Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer

Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer is a short story collection of dark fantasy retellings of popular fairytales by British author Tanith Lee. Contrary to what the title may suggest, it not only includes retellings of fairytales by the Brothers Grimm, but also by Charles Perrault, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve or Alexander Afanasyev. The title story was nominated for a Nebula Award and a World Fantasy Award. This collection was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award.

Summary

Here are nine devilishly twisted fairy tales as the Brothers Grimm never dared to tell them. With her brilliantly macabre pen, Tanith Lee retells some familiar tales, and concocts some new and unusual ones, as she asks us to consider the possibility that things may not work as our fairy tales have them... In the title story, Lee shows us a perfectly good stepmother, whose Princess stepdaughter reeks of evil. Then there in Ashella, the Cinderella-like girl who, "When the Clock Strikes" intends to give her Prince Charming a deadly surprise. In 'Wolfland', Lisel takes a trip through the woods to visit her grandmother-- who bears little resemblance to the loving old woman we expect. And in "Thorns" you'll find the haunting answer to the question, "What if awakening the Sleeping Beauty turns out to be the mistake of a lifetime-- of several lifetimes, in fact?" Populated with demons and devils, vengeful gods, and not-so-innocent young girls, the nine tales of Red As Blood weave a tapestry of chilling visions, spun by the incomparably fiendish imagination of Tanith Lee.

Contents

Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer contains the following tales:

1. Paid Piper- Asia: The Last Century B.C. (retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin)
2. Red as Blood- Europe: The Fourteenth Century (retelling of Snow White)
3. Thorns- Eurasia: The Fifteenth Century (retelling of Sleeping Beauty)
4. When The Clock Strikes- Europe: The Sixteenth Century (retelling of Cinderella)
5. The Golden Rope- Europe: The Seventeenth Century (retelling of Rapunzel)
6. The Princess And Her Future- Asia: The Eighteenth Century (retelling of The Frog Princess)
7. Wolfland- Scandinavia: The Nineteenth Century (retelling of Little Red Riding Hood)
8. Black As Ink- Scandinavia: The Twentieth Century (retelling of The White Duck)
9. Beauty- Earth: The Future (retelling of Beauty and the Beast)

References

• Nickerson, Susan L. "Red as Blood (Book)." Library Journal 108.2 (15 Jan. 1983): 147.