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Best of the Web Snow, Glass, Apples: the story of Snow White by Terri Windling Snow White Stories collected by D. L. Ashliman
FAQ I often receive e-mails asking me to name the seven dwarfs. The seven dwarfs are only named in the Disney film of the story, not in the traditional tales I provide on this site. However, if you want the name of Disney's seven dwarfs, they are: Happy The limited edition DVD and video are available on Amazon:
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The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and its themes have appeared in literature and other forms of art. This page provides a small discussion of some of the better known treatments by authors and other artists.Novels produced by romance publishers are not listed on this page, but can be found on Romance Novels: Fairy Tale Romances at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Literature Poetry Music Film Theatre Agins, Phyllis Carol. Suisan. New York: Baen, 1992. NOVEL: Fantasy.
Archer, Lily. The Poison Apples. New York: Feiwel & Friends, 2007. NOVEL: From the publisher: "When lightning strikes! From the moment we heard the idea about a club of stepdaughters forming to wreak revenge on their evil stepmothers, we felt all jittery and happy inside. The best stories are those which derive from a great literary tradition, but have an original voice and a narrative twist all their own. Hello, Lily Archer! Although still in a master of arts writing program, she is a born writer. Her wickedly funny novel will capture you from its first page. But be forewarned, it is her heartfelt characters that will ensure this novel's place on bookshelves for decades to come. We all know the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel. But have you ever heard of Alice Bingley-Beckerman, Reena Paruchuri, or Molly Miller? Of course you haven't. Not yet. But here's something you should know. What these girls have in common with their fairy-tale sisters is this: They are the stepdaughters of three very evil stepmothers. And they're not happy about it. They think they are alone in their unhappiness until they arrive at Putnam Mount McKinsey, a posh boarding school located in lovely, rural Massachusetts. Here is where they will plot their revenge. But first, they have to meet. In her first novel, Lily Archer tells a knowing, unforgettable story about how friendship just may turn out to be more happily-ever-after than family."
Barthelme, Donald. Snow White. New York: Scribner, 1965. NOVEL: Barthelme's treatment of the tale has become a cult favorite for fairy tale enthusiasts. The publisher has graciously rereleased the title. An inventive, satiric modern retelling of the classic fairy tale provides an incisive and biting commentary on the absurdities and complexities of modern life.
Buckley, Michael. The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2005. NOVEL: From the publisher: "Sabrina and Daphne find out they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, who were actually detectives of the magical phenomenon perpetrated by the Everafters, a parallel race of magical beings. They soon learn it is the Grimm family's legacy to keep the Everafters in line and the two sisters are the sole heirs to this challenge! In the Sisters Grimm Book Two: The Unusual Suspects , the girls start school with Snow White as their teacher and soon discover a plot pitting mortal children against immortal parents-they must do everything they can to stop it!" Buckley writes a series of books featuring the Sisters Grimm.
Catanese, P. W. The Mirror's Tale. New York: Aladdin, 2006. NOVEL: From the publisher: "Everyone has heard the story. The dwarves. The talking mirror. The evil witch. But this tale doesn't belong to Snow White anymore. Now, one hundred years later, it's..."
Doman, Regina. Black as Night. San Diego, CA: Bethlehem Books, 2004. NOVEL: Black as Night: A Fairy Tale Retold tells the familiar story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with a twist: it's set in the South Bronx of New York City, and the seven dwarves are seven friars who work among the inner-city poor. (Yes, they have beards.) Blanche Brier, age nineteen, noted for her white skin and black hair, is on the run, and no one, not even her boyfriend Bear, can figure out where she's hiding or why. All Blanche knows is that an unexpected summer friendship has made her a jealous enemy. While Blanche searches for answers and Bear searches for Blanche, the youngest friar, Brother Leon, befriends the lost girl and uncovers a twisted and deadly plot.
Geras, Adele. Pictures of the Night. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992. NOVEL: A synopsis from Amazon.com: "In a modern version of the Snow White fairy tale, eighteen-year-old Bella is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents while singing with a small band in London and Paris during her summer break from school, and believes them to be caused by her jealous, malevolent stepmother."The entire trilogy is: The Tower Room (Rapunzel), Watching the Roses (Briar Rose), and Pictures of the Night (Snow White).
Harrison, Mette Ivie. Mira, Mirror. New York: Viking, 2004. NOVEL: From the publisher: Two sisters. One a witch and a queen. The other transformed by her sister's touch into a mirror--a mirror with voice and memory and magic, but no power to transform herself back to the girl she once was. And then, mysteriously, the queen disappears and another girl finds the mirror. This girl has troubles of her own, but she is also a means to escape and soon the girl and the mirror are on their way to find the magic that will bring both pain and hope to both of them.
Holt, Tom. Snow White and the Seven Samurai. London: Orbit Book, 1999. NOVEL: A synopsis from Amazon.co.uk: It makes perfect sense that Snow White should live with seven samurai, once you've got the hang of Tom Holt's latest twisted fantasy comedy. Youngsters from our real world hack into fairyland's Mirrors operating system--which naturally runs on the wicked queen's magic mirror--and crash it so disastrously that all the stories get tangled. A spaghetti-western Dwarf With No Name (actually he's Dumpy) is hired to save three little pigs from the big bad wolf by recruiting a Magnificent Seven Dwarves' defence team, starting with Rumpelstiltskin and Tom Thumb but goingdownhill from there. Meanwhile, Fang the wolf has problems with Frog Prince transformations, Snow White learns from her own mirror that she has excellent wicked-queen potential and Baron Frankenstein's latest unholy creation proves to be Pinocchio. We also meet three colour-blind mice, the Beast fleeing in terror from Beauty, an elf who insists she's an "Indigenous Fairylander" and the Grimm Brothers--unconvincingly claiming that they're mere independent observers. After which, things become really complicated and silly, as Storyland is further fragmented by various mirror-users' efforts to gain control, until it seems quite reasonable that one little pig should find himself saying, "I am not a number. I am a free pig." Splendidly deranged entertainment, with quips galore. Holt's in good form.
Lackey, Mercedes. The Serpent's Shadow. New York: DAW Books, 2001. NOVEL: From Amazon.com: Mercedes Lackey returns to form in The Serpent's Shadow, the fourth in her sequence of reimagined fairy tales. This story takes place in the London of 1909, and is based on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Lackey creates echoes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, pays affectionate homage to Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey (who plays an important role under a thin disguise), and turns the dwarves into seven animal avatars who masquerade as pets of her Eurasian heroine, Maya.
Lee, Tanith. White as Snow. New York: Tor Books, 2000. NOVEL: From Amazon.com: In an alternate-history medieval Europe, the noble maiden Arpazia, raised in an isolated castle, finds herself the captive of the conquering general-king Draco. The only remnant of her former life is an exotic glass mirror possessed of witchy powers. She feels no connection to Coira, daughter of her forced marriage to the brutal Draco. She becomes the lover of a woodsman, Klytemno, who embodies the divine Hunter King in pagan rituals. Then Klytemno requires her to send her black-haired, snow-pale daughter Coira into the woods as a sacrifice.... (An installment in the Fairy Tale Series edited by Terri Windling.)
Levine, Gail Carson. Fairest. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. NOVEL: From publisher: "In the kingdom of Ayortha, who is the fairest of them all? Certainly not Aza. She is thoroughly convinced that she is ugly. What she may lack in looks, though, she makes up for with a kind heart, and with something no one else has–a magical voice. Her vocal talents captivate all who hear them, and in Ontio Castle they attract the attention of a handsome prince – and a dangerous new queen. In this masterful novel filled with humour, adventure, romance, and song, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine invites you to join Aza as she discovers how exquisite she truly is."
Lynn, Tracy. Snow. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003. NOVEL:In a tiny Welsh estate, a duke and duchess lived happily, lacking only a child -- or, more importantly, a son and heir to the estate. Childbirth ultimately proved fatal for the young duchess. After she died, the duke was dismayed to discover that he was not only a widower, but also father to a tiny baby girl. He vowed to begin afresh with a new wife, abandoning his daughter in search of elusive contentment. Independent -- virtually ignored -- and finding only little animals and a lonely servant boy as her companions, Jessica is pale, lonely and headstrong...and quick to learn that she has an enemy in her stepmother. "Snow," as she comes to be known, flees the estate to London and finds herself embraced by a band of urban outcasts. But her stepmother isn't finished with her, and if Jessica doesn't take control of her destiny, the wicked witch will certainly harness her youth -- and threaten her very life....
Maguire, Gregory. Mirror, Mirror. New York: Regan Books, 2003. NOVEL: In Mirror Mirror Snow White is called Bianca de Nevada. She is born on a farm in Tuscany in 1495, and when she is seven, her father is ordered by the duplicitous Cesare Borgia to go on a quest to reclaim the relic of the original Tree of Knowledge, a branch bearing three living apples that are thousands of years old. Bianca is left in the care of her father's farm staff and the beautiful -- and madly vain -- Lucrecia Borgia, Cesare's sister. But Lucrecia becomes jealous of her lecherous brother's interest in the growing child and plots a dire fate for Bianca in the woods below the farm. There Bianca finds herself in the home of seven dwarves -- the creators of the magic mirror -- who await the return of their brother, the eighth dwarf, long gone on a quest of his own.
Mason, Jane B. and Sarah Hines Stephens. Princess School: Who's the Fairest?. New York: Scholastic, 2004. NOVEL: From the publisher: The Maiden Games are fast approaching. The Princess School will compete against the mean Grimm School witches and Snow White's very own wicked stepmother will be one of the judges. Will Snow's closest friends be enough to get her through this second installment?
Rallison, Janette. My Fair Godmother. New York: Walker Books, 2009. NOVEL: From the publisher: "After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, sophomore Savannah Delano wishes she could find a true prince to take her to the prom. Enter Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar: Savannah’s gum-chewing, cell phone–carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Showing why she’s only Fair—because she’s not a very good fairy student—Chrissy mistakenly sends Savannah back in time to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella, then as Snow White. Finally she sends Tristan, a boy in Savannah’s class, back instead to turn him into her prom-worthy prince. When Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to save Tristan, they must team up to defeat a troll, a dragon, and the mysterious and undeniably sexy Black Knight. Laughs abound in this clever fairy tale twist from a master of romantic comedy. "
Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann. The Godmother. New York: Ace, 1994. NOVEL: From Amazon.com by the author: The author, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough , April 14, 1999 "My friends in social services made me think of writing The Godmother. As a Vietnam vet, I began to see that a lot of my fellow vets thought the war was the only place where great battles were fought, but living next door to and downstairs from social services workers and hearing some of their stories convinced me that they are on the front lines of the civilian wars, trying to save children, princesses not living happily ever after, paupers, and other characters right out of fairytales, but without the benefit of magic. So what if one of them could invoke his or her fairytale counterpart, the fairy godmother? What similarities would a godmother find in the situations of modern day people to those problems she waved her wand over once upon a time? It was great fun to play with the fairy tales. I'd like to warn people that this is not, for all its fairytale setting, a children's book and some readers have found the Hansel and Gretel/Bluebeard parable a little too disturbing for their entertainment tastes. Since my research shows that originally fairytales were probably the newstories of their day and no more savory than the ones we read in our papers, I felt that this story needed to be part of Rose and Felicity's experience. But since it DOES have magic, you can expect that everybody gets to live happily ever after." |
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Anne Heiner, SurLaLune Fairy Tales E-mail: heidi@surlalunefairytales.com Page created 1/1999; Last updated 9/9/2009 www.surlalunefairytales.com |
