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Author
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Comment
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deathcookie
Registered User
(10/15/04 3:48 pm)
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Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
Does anyone know of any Re-told Fairy Tales that have a modern detective twist to them? I know about the anthology, Once Upon a Crime, but are there any others? I want to write a detective novel with a fairy tale setting, but I have a nagging feeling that I've seen this before, and I don't want to plagiarize.
Thanks,
Callie
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Laura McCaffrey
Registered User
(10/15/04 5:11 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
Short story, Kelly Link, can't for the life of me remember the name. Was it a fairy tale? I can't remember. It did mention "the girl detective" that I so adored at the age of 10 or so. Perhaps this rings bells for someone. Then again, reading this over, it might only prove to you all that I have sanity issues.
LauraMc
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Heidi Anne Heiner
ezOP
(10/15/04 8:59 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
Ed McBain has a gritty mystery series featuring fairy tale titles and loosely used fairy tale themes, including Cinderella, Goldilocks, and Puss in Boots. I doubt anything you have in mind would be similar.
Also, Frank Cammuso has a comix series featuring Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective.
There have been some other short stories in other collections, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. I'm traveling this week and am far away from my library which just got unpacked again.
I'd go ahead and write it. It's not a new idea nor one that has been overdone, IMHO. Either way, have fun writing it!
Heidi
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(10/16/04 2:13 am)
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Kelly Link
That story is in fact called "The Girl Detective"!
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GailS
Unregistered User
(10/16/04 8:39 am)
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Fables
The stories in Bill Willingham’s graphic novel series set in Fableland often involve a mystery.
I think that I also read an alternate reality murder mystery on SciFi.com.
GailS
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midori snyder
Registered User
(10/16/04 9:15 am)
ezSupporter
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Re: Fables
I'll second the Willingham graphic novels...they are fabulous. Set up like a gritty film/comic/fairytale noir. Awesome. My student's got me hooked on the series.
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Charles Vess
Unregistered User
(10/16/04 11:54 am)
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Seeking the dectective...
Great suggestions so far.
How about Ernest Bramah's Kai Lung short story collections, KAI LUNG UNROLLS HIS MAT or KAI LUNG's GOLDEN HOURS, etc. Bramah's splendid use of ornate language to explain the most mundane of tasks or describe the most commonplace objects is a wonder to behold. His stories often involve a bit of dectective work and since they take place within a wholy constructed mock oriental landscape they, to me at least, certainly qualify as fairy tales.
Happy reading!
Charles
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Heidi Anne Heiner
ezOP
(10/16/04 9:15 pm)
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Re: Fables
Willingham's Fables series gets collected in compendiums for each new story line. I have links to them on SurLaLune on the following page. The Max Hamm comics are also listed on the same page:
www.surlalunefairytales.c...ovels.html
Heidi
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deathcookie
Registered User
(10/17/04 1:50 pm)
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Thanks!
Thanks everyone!
I checked out those links, and I'm glad I did. My book idea is still in its germ stage, but some of my germs were leaning in a very "Max Hamm-ish" direction, so I am glad I looked into it before I started.
I think there will still be room for my idea, though, since Max Hamm and Willingham's Fables seem to be for a generally adult audience, and my book idea was going to be more juvenile.
Thanks again,
-Callie
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GailS
Unregistered User
(10/17/04 2:37 pm)
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Target Markets
Even though there is some sexual content in Fables, it is marketed to the YA market.
GailS
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Heidi Anne Heiner
ezOP
(10/17/04 5:59 pm)
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Re: Target Markets
In picture books, there are titles such as "Jack Gander, Storyville Detective: The Case of the Greedy Granny." Here's it's link:
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...lalufairyt
Heidi
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johnsod4547
Registered User
(10/18/04 12:10 am)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
What about Iain Colfer's 'Artemis Fowl' series,
with Holly the Fairy Detective?
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(10/18/04 3:23 am)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
You know, the book described as the one Thursday Next is living in in Well of Lost Plots seems to combine nursery rhymes with a detective story. Jasper Fforde says it's a blatant attempt to get his first novel, Nursery Crimes published. Might be worth looking into.
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AliceCEB
Registered User
(10/18/04 7:25 am)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
In the picture book department you can look at Jane Yolen's Piggins series--mysteries of an "Upstairs, Downstairs" variety, with animal characters. For adults, there's Neil Gaiman's "Murder Mysteries" in Smoke and Mirrors. I agree with what has been said above, however: write your story.
On another note, this is a great thread--I've always been a mysteries fan, and now I can find a list of books combining some of my favorite genres.
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Helen J Pilinovsky
Registered User
(10/18/04 3:46 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
I'd recommend two others: one would be the recent Dead Witch Walking, by Kim Harrison, which falls a bit into the "Anita Blake" territory of horro-noir, but which possesses enough interesting fairy details to make it worth looking at, and a lovely retelling of "The Magic Tinderbox" set in the '30's from one of the Fairy Tale anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling .... Unfortunately, I'm away from my library, so I can't look up the title.
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(10/18/04 6:12 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
Oh yes! You're thinking of "Sparks" by Greg Frost, right? Can't remember which volume it was in, though.
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Helen J Pilinovsky
Registered User
(10/18/04 7:16 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
Exactly the one! Am now home, so I can pinpoint it to ... drumroll ... _Black Swan, White Raven_. Thanks!
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redtriskell
Registered User
(10/20/04 10:41 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tale Detective Stories?
This may be slightly off the main theme, but Mike Resnick wrote a wonderful book called "Stalking the Unicorn: A Fable of Tonight" that's about a film noir-ish detective working in the fey realms. It's great for his off kilter look at very common fantasy characters and themes. Also, Neil Gaiman has a poem (of course I can't recall where I read it) with a detective slant. About Humpty Dumpty, if I'm remembering right. Anyway, have fun germinating.;)
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