Review by Choice Review
This is a valuable collection of 36 tales, originally written from 1870-1914, by 19 French authors. Most, though not all, were well-known writers associated with the decadent movement. All but four tales are newly translated by Schultz and Seifert (both, French studies, Brown), and some are accompanied by footnotes and illustrations taken from editions of the traditional fairy tales that inspired them. An introduction provides contextual background on the decadent movement and its writers' creatively perverted revisions of traditional fairy tales, which often place well-known fairy tale characters in modern settings (Cinderella is taxied to the ball by auto), question gender interpretations (Prince Charming's happily ever after now belongs to his sister), or highlight the stories of the traditional villains at the expense of the victims. With fairy tale revisions flourishing in contemporary writing, this is an important corpus of early examples. The range of tales published here is broad, from reinterpretations of tales of Charles Perrault to refigurings of characters from Arthurian legend and classical mythology. This is a wonderful resource for scholars of fairy tales and decadent literature and a timely, thought-provoking collection for nonspecialists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. --Sheila Ann Dooley, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
