Fairy Tale Day 2021: 6 short stories to revisit, from Brothers Grimm to Angela Carter

It wouldn’t be a round-up if we didn’t mention something the queen of feminist fairy tales herself, Angela Carter. Of course you’ll have likely heard ofThe Bloody Chamber (which we decided not to include here as it’s so well known), but another wonderful offering from the author is Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales. This collection features tales about all sorts of women, from crafty deviants to maidens who aren’t quite damsels-in-distress, and compiles stories from all parts of the globe. 

The book itself, which is beautifully illustrated with woodcuts created by Corinna Sargood, has been split up into 13 sections that deal with certain themes: “Good girls and where it gets them”; “Married women”; and “Clever women, resourceful girls and desperate stratagems” are a few. These tales are often gory and include a lot of adult humour – it’s probably best to not give this to anyone younger than 13 years old.

This beautiful anthology compiles 16 traditional folktales from across Scandinavia that were originally written down between the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Tales of elves, dragons and scheming foxes have been brought to life by Finnish artist Ulla Thynell’s illustrations, which are whimsical and fantastical.

Our reviewer’s favourite story was about a young boy who tries to outsmart Death. It is worth nothing that some of the stories are quite dated: one girl literally has to prove her worthiness to marry a prince by washing stains from a shirt – it won’t be passing the Bechdel test anytime soon! However, this is still a wonderful book for all ages. Nordic Tales is actually part of a series, which also include tales from all over the world.

It is the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm we all know and love – you won’t find any squeaky-clean Disney versions here… This monster of a book, coming in at a hefty 1,000 pages, includes classic stories such as Snow White, The Princess and the Pea and Rumpelstiltskin. It also includes more obscure stories, all of which were collected by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 19^th century. Although not unknown, our reviewer’s favourite was Bluebeard, the story of a rich nobleman whose previous six wives have all gone missing.

These stories are quite violent – the evil stepmother in Snow White is made to dance to death wearing iron shoes over a bed of coals and the stepsisters in Cinderella amputate their toes to try and fit into the glass slipper. This collection isn’t suitable for younger children but if you were to read as a bedtime story you just could just skip any undesirable parts.

If you’re looking for stories that have been overshadowed by western classics, then Nelson Mandela’s Favourite African Folktales is a wonderful addition to any bookshelf. Published in 2004, the anti-apartheid leader gathers his favourite ones from across the African continent in the hope that more children will discover new tales. Many of the stories date back to ancient times, their words passed down for millennia.

There are plenty of mythical beasts to be found in its pages, as well as cunning and magical animals. Other stories serve as “origin” tales, such as how the first house cats were tamed. Our reviewer’s favourite was Mmutla and Phiri, a hyena and a hare who start playing with fire to prove they are the cleverest animal in the land.

It’s no secret that fairy tales have a sexism problem, which is where this genius book comes in. Gender Swapped Fairy Tales, as you may have gathered from the title, takes stories originally published by Scottish poet Andrew Lang between 1889 and 1913 and changes the genders. Co-author Jonathan Plackett designed an algorithm which swaps any gendered language found in the text, and the results are brilliant. Sleeping Beauty becomes Sleeping Handsome; Mr Rapunzel has a golden beard instead of golden hair; Handsome is imprisoned by the (now female) beast. Women are now strong heroines, while the men stay at home sewing and waiting for a woman to save them.

The commentary the book makes isn’t in your face but the point is really obvious: fairy tales are rife with problematic, and sometimes even bizarre, tropes which have been taught to children for centuries. This is a wonderful collection and a great teaching point as well. The beautiful illustrations by co-author Karrie Fransman also bring the concept to life.

Flora and fauna are a staple of fairy tales, from poisonous plants to forests covered in thorns. In this wonderful little book, written by ecologist and storyteller Lisa Schneidau, stories and tales from the UK’s rich history of plant folklore have been collected. Tales have been divided into five phases of the seasonal calendar, from midwinter all the way through to autumn, mimicking nature’s life cycle.

Even if you don’t have an innate interest in botany or ecology, Botanical Folk Tales is a very intriguing look at the way plants are part of our heritage. Some well-known stories, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, have been included but the majority haven’t made their way into mainstream lore. This is a wonderful collection suitable for all ages and filled with pretty florals too.