Fairy Tales for Adult Readers

Discover enchanting fairy tales reimagined for adults! Explore our curated list of magical, dark, and whimsical books perfect for grown-up readers who love fantasy, folklore, and timeless storytelling.

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The Bloody Chamber, and Other Stories Cover
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The Bloody Chamber, and Other Stories

by Angela Carter

A reissue of a collection of short stories first published ten years ago.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Cover
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Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

by Susanna Clarke

In nineteenth-century England, all is going well for reclusive Mr Norell, who has regained some of the power of England's magicians from the past, until a rival magician, Jonathan Strange, appears and becomes Mr Norrell's pupil.
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Lambs of God Cover
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Lambs of God

 

No summary available.
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The Ice Queen Cover
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The Ice Queen

 

No summary available.
The Fox Woman Cover
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The Fox Woman

by Kij Johnson

In a novel set in medieval Japan, a young fox kit becomes enamored with a Japanese nobleman and will stop at nothing, even magic and sorcery, to win his heart.
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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister Cover
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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

by Gregory Maguire

Is this new land a place where magics really happen? From Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author of Wicked, comes his much-anticipated second novel, a brilliant and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella tale. In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings.... When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats.... We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks? Extreme beauty is an affliction Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale? While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household--and the treacherous truth of her former life. God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs.... Imps and fairy godmotbers trying to undo each other's work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes! Far more than a mere fairy-tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed--and love unveiled--in the most unexpected of places.
Deerskin Cover
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Deerskin

by Robin McKinley

'As Princess Lissar reaches womanhood, it is clear to all the kingdom that in her breathtaking beauty she is the mirror of her mother, the queen. But this seeming blessing forces her to flee to safety from her father's wrath. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, LIssar unlocks a door to a world of magic, where she finds the key to her survival - and an adventure beyond her wildest dreams...' -- cover.
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Bound

by Donna Jo Napoli

From the award-winning author of "Beast" and "Breath" comes this thrilling and haunting retelling of the Cinderella story that returns the much-loved fairy tale to its Chinese roots.
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel Cover
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The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

by Louise Murphy

A powerful retelling of the famous fairy tale is set in Nazi-occupied Poland as two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest.
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Sometimes the Soul Cover
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Sometimes the Soul

by Gioia Timpanelli

Hauntingly beautiful fiction about two women, solitude, art, and transformation. In "A Knot of Tears", a woman's locked-up life is transformed by a parrot who tells tales; "Rusina, Not Quite in Love" offers a strange and lovely retelling of the story of "Beauty and the Beast".
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