The Fairies Return: Or, New Tales for Old, Compiled by Peter Davies, Edited by Maria Tatar

A satirical and modern retelling of beloved fairy tales.

Originally issued in 1934, The Fairies Return was the first collection of modernist fairy tales ever published in England, and it marked the arrival of a satirical classic that has never been surpassed. Even today, this reimagining of fourteen timeless tales - from ‘Puss in Boots’ to ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ - is still fresh and bold, giving readers a world steeped not in once upon a time, but in the here and now.

Longtime favorites in this playfully subversive collection are retold for modern times and mature sensibilities. In ‘Jack the Giant Killer,’ Jack becomes a trickster who must deliver England from the hands of three ogres after a failed government inquiry. In ‘The Little Mermaid,’ a young Canadian girl with breathtaking swimming skills is lured by the temptations of Hollywood. And Cinderella becomes a spinster and holy woman, creating a very different happily ever after.

These tales expose social anxieties, political corruption, predatory economic behavior, and destructive appetites even as they express hope for a better world. A new introduction from esteemed fairy-tale scholar Maria Tatar puts the collection in context.

“[M]odern answers to Grimm, variously satirical, queered and jaunty, by a diverse, intriguing group of writers.” - Times Literary Supplement