Illustrated retelling of seven European fairy-tales
As I mentioned recently, it was December and I was struggling to meet my 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 80 books. I attended my book club‘s Christmas party, we played a small but savage game of Dirty Santa where the prizes were books (of course) and this was the one that I won. Obviously I was thrilled because it is Kate Forsyth, who is incidentally the author of the second book I ever reviewed on this blog. It was also, fortuitously, very short which meant that I had a reasonable chance of squeezing it in before the end of the year.
“Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women” by Kate Forsyth and illustrated by Lorena Carrington is a collection of European fairy-tale retellings. There are seven stories, each of them featuring a resilient, courageous and ingenious woman who must overcome adversity in her own way.
This is a really enjoyable collection of stories, not least of which because they are all lesser-known stories. Forsyth has chosen tales from the UK, France, Germany, Norway and Russia and despite considering myself relatively well-read when it comes to fairy-tales each of these was brand new to me. Forsyth preserves traditional themes and settings, including romance, but imbues her heroines with rather more agency and gumption than was often seen. I really liked the sisters in Katie Crackernuts, the snake story of A Bride for Me Before a Bride for You, and the unusual kingdom in The Toy Princess.
Carrington brings a unique illustrative style using silhouettes and layers to help the reader visualise the interplay between light and dark which is so prevalent a theme in fairy-tales. I particularly enjoyed the objects on shelves in The Toy Princess.
A beautiful, original collection of stories suitable for all ages and especially for collectors of fairy-tales.
Tinted Edges 