10 Favorite Fairytales by E.J. Kitchens: Guest Post
Please give a warm Dragon Ward welcome to author E.J. Kitchens, who has come over today to talk about a few of her favorite fairy tales!
E.J. Kitchens is a brilliant author of fairy tale retellings that have a bit of a regency-era flair. A “realmie” and one of my personal favorite fantasy authors, I am super excited about her upcoming new release: The King’s Enchantress, coming out later this week!
Also, she always has the most gorgeous covers.
Aren’t they breathtaking?
Anyway, enough of my fan-girling. Let’s hear from the author herself, shall we?
10 Favorite Fairytales
by E.J. Kitchens
I must admit that I mostly know of fairytales from the movies. I’ve read some of the originals, but I confess a preference in many cases for the retellings. One reason, as you might guess from my comments, is my love of music. I also love ballroom dancing and lovely gowns, which tend to feature more heavily in the movies than the original tales, so there’s that too. I hope those of you who grew up on the actual Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Anderson tales will forgive me. I’m growing in appreciation for the old stories as I do research for my own fairytale retellings. But which stories are my favorite?
10 Favorite Fairytales
Beauty and the Beast Surprise! Bet you didn’t see this one coming! Seriously though, how can you not love the story of the unlovable being loved despite flaws? It’s what most of us so deeply desire. Be the flaws one of appearance and wit (as in the Beaumont version) or of temper and arrogance (as in Disney’s), we desire love despite our flaws and so love a story where that wish is fulfilled. As a Christian, I think this desire is a recognition of our sin and is pointing us to Christ, the ultimate source of undeserved love. But back to “Beauty and the Beast,” there’s so much to love about this story and its many versions, including but not limited to the music, anthropomorphic clocks and candlesticks and teapots, and a shared loved of books and a desire of adventure. There are many adaptions of this, but one book version that stands out is Melanie Dickerson’s The Merchant’s Daughter
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves I think Snow White gets a bad rap from a lot of people as a pushover, wimpy heroine. But the girl was nearly killed, and that by order of her stepmother and queen (so she has no one, neither family nor law, to turn to for help); she’s lost in a forest (not the semi-safe forests of much of America, but one where wolves and bears and other dangers would abound); and she has no destination or hope or food. She’s in a tough spot. Who can blame her for crying? Nonetheless, she shows a lot courage just by getting up and traveling on and as well as resourcefulness when she makes a way for herself by keeping house for the dwarves. And she also handles them expertly—she’s no pushover when they want to avoid washing hands! I must also admit that in the Disney version, I loved the language they use for the evil queen as she addresses the mirror and brews the potion. I also find the idea of the Sleeping Death intriguing and have used that in some of my own stories, particularly in The King’s Spell. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine is probably my favorite retelling of this.
Cinderella A sweet story with an admirable heroine trapped in a tough situation who doesn’t give in to bitterness and hate. And so many great retellings with great music! I love musicals, so this story’s retellings make me happy. From Disney’s versions to Rogers and Hammerstein’s, to lesser-known ones such as The Rose and the Slipper and The Glass Slipper, to the non-musical Ever After. As for book-form retellings, Allison Tebo’s The Reluctant Godfather and H.L. Burke’s Ashen are fun twists on the story.
Sleeping Beauty Again, a sweet story and amazing music! “Once Upon a Dream” is one of my favorite songs. The bickering fairy godmothers are fun too. A.G. Marshall’s Princess of Shadows is a different but fun retelling blended with “The Princess and the Pea,” another fairytale I enjoy.
Rapunzel Did you know this name referred to an edible plant? Kinda like naming your daughter “Lettuce.” I love Tangled, but I also found the original tale interesting.
The Lady and the Lion A friend gave me a lovely, illustrated version of this tale.
King Thrushbeard An intriguing tale of a woman who learns to be humble and useful. I recently enjoyed Kate Stradling’s retelling Maid and Minstrel.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses I’ve enjoyed this tale since reading an illustrated version. The princesses in their dresses and the journey to the nightly dance make for gorgeous illustrations, and the idea of the soldier with the invisibility cloak following them captured my imagination (resulting in a retelling of my own). Lea Doue’s The Firethorn Crown is one of my favorite retellings, and probably one of the first indie fairytale retellings I read.
The Frog Prince/The Frog Princess This is a story that evokes strong reactions from the readers, which makes it all the more fun: disgust at the idea of kissing a frog and awe and surprise when the frog turns out to be a prince. I really enjoyed E.D. Baker’s The Frog Princess.
The Snow Queen I wasn’t actually crazy about the original tale (or Frozen, except for Olaf), but I really enjoyed K.M. Shea’s Snow Queen series and have an idea for a retelling, so you could say I found the story inspiring.
That’s my list of the top fairytales. What are your favorite fairytales and retellings?
About The King’s Enchantress
Only a king has no magic and yet the command of it. Only a king does an enchantress serve. But even a sorcerer can be a king to some.
Devryn Ashby has reluctantly accepted his appointment as Guardian—a trainer in magic—to enchantress Meredith Lofton, but the effects of his curse are getting worse. If he can’t get find a way to get around it or cure it, he might be forced to reveal his secret to the Loftons and King Reginald. He’d do almost anything to keep his curse a secret. And the Dark Mage knows it.
But with Meredith and her beloved street urchins in danger and something both magical and animal hunting enchanters for the Dark Mage, Devryn must learn to overcome his curse. Or work with an enchantress.
The King’s Enchantress is book 2 of the clean “Jane Austen romance meets fantasy adventure” series Realm and Wand.
About the Author
E.J. Kitchens loves tales of romance, adventure, and happily-ever-afters and strives to write such tales herself. When she’s not thinking about dashing heroes or how awesome bacteria are—she is a microbiologist after all—she’s enjoying the beautiful outdoors or talking about classic books and black-and-white movies. She currently has seven published novels and many short works, all adventure-romance stories set in fantasy worlds, with many more begging to be written. She is a member of Realm Makers and lives in Alabama.
Many thanks, EJ, for coming over and talking about your favorite fairy tales! I love so many of these, as well. Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, The 12 Dancing Princesses, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and The Snow Queen have long been on my own favorites list! There are a few on there I don’t recognize and am going to have to go look up!
How about you, dear Reader? Any favorites on this list? What are YOUR favorite fairy tales?
Have you read any of EJ Kitchens’ books? I highly recommend them! I’ve loved all of the ones I’ve read and this new one is high on my TBR.