They have been translated from the modern version written by Sadanami Sanjin. These stories are not literal translations, and though the Japanese story and all quaint Japanese expressions have been faithfully preserved, they have been told more with the view to interest young readers of the West than the technical student of folk-lore.




9. Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov by Robert Chandler, translated by Robert Chandler, Elizabeth Chandler, Sibelan Forrester, Anna Gunin and Olga Meerson
Description: In these folk tales, young women go on long and perilous quests, wicked stepmothers turn children into geese, and tsars ask dangerous riddles, with help or hindrance from magical dolls, cannibal witches, talking skulls, stolen wives, and brothers disguised as wise birds. Some of the stories here were collected by folklorists during the last two centuries, while the others are reworkings of oral tales by four of the greatest writers in Russian literature: Teffi, Bazhov, Platonov, and Pushkin.


10. The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, translated by Tiina Nunnally, foreword by Neil Gaiman (2019)
Description: A new, definitive English translation of the celebrated story collection regarded as a landmark of Norwegian literature and culture. These stories, set in Norway’s majestic landscape of towering mountains and dense forests, are filled with humor, mischief, and sometimes surprisingly cruel twists of fate. All are rendered in the deceptively simple narrative style perfected by Asbjørnsen and Moe—now translated into an English that is as finely tuned to the modern ear as it is true to the original Norwegian.


BONUS:
Description: “The 1810 Grimm Manuscripts” is the first English language translation of the Grimms “Kinder und Hausmärchen” as they were in the Fall of 1810. It is the first written documentation of the tales as the brothers heard and saw them. It shows the very first written documentation of the Grimms versions of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Frog King and many other tales. The book contains several never before (in English) published texts written down by the Grimms as well as several translations of related texts: a new translation of a text from 1790 - "The Märchen of Franfreluschens Head," "The Moon and His Mother," "The Old Witch" and other unknown tales.(Note: We have yet to read this in full. It has been recommended by fairy tale friend and professional storyteller, Zalka Csegne Virág. You can read her review HERE.)
***

Has the topic of translation in fairy tales piqued your interest?
There's a lot to cover in this ongoing topic (and conversation) but for further exploration and to start to studying this field with regard to fairy tales, you may be interested in reading Fairy Tales Transformed? Twenty-First-Century Adaptations and the Politics of Wonder by Cristina Bacchilega. From the description alone it's clear the influences on fairy tale translation are many and change across time, making it all the more wondrous that fairy tales continue to retain their forms so very well. (Warning: it's quite an engrossing read. She sucks you in with images of Christmastime fairy tale windows and her concept of the Fairy-Tale Web, and doesn't let go. Your TBR pile might be neglected for a while...)

Intrigued by the art form of translation? You may also be interested in reading:
The Impossibility of Translating Franz Kafka by Cynthia Ozik for The New Yorker. Here are a couple of quotes from the article:
- ... the term “Kafkaesque,” a synonym for the uncanny, misrepresents at the root. The Kafkan mind rests not on unintelligibility or the surreal but on adamantine logic—on the sane expectation of rationality. A singing mouse, an enigmatic ape, an impenetrable castle, a deadly contraption, the Great Wall of China, a creature in a burrow, fasting as an art form, and, most famously, a man metamorphosed into a bug: all these are steeped in reason; and also in reasoning. “Fairy tales for dialecticians,” the critic Walter Benjamin remarked.  
- “Translation is not a duplicate of the original text,” (Ortega) begins; “it is not—it shouldn’t try to be—the work itself with a different vocabulary.” And he concludes, “The simple fact is that the translation is not the work, but a path toward the work”—which suggests at least the possibility of arrival.
Fairy Tale Bonus of the Day:
Leonora "Nora" Blanche Alleyne Lang & Andrew Lang:
Writing & Translating The Rainbow Fairy Books

The Rainbow Fairy Books (Blue, Red, Green, Pink, Brown, Yellow, Grey, Violet, Crimson, Orange, Olive, Lilac) by Leonora and Andrew Lang, were a unique collection of fairy tales when they were published, and have remained so. Not only were there many lesser-known tales included but the beautifully rendered illustrations directly inspired multiple generations of writers and artists with regard to retelling fairy tales and their study. (H.J. Ford was the primary artist for the twelve books, with G. P. Jacomb-Hood and Lancelot Speed contributing to the first two books and some additional work by A. Wallis Mills.) 
HJ Ford for the Violet Fairy Book
Critics and educational researches of the day had previously judged fairy tales' "unreality, brutality, and escapism to be harmful for young readers, while holding that such stories were beneath the serious consideration of those of mature age". The Langs' collections did much to shift this public perception of fairy stories as unsuitable for children and unworthy of critical analysis. (Wikipedia)
Though the collection is commonly attributed to Andrew Lang, his wife, Leonora Lang, did the lion's share of the work, as Lang notes in the prefaces (quote): "The fairy books have been almost wholly the work of Mrs. Lang, who has translated and adapted them from the French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and other languages."

The color fairy books collect a variety of tales from a large number of sources around the globe, making the books a very unique fairy tale collection until recent publishing. Though there are newer -and better- translations of most of these tales, which are far more authentic, this collection is the first of its kind, with many 'first' English translations included. Most of the new translations were Nora's work, but credit must also be given to her team, mostly women, who included Violet Hunt and May Kendall.

Despite ultimately adapting the tales for "Victorian and Edwardian notions of propriety", the Rainbow Fairy Books have rarely waned in popularity and are still a "go-to" source for exposing new generations to tales from all over the world.

FOOTNOTES:

* Do we need to define the specific meaning of the word "but" as used in this context? Perhaps we should, but we won't. ;)

 ** Almost all Perrault's tales could be seen to have possible sources in Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone, though there is no record of him having read, or learned, or been told of the Pentamerone or tales from the collection. (from notes section in Twice Upon A Time)

 *** From Devious Derivations by Hugh Rawson:
(Vair, variegated fur, from the Latin varius, varied, also is a root of miniver, originally menu vair, small vair, which referred initially to the fur — perhaps squirrel — used as trim on medieval robes and later was applied to the prized ermine, or winter weasel fur, on the ceremonial robes of peers.)
† Glass is not on the list of special and expensive items, though it was considered a rare and expensive item in medieval times.

§ There is a French-Wikipedia article which discusses the whole vair vs. verre controversy, though it is, as you would expect, in French, so requires translating! Even using the very imprecise option of Google Translate to read it, it's both amusing and waxes poetically on fragility and creativity, as well as going into the details of "eruditious scholarship run wild" which insisted the 'original' was vair. If you are intrigued by this, it's worth your time to translate and read.

†† Perrault is specific about the use of his shoes, though his style and emphasis are vastly different from D'Aulnoy's in her Cinderella, which was published the same year. Perrault's version, however, shows a clever use of court etiquette in having the Prince - the Royal person - pick up Cinderella's shoe. D'Aulnoy's emphasis is much more on the particulars, showing how they influence anyone who sees them. 
(From "Louis XIV’s Use of Fashion to Control the Nobility and Express Power") Two French Cinderella stories were published in 1697, one written by Charles Perrault and the other by Marie-Catherine de Barneville, Comtesse d’Aulnoy. D’Aulnoy’s story had an especially strong emphasis on the importance of fashion: effectively, the dress and shoes were the main characters and Cinderella was only there to carry them. When Cinderella comes to the ball, she never even meets the prince, but simply shows off her glamorous gown and “red velvet mules completely encrusted with pearls,” a pair of glamorous shoes she would never have intended to lose. On the other hand, in Perrault’s story, Cinderella slips out of her shoe in an attempt to lure the prince after her, as she knows its beauty will attract him. D’Aulnoy extends the obsession with fashion to men as well, as Prince Charming finds Cinderella’s lost slipper and becomes entranced by its petit size and exquisite craft. He becomes enamored of the shoe, not eating or leaving his room for weeks. The doctors his desperate parents send for declare that the Prince is in love, and Prince Charming himself states that it is the shoe with which he is in love. D’Aulnoy’s story centers on Parisian fashion, which she makes magical and desirable with her fairytale setting.
# Ulster Folklore by Elizabeth Andrews. Description: A"seminal work which traces the history of superstitions, legends, and myths in Ulster, especially the folk tales of fairies, dwarves and giants."

 ‡ An Egyptian connection would have been a neat nod to Rhodophis, thought to be the earliest identified Cinderella-type tale, though scholarship of tales in the 1600's likely wasn't discussing this yet. Perrault had an excellent classical education and may have known of Herodotus and Strabo, and the story of Rhodopis, and perhaps, in the salons, in which the French literary style préciosité was all the rage, these classics were discussed. However, Perrault is also said to have been rather rebellious against "the tyranny of the classics" and was instead focused on court politics and subversive social critique, expressed slyly through fairy tale parlor games and writings.

 ‡‡ "Relatively soft, amber has been carved into beads and jewelry since the Bronze Age, and it can be polished to a gleaming finish. Many people have believed that amber’s warm color and the way the material holds heat signify healing powers... The (Hispaniola) island’s  amber was used by the indigenous Taíno people for millennia, and when Columbus landed for the second time on Hispaniola, in 1493, he made a strategic trade: He gave a Taíno chief a strand of Baltic amber in return for shoes decorated with local amber." (From 'The Human Cost of Amber'/ The Atlantic)

^ Of course, by "hug" we mean "show genuine, but appropriate appreciation" - always ask permission before hugging. We had to add a footnote for clarity, in case that isn't implied in your reading of the actual text. ;)

 Artist credits:

  • All glass sculptures are by Karen LaMonte (see below for brief artist info and statement)
  • The header image is composed of art by French illustrator Elsa Oriol, (see cover at right for full image) and glass curtain sculptures, also by Karen LaMonte
  • All other illustrations are concept art by Mary Blair, created for Disney's Cinderella.
Extracted from 'Mind Blowing Glass Dresses by Karen LaMonte', written by Laura for IfItsHipItsHere.com: 
Karen LaMonte is a Czech republic glass artist. Her life-sized sculptures mimic the folds and pleats of material, draped over a female form inside. LaMonte’s anthropomorphosis of the dress is achieved with the hint of the female form beneath the folds. The essence of femininity and sensuality exudes from the sculptures despite the cold medium. She probes the disparity between our natural skin and our social skin, clothing which we use to obscure and conceal, to protect the individual and project a persona. It is a ‘vestmentary envelope’ which renders us as social beings.
We thought this made her artwork perfect for a discussion of Cinderella's glass slippers, and what they symbolize in the fairy tale. It is not a coincidence that many of the articles profiling Karen LaMonte, and discussing her life-sized glass dresses reference Cinderella, despite that the only shoes seen are "through a glass darkly". (Technically the dresses are "empty". Most don't even have shoes.) It is fascinating that a glass dress, including one without the suggestion of shoes beneath, recalls Cinderella for so many.

Sources Referenced:
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Friday, September 27, 2019

Art: Conformed Fairy Tales

Who would have thought to put Snow White, freshly recovered from her harrowing run through the woods and peering out to discover the dwarfs cottage, next to Diana in huntress mode (from Titian's "The Death of Actaeon")? What are your thoughts about this character when you discover Snow White's legs have become those of the goddess, as she is discovering the tragic end of a hunt? When you realize Diana's legs are stepping into a scene of what remains of a man-transformed-to-deer, did the inclusion of the one hiding behind the tree (on Snow's left) suddenly take on a darker tone?

The ideas both conflict and reflect on each other, with your brain encouraging you to try to find a link, since your eye sees the limbs lining up so well. Though Snow White as a hunter isn't quite as foreign an idea as it used to be (thanks to ABC's Once Upon A Time TV series), thinking about Diana and Snow White conforming to each other, creates a new way to look at the fairy tale of Snow White in particular. 

Such an image, once you realize what is happening and the sources of the two halves, is incredibly thought-provoking... (Are we at 1000 words yet?)

It's titled "Confórmi [the forms do not belong to anyone]" and specifically adds text to remind us of this definition: "Conform": be similar in form or type; agree.


And, of course, it makes us think of those fairy tales in new ways too...

We could probably muse on any one of these juxtapositions for a while but instead, we'll leave you with the images and whatever thoughts they generate for you, though we'd love you to share any flashes of inspiration and questions they may prompt in the comments!

The two pieces of art used are noted below each picture (in the original Italian text from the Tumblr) so you can identify each of them, in case your curiosity wishes you to wander a little further.

Enjoy your fairy tale art meditation today!
Giotto, Compianto sul Cristo Morto, Cappella degli Scrovegni, Padova, 1303-1035
VS
Walt Disney, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
Sandro Botticelli, Annunciazione di Cestello, 1498-1499
VS
Walt Disney, Cinderella, 1950 
Walt Disney, Sleeping Beauty, 1959
VS
Giotto, Dormitio Virginis, 1312-1314
Giotto, Sermon to the Birds, Legend of St Francis, Basilica Papale di San Francesco, Italy, 1295-1299
VS
Walt Disney, Sleeping Beauty, 1959
Wolfgang Reitherman, The Sword in the Stone, 1963
VS
Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia, MIT Chapel, Cambridge | Massachusetts, USA, 1955
Gustave Doré, L’Enfer de Dante Alighieri, 1857
VS
Benjamin Lacombe, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, SOLEIL, 2003
Pirro Ligorio, Orco | Parco dei Mostri, Bomarzo, Italy, 1547
VS
Spreepark, Berlin, Germany, 1969 - 2001
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Thursday, September 26, 2019

"The Secret of the Tattered Shoes" - A Fresh, Dark & Poetic Retelling by Jackie Morris

Now available in the UK (and coming to the US in Fall 2020) is a new and "poetically dark" retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses (also known as The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces). Always popular among fairy tale fans, and often voted as "one of the fairy tales I wish Disney would animate", there haven't been as many retellings as one would think, though it appears to have gained notice again recently and we're seeing projects bubble up using this fairy tale here and there...

The Secret of the Tattered Shoes is from publisher Tiny Owl's series One Story, Many Voices, in which authors and illustrators explore well-known fairy tales and folktales from different perspectives. (They are the same folks who are behind Cinderella of the Nile.)

Here's the description for the new Morris/Abdollahi collaboration:
The Secret of the Tattered Shoes is a fresh interpretation of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tale about twelve princesses who are locked in at night, yet whose dancing shoes are still worn down by morning. A young soldier is tasked to discover their night-time adventures. But unlike the story told by the Brothers Grimm, this soldier seeks a different ending. Jackie's dark and poetic text updates this well-known tale and shows how stories evolve and adapt over time.
Beautifully illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi, who has created stunning puppet-like illustrations in rich and delicate detail, this unique illustrative style brings the story to life and perfectly encapsulate the beauty and melancholy of the story.
Have a look at the lovely book trailer by publisher Tiny Owl:
Made known to the next generation most recently via her award-winning illustrations for The Lost Words, (with writing by Robert Mcfarlane) Jackie Morris, an illustrator and author for many years, has put her writing to work and created a poetic retelling of the fairy tale.

Iranian artist, animator, and teacher, Ehsan Abdollahi, who uses handmade papers in his collages, has created beautiful and eye-catching puppet-like illustrations that Morris says captures her vision for the tale exactly as she meant. "The paintings are so beautiful. With the echo of birdsong in the feathers become leaves. The textures are wonderful, the characters just lovely. "

About her story, Jackie says:
"It concerns a man, traumatised by the choices he has made, tired of life, weary of the world, a wanderer. He wanders, this lost soul, and meets a wise woman who lives in the forest, more at home with the creatures of the world than the human creatures. She sees the damage to his soul, sends him on his way, hopes he will find peace. Wishes it to be so. And she gives him a gift and a slight piece of advice. He meets women of another kind and undertakes a task, sure in the knowledge that it will end in his death.The ending might surprise. Does he find the peace his heart seeks, or does he choose death?"
Photo via Jon Biddle 
@jonnybid on Twitter

You can see a sort-of behind-the-scenes of the illustrations and layout as the book was being created that Jackie shared on her blog HERE, which reveals some of Ehsan's fascinating process. Ehsan's animator-eye is very evident as he assembles his collages! (A lovely example is shown below.)

Here's a review by Liz Robinson at LoveReading4Kids, explaining a little of how this retelling is unique:
In process piece for The Secret of the Tattered Shoes
by Ehsan Abdollahi
Exquisitely gorgeous illustrations accompany a well known fairy tale with a difference, an edge. Tiny Owl Publishing have a series of books called ‘One Story, Many Voices’, where authors and illustrators explore well known fairy tales from different perspectives. Here, the Twelve Dancing Princesses from the Brothers Grimm are transformed into The Secret of the Tattered Shoes by Jackie Morris. I opened the package containing the book and exclaimed in delight. The illustrations by Ehsan Abdollahi carry the story perfectly, the gold glistens, the pears call to be picked, the background as stunning as the puppet-like characters. The story by award-winning Jackie Morris sits boldly on the page, simple, evocative, familiar yet different. The love that Jackie Morris holds for nature shines through, while the ending made me smile, it suits, it feels, well, just so right. The Secret of the Tattered Shoes conjures the traditional fairy tale yet awakens new feelings and thoughts. I absolutely adored this rich and vibrant tale, both for the new interpretation, and the illustrations which adorn it.
Sold yet? We are!

UK fairy tale folks can go to Tiny Owl and order HERE. Keen folk in the US (who don't have the patience to wait till Fall 2020) can order a minimum of two directly from Tiny Owl, to help support their awesome indie mission of providing new perspectives on familiar fairy tales, (you can contact them through Twitter for the exact details), and they'll ship to you.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Cinderella's Glass Arm Is More Magical Than Her Glass Slipper! (+ Discussion On Disability In Fairy Tales)

You want magic? This is magic.

Professional costume designer and one-armed cosplayer, Mandy Pursley, has become the Cinderella so many people need.

Asked by the mother of a girl born with one arm, for some princess-costume inspiration for her daughter, Pursley went above and beyond and created something beautiful, extraordinary and very inspiring.
She said: ‘When my daughter was studying Cinderella stories at school last year, I realized that even though there were so many beautiful tales from around the world, there were still no princesses who looked like me. ‘When I was growing up with a physical difference, I never saw girls like myself represented in the media, so it took me a long time to realize that what makes us different can also be the thing that makes us strong, beautiful, and unapologetically unique." (Metro.co.uk)
She added this information when talking to Insider.com:
"I remember being enthralled watching Jim Abbott play baseball, because he was the only amputee I had ever seen on television," she told Insider in an email. "But I still never saw amputee women being portrayed as normal, beautiful, or strong, so it took me a long time to realize that being different and unique can actually be a positive trait."
"Representation is so powerful," Pursley said. "It is so much easier to believe in yourself when you are able to see people who look like you achieving the same dreams that you have. People who have differences really just want to feel included and accepted without feeling the need to hide what makes them unique."
With the request for this other little girl, who was having the same issues growing up, Pursley decided it was high time to change that. A graphic designer by trade, she created her own version of fairy tale princess. Pursley designed her costume, as well as her husband's (who plays Prince Charming in these shots), then with the assistance of artist Gilbert Lozano (and other specialists*), she commissioned this phenomenal prosthetic: a "glass" arm, for a different take on Cinderella.

 When she tried on her custom-made and fitted resin arm for the first time, Mandy said she cried with happiness. "It really felt like a dream was coming true... it was so beautiful and amazing to see this be a reality.”
Initially, the cosplay was supposed to be for Comicon but Pursley ended up being ill and couldn't attend. Once she received the request from the little girl's mother, Pursley and her husband decided that, rather than wait until next year's Comicon, they would go ahead and create a photoshoot now, to post the images online. They enlisted Pursley's friend, Kelly Anderson, to take the photos which became an instant social media hit on September 19 (2019).
“I think it sends a really great message to little girls, especially,” Anderson said. “You can be creative. You can be beautiful. You can be the main character in your own story.”
Not all the images are not shown on all the sites sharing this story but Pursley and her husband did not shy away from the iconic scene of the story in which Cinderella loses her glass slipper  - in this case her glass arm - either, and we were thrilled to see it! (see he two-shot below) Possibly anticipating the inevitable trolls of the internet making horrible references to losing an arm (and all the ugly arm and hand references you can imagine), they didn't ignore or avoid this part of the story. Instead, here you have representation, without any glove or glass-glamor, of a one-armed princess, being pursued by the prince who wants her. It's the Cinderella story with a unique, personal and memorable twist.
Accompanying the lovely shots posted on her Facebook page, Pursley wrote:

This costume is dedicated to all the little girls learning to navigate the world with their "lucky fins" or other challenges. I hope you know you are beautiful, and that you are UNSTOPPABLE!!! Write your own story, and be your own kind of princess.

Mandy Pursley's whole story on Facebook can be read HERE, and we recommend you do. This wonderful act of creativity and courage is changing the landscape for the better.

Note: If you, like us, are not only enchanted but getting Cinder vibes (thanks to Marissa Meyer's wonderful sci-fi retelling of Cinderella) you're not alone. (And we do recommend picking up Meyer's retelling in which Cinder loses her cyborg leg, if you haven't read it.) You'll see some of the same issues being explored and it's an empowering read.

As For Disability In Fairy Tales...
Pursley's "glass arm" also brings to mind The Maid Without Hands and the plight of many (too many!) wronged women; some having permanent scarring and some, even today, having lost hands or arms despite a changing world that no longer sees this as acceptable 'punishment'. Unlike the fairy tale, in which the girl is given silver hands for a while, and then, eventually has her natural hands magically restored (or re-grown!), such an event isn't possible in real life. Though the happy end of the tale could have occurred when the girl, now queen, was given silver hands by a king who loved her, and had a son of her own that she loved and cared for, this fairy tale isn't done until she has her original human hands back. With even such a dark tale insisting that happiness isn't complete until this happens, is it any wonder it's difficult for differently-abled people to see themselves as the heroes, princes and princesses of fairy tales?

Whether born differently physically or mentally, or changed to be different due to trauma or accident, disability has so many forms. Some are obvious by being visible. Some are not, either because they can be hidden under clothes, or they are internal/mental. All those who live with these differences, however, have the "princess problem" in common: most don't see themselves represented in a positive light. They see themselves as incomplete, and many tales we tell reinforce this. Too often in fairy tales, disabilities are things that need to be overcome or transformed to able-bodiedness, or, just as problematically, be revealed as a "superpower" to make up for having the disability in the first place, in order for the hero or heroine to have a happy ending. The state of 'princess' is not possible until she is "fixed", but that is largely because we tend to equate disability with disadvantage. People like Pursley (who designed the concept, the costumes, sewed them, collaborated on her prosthetic and cosplayed it) show us disability shouldn't be synonymous with disadvantage. If you ask people what the qualities of a 'true fairy tale princess' are, disabilities can still exist within that definition, so why are we restricting this idea of what a princess is?

This beautiful creation of a "glass arm" by Pursley is in direct contrast to another thing that happens in older, more infamous versions of the Cinderella tale - that in which the step-sisters, (attempting to secure a happy ending for themselves), cut off part of their heel or a toe, so they can cram their own foot into the delicate glass slipper. In this horrible reversal, the stepsisters (and their mother!) decide they need to mutilate their bodies to fit the princess mold. (And these are - supposedly - able-bodied women feeling the unrealistic princess-pressure!) The truth is that so many more people (girls especially) choose this route, to the point of harming themselves - from fad diets and restrictive 'make-overs' to plastic surgery - while chasing the happy ending. If able-bodied people feel this, how much more so must differently-abled people? Sadly, many assume the role of hero or princess is impossible for their personal narratives, and relegate themselves to minor or supporting roles instead of seeing that their story is just as important as anyone else's. But it shouldn't be that way. Diversity and representation matter, and we, especially those of us who tell fairy tales, need to be conscious of this and tell more inclusive stories.

In the true-life story of Mandy Pursley using her difference as an opportunity for beauty and magic, instead of harm, or trying to mask or change her disability, we see a celebration of self and happiness. Instead of being "less-than" her actions make her "more" and a role model. Here is representation, and inspiration. Just like Cinderella, who was not who she was because of the glass slipper, Pursley is not a princess because she now has a glass arm either. The glass slipper and arm, were, are, tools. The difference is that we now see Pursley for who she is, and has been all along: a fairy tale princess. 

Pursley's sentiment that you don't have to be the princess others are expecting you to be is a powerful and empowering one. Be yourself and create your own version of a princess. There is real magic in that.

*Here is the list of heartfelt thanks from Mandy to all those key people who, in addition to her photographer friend Kelly Anderson, helped make her vision a reality. We thought we'd include it to show you, you don't have to create a fairy tale all by yourself - sometimes - often - friends and partners are part of the recipe:
Many, MANY thanks to all the people who helped turned this dream into reality! My real-life Prince Charming, Ryan Pursley, who didn't think I was crazy while I kept sewing for MONTHS. Gilbert, the brilliant artist who didn't even know me but believed in my dream and is now a cherished friend. Eric Morris and Nick Ibarra at Cemrock who generously offered their equipment and assistance to create the glass arm. Jennifer Woodard at Hanger Clinic in Vista, CA for helping me figure out how to attach the prosthetic, and of course the amazing Kelly Anderson for taking such beautiful photographs!! Wig is by On The Wall Wigs. Who needs magic when you are surrounded by such talented and generous people!
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Sunday, September 22, 2019

Kirsten Dunst & Sofia Coppola Want To Make A New Version of Faerie Tale Theatre But No One Will Bite?!

Yes. You read that correctly!

Here is the quote from an interview just this month (Vogue magazine speaking to Kirsten Dunst):

A contemporary version of Faerie Tale Theatre, helmed by Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola? With great directors and a bunch of celebrities lined up and ready to jump on board?? And no studio is interested??!!! (a.k.a. willing to spend the $)

This confounding news was included in an article published in Vogue on September 9th (2019), interviewing Kristen Dunst, right after she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Shelley Duvall posing with a poster showing some of the stars
she worked with on various fairy tales during her series
Both Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola (who are longtime friends and worked together on Marie Antoinette, Beguiled and many other projects) have been publicly enthusiastic about their love of fairy tales, and it's a massive, missed opportunity for any network or studio to not take the pair of them on, especially for a project that will hit all those buzz buttons: Star directors! Star actors! Fantasy settings & costumes! And the nostalgia-hook of the moment: 80's remakes & call-backs!

With regard to their love of fairy tales, it's been something both women have always been drawn to.

Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst has long proclaimed her love for her favorite book, Jane Yolen's Briar Rose, even admitting it has been her "bedside book" for many years. There were rumors she expressed an interest in being involved in a movie adaptation, (though we can't find any source online to confirm that), something Jane Yolen said she would have been thrilled to see but that hasn't eventuated, despite the book having been optioned for a film version quite a number of times. When Kirsten originally announced this, she would have been the correct age to play the protagonist, but odds are good she would still want to be involved in some capacity should a film adaptation of Briar Rose ever get off the ground.

Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola, as anyone who has been following this blog for a while knows, was set to direct her own version of The Little Mermaid for Universal Pictures and Working Title Productions. The first news about her vision for retelling the fairy tale was thrilling, edgy, and promising and fresh - and representative - vision of the story. She was on the project for a year before things came to a fault. Unfortunately, it seems her vision was just a little too edgy (risky?) for the studio and Coppola left the project, citing creative differences. (No one has yet to revisit the project for Universal.)

But back to the concept of a contemporary version of Faerie Tale Theatre.

If no studio will take the plunge and trust it will bring in the crowds (and the $), how do we:
a) change their minds
or
b) go about crowd-funding this?

As much as we love Shelley Duvall's series, we all agree it could use some serious diversifying and updating to reflect proper cultural - and differently-abled - representation, which makes the concept even more exciting!

(Gosh - and we just missed the "pop-up exhibit", advertising poster shown below, of the costumes from the show too; which means, they still exist... and might be available for re-use, should any brave costume designer wish to take on the job of respectfully overhauling the originals for a new show...)

We know there are many folks who would be willing to support a project like this and show just as much enthusiasm and excitement as we have about the potential. Just take a look at these early social media responses now the word is getting out about this. Time to tweet this - and retweet this - and make sure to tag @Netflix, or @Hulu, or any well-funded Independent studio and get this happening.

And while you guys are doing that, go ahead and start making lists of fairy tales with current celebrity actors in the lead roles, then post them and tag those actors and @kirstendunst *, and add the #NewFaerieTaleTheatre hashtag to boost this project.

If enough people show interest, their wish (and ours) might just come true.

Fairy Tale Bonus of the Day:
A Look At How Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre Began
& Illustrating Those Beautiful Posters

If you haven't seen the full set of posters from Faerie Tale Theatre (we included 5 small ones in our header-banner at the top of this post), we recommend going and taking a look HERE.

Then you can go read an article on how those posters - and the show - came about HERE.

Here's an excerpt:
Once Upon a Time…It was 1980, the sun reflected brightly off the limestone cliffs surrounding Anchor Bay in Malta...The ramshackle locale was the set for the ambitious and original motion picture production of ‘Popeye’. From behind the camera, director Robert Altman was watching Robin Williams, a new talent chosen to portray the eponymous sailor. The energetic actor was performing a scene and was leaping about the set. 
Playing the role of Popeye’s lady love, Olive Oyl, actress Shelley Duvall sat reading under the shade of an umbrella... Looking up from her book, she watched Williams as he danced about. Duvall returned to her book, she had read it many times before but the stories felt as fresh and exciting as the time that she had first read them: 
‘Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?’ ‘Alas!’ said she, ‘what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring.’ ... 
Duvall smiled to herself; she looked up at Williams again and thought he would make a great frog in a live adaptation of the tale. The fact that this thought occurred to Duvall was not unusual. For the past few years she’d had the idea to create a live-action series that brought her much loved fairy tales to life. 
The idea became a reality in September of 1982, when ‘The Tale of the Frog Prince’, starring Robin Williams was broadcast on Showtime, the US cable television channel. The premiere episode of Duvall’s ‘Faerie Tale Theatre’ series was followed by 25 more adaptations of world-famous classic tales brought to life with creative scripts, dazzling special effects and lavish production design formatted aesthetically after the work of a famous illustrator or painter. With Duvall serving as executive producer, the series ran until 1987 and featured the most popular entertainers of the day playing the parts of the celebrated characters. Conceived with special consideration to entertain and instruct the young, the series was also executed to amuse and appeal to adults. By 1983, the immense popularity of ‘Faerie Tale Theatre’ led to the decision to begin releasing the episodes on home video. 
Released by CBS/Fox Video, the covers of the 26 titles in the series featured unique illustrations that depicted the actors rendered in the style of the famous illustrator or painter whose work had inspired the production design of the episode.
You can read the long-but-interesting article in its entirety HERE.
*That is the most official Kirsten Dunst twitter handle. Sofia Coppola is not on social media.
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Of Cancer Giants & Recovery Beanstalks (A Health Update)

Yelena Bryksenkova

Our Fairy Tale Newsroom isn't in full swing yet but we are on the tail end of two back-to-back surgeries, two hospital stays and - so far - excellent recovery on both of those counts.

Both our Editor and her husband are now officially cancer-surgery-survivors.

Doctors appointments, ongoing tests, and recovery are still very much the flavor of the day but we are slowly finding our new normal this week. News and social media appearances are likely to remain sporadic for a while but we've conquered the fearsome giant that suddenly loomed large in our lives - twice now! - these past 14 months*, and are now working on the rest of that beanstalk climb... (sometimes climbing down is more challenging than climbing up!)

To all those lovely readers who have sent healing vibes and good wishes, thank you so much. We greatly appreciate your support in these challenging times.

Sincerely,
Gypsy Thornton & Family

 *14 months from our Editor's double-mastectomy, 19 months if you count from our Junior Editor's emergency apendectomy and subsequent two hospital stays early last year! We will be very happy if we never have to live at the hospital ever again.
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Saturday, August 24, 2019

Juliet Marillier Retells "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" in Audible Exclusive "Beautiful"

Yes - you read correctly: this is an ears-only story!

Most fairy tale fans have heard of Juliet Marillier. Ever since meeting Sorcha in the first book of the Sevenwaters series, Daughter of the Forest, still many folks' favorite retelling of The Wild Swans, she's been an author who guarantees a fresh, folklore-based and well-researched take on any fairy tale she puts her pen to.

This time she's tackled the popular Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and, true to form, the narrator isn't someone you'd suspect.

Marillier's look at the beloved tale is told from the perspective of one of the players in the story who was taken advantage of, then unceremoniously left behind as the main couple "get their Happily Ever After".

Here's the description:
Illustration by Anton Lomaev for the novel East, written by Edith Pattou
With the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon as her inspiration, Juliet Marillier weaves a magical story of a young princess' search for her true self.
Hulde is a queen's daughter and lives in a palace. But her life is lonely. Growing up atop the glass mountain, she knows only her violent and autocratic mother and a household of terrified servants.

Then a white bear named Rune comes to visit, and Hulde learns what kindness is.

But the queen has a plan for Hulde. When she turns 16, she will wed the most beautiful man in all the world. Hulde has never met her intended husband, and her mother refuses to explain the arrangement. Hulde becomes desperate to find out more and seeks the help of a magic mirror. Perhaps someone is coming to her rescue.

On her wedding day, Hulde's existence is turned upside down. For the first time she leaves the glass mountain behind, setting out to be as brave as the heroines in her beloved storybook.

The journey will test Hulde to the limit. Can she overcome her fears and take control of her own life?
Marillier posted this little insight on her personal blog:
East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Bev Johnson
Beautiful (the novel) is in three parts. Part one follows the pattern of the fairy tale, though the central character is not the white bear prince or the intrepid young woman who travels east of the sun and west of the moon to save him from a curse. Our narrator, whom I named Hulde, only had a bit-part in that original story. The novel-length version takes Hulde way out of her comfort zone as she heads off into the unknown world beyond the glass mountain, to find out what it means to make your own story. I really loved writing this book and I hope readers will enjoy it too. It has adventures and catastrophes and a dragon. Beautiful is suitable for both adult and young adult readers.  
One reviewer, Steff (Mogsy) at Bibliosanctum, had some interesting things to add about the book, which made us more inclined to consider taking the time to listen:
Hulde is what you would call the bit-parter, the forgotten one. Not the bold and indomitable heroine, nor the girl who gets the guy, she is in fact the troll princess, the quiet and unassuming daughter of the power-hungry Troll Queen. Marillier has described Hulde as “rather hard done by” in the original tale, so her novel was a chance to explore the character and her viewpoint in more detail. The first part of Beautiful tells of her childhood high in the mountain castle, growing up under the thumb of her temperamental and ambitious mother. Hulde is told that when she reaches age sixteen, she will be married to the most handsome prince in the land, though having been sheltered and isolated all her life, our protagonist isn’t really sure what to make of that. Her only friend—and the only one she’s ever had those kinds of feelings for—is Rune, the kindly white bear who only visits the castle every three years. 
Well, knowing the gist of the original fairy tale, you can probably guess what became of that relationship and how Hulde took it. Hard done by, indeed. After the introduction, I began to better understand the author’s fascination for the forgotten troll princess’ role in the story as well as her motivation to come up with the next chapter for her character, and I was glad to see that parts two and three of Beautiful did just that. Following Hulde after she finally steps out from the shadow of her mother, this book chronicles the epic journey of her self-discovery.
While Marillier did publish a novella-length version in the Aurum anthology late last year, this story, released in May 2019, is novel-length, and clocks in at 7+ hours of listening time. To date, if you want the whole story, this audiobook exclusive is the only way to go. (We hope that changes in the future!)

You can have a sample listen at Amazon HERE or at Audible HERE. It's free with a 30-day trial of Audible.
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