SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Modern Interpretations of Goose Girl

The story of Goose Girl 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.

Hale, Shannon. The Goose Girl. New York: Bloomsbury, 2003.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

NOVEL: From Shannon Hale's website: She was born with her eyes closed and a word on her tongue, a word she could not taste. Her name was Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, and she spent the first years of her life listening to her aunt’s stories and learning the language of the birds, especially the swans. And when she was older, she watched as a colt was born, and she heard the first word on his tongue, his name, Falada.

Literature: Short Stories

Donoghue, Emma. "The Tale of the Handkerchief." Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins. New York: Harper Collins, 1997.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

SHORT STORY

Farmer, Nancy. "Falada: The Goose Girl's Horse." A Wolf at the Door. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

SHORT STORY

Springer, Nancy. "Gilly the Goose Girl." Twice Upon A Time. Denise Little, ed. New York: DAW Books, 1999.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

SHORT STORY

Wynne-Jones, Tim. "The Goose Girl." Black Thorn, White Rose. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Avon, 1995.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardback or paperback.

SHORT STORY

Return to top of page

Hay, Sara Henderson. "The Goosegirl." Story Hour. Fayetteville, AS: University of Arkansas Press, 1998.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

Stanton, Maura. "The Goosegirl." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 133.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

I have listed primarily classical compositions of music using the themes of this fairy tale in either ballet, opera or some other musical style. I have also provided links to popular recordings of the music when available at Amazon.com. The advantage to these links is that you can listen to samples of the music at no charge.

Pasatieri, Thomas. The Goose Girl: An Opera for Children of All Ages. G. Schirmer, 1986.
Amazon.com: Buy the libretto in paperback.

OPERA

Cast:
Marguerite Clark .... Gretchen
Monroe Salisbury .... King Frederick
Sydney Deane .... Prince Regent of Jugendheit
E.N. Dunbar .... Grand Duke of Ehrenstein
James Neill .... Count Von Herbeck
Lawrence Peyton .... Von Wallenstein

The Goose Girl (1985). Tom Davenport, director. Davenport Films Production.
Amazon.com: Buy it on DVD or VHS.

Davenport Films, an independent film company, has a wonderful short film based on The Goose Girl. This is the same film company that produced Willa: An American Snow White which has appeared on PBS. Please follow these links or click on a photo still to visit their website and learn more about this film. These movies are some of the best renditions of folklore on film.