Romance Novels - The Fairy Tales of Today
I have long believed that romance novels are the fairy tales of the modern world. So many of the popular and longest lasting fairy tales blend romance, magic, evil witches, heroic quests, usually tied into some eternal theme that celebrates love, honor, and the triumph of good over evil.
A few of my favorites (and I challenge you all to see how many of them I've included in the Tairen Soul books) include:
The Brothers Grimm wrote 209 fairy tales, though of those, I'd say only a dozen or so have weathered the test of time. Hans Christian Anderson penned 168, and of those about likewise about a dozen or so continue to be read as classics to modern children.
What are your favorite fairy tales, and why?
A few of my favorites (and I challenge you all to see how many of them I've included in the Tairen Soul books
- Beauty and the Beast
- Cinderella
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
- Snow White & Rose Red
- Rapunzel
- Sleeping Beauty
- The Frog Prince
- The Princess and the Pea
- The Twelve Dancing Princesses
- The Wild Swans (aka, the Swan Princess)
- Hansel and Gretel
- The Snow Queen
- The Little Mermaid
- Rumplestiltskin
The Brothers Grimm wrote 209 fairy tales, though of those, I'd say only a dozen or so have weathered the test of time. Hans Christian Anderson penned 168, and of those about likewise about a dozen or so continue to be read as classics to modern children.
What are your favorite fairy tales, and why?
posted by C.L. Wilson at
12:44 PM
5 Comments:
Great list of fairy tales! Not sure I have favorites that aren't on the list. I should pick up a Grimm just to read through them all again.
It is surprising, however, to realize how much darker the original fairy tales are than our current modern versions of them.
I agree! The first time I read about the birds pecking out the evil stepsisters' eyes... *shudder*
Creepy yet cool. If only I could get away with red hot irons and eyelessness as appropriate punishments for *my* villains. *g
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I did forget Little Red Riding Hood, which is another Grimm tale (aka "Little Red-Cap"). Not quite as gruesome as some, which is probably why the modern versions of it have stayed fairly close to the original.
As for evil punishment, LOL, one of the great things about fantasy (or historical, for that matter) is the freedom to be uncivilized in your punishments of villains! *g
I grew up abroad with the good fortune to have an education heavy in the liberal arts. Once I picked up Bullfinch's Mythology and got into Greek and Roman mythology I was hooked.
After that I 'discovered' Celtic when we were in the UK and quite honestly, I got stuck (very happily) in Celtic.
Anybody else remember giggling at Rocky and Bullwinkle and the fractured fairy tales? LOL Kaylynne
Kaylynne,
I totally grew up with Rocky and Bullwinkle...lol.
And I adore mythology. It was Edith Hamilton, not Bullfinch, for me. and I have in my personal library no less than a dozen books on mythology and fairy tales. I adore them.
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