New writing FAIRYTALES Guest Editor ADELE GERAS introduces her pick of poetry and prose on the theme of fairytales THE word ‘fairytale’ is often misused. ‘It was a fairytale wedding’ we read in the press, or ‘their story had a fairytale ending’. Anyone who’s taken more than the most cursory glance at these stories will know that the world they describe is terrifying, inexplicable, brutal and unforgiving and that it requires magic of a most spectacular kind to reach what we expect at the conclusion of any fiction: a happy ending. The subject matter is murder, incest, abuse, famine, war, death of children. The tales deal with the misery of childlessness, the terror of growing old and the loss of beauty. They tell us truths about sex and blood and anger and injustice. In the old slogan of the News of the World, ‘all human life is there’. You might ask: why have such topics been thought suitable for children? The answer is: children are fascinated by the world of adults, and the outward trappings of the stories (the enchantments, the transformations, the talking animals, the beauty of the settings, the lovely costumes and props that surround them) make them very attractive to young readers, or listeners. Fairytales don’t mince their words when they depict the dark side of life, but there’s always the consolation of magic to ensure that the good, often in the shape of a young person (Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty), come out more or less all right. Versions of the stories retold for children leave out such things as the red-hot iron slippers nailed to the wicked Stepmother’s feet at the end of Snow White. Making up a new fairy tale that’s a patch on the old ones is almost impossible and the pieces that were sent to me sensibly steered clear of this. They almost all went in for a transposition of the stories from their own ‘fairytale’ settings to modern or even futuristic ones. I wasn’t surprised by this. I’ve done it myself, in a trilogy of novels that move the stories to a girls’ boarding-school in the early 1960s. It’s great fun to do, and intriguing to see how you can cover all the magical elements in a way that works. For the complete essay, and for Adèle's full selection of poetry and prose on the theme of fairytales, read issue 15 • Subscribe! Read a short story chosen by Adèle Geras: Baba Yaga's Daughter by Victoria Quinn For more on ADELE GERAS, go to www.adelegeras.com
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