Feminist Fairy Tales & FolkTales

Feminist fairy tales: retelling of traditional myths, fairy tales, and folklore from a feminist perspective. I will also include relatively modern mythical stories, like The Wizard of Oz ...

• Allegra, Donna. "Salt" in Lesbian Short Fiction #1, edited by Jinx Beers (lesbian retelling of Bible story of Lot's wife)

• Bechard, Gorman. The Second Greatest Story Ever Told (1991). God has a new child ... a daughter.
• Bradley, Marion Zimmer.
  --. The Mists of Avalon
  --. The Firebrand (retelling of Trojan War, from Cassandra's point of view)

• Caraker, Mary. Women of the Kalevala: Stories Based on the Great Finnish Epic
• Carter, Angela.
• Cashorali, Peter.
  --. Fairy Tales: Traditional Stories Retold for Gay Men (HarperSan Francisco, 1995)
  --. Gay Fairy and Folk Tales: More Traditional Stories Retold for Gay Men (Faber & Faber, 1997)

• Dedman, Stephen. "The Pretender" [Arthurian gone gay]
• Donoghue, Emma. Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins (1997)

• Eakin, Benjamin, 1952- . Fairy Tales Mother Never Told You (1985, Banned Books)
• Elphinstone, Margaret. "Spinning the Green" (in Jen Green & Sarah Lefanu, editors, Despatches from the Frontiers of the Female Mind, The Women's Press: 1985) (Beauty & the Beast, retold ... )

• Frye, Ellen. Amazon Story Bones (1994)

• Gloss, Molly. Wild Life (sort of Tarzan)

• Jakober, Marie. The Black Chalice (2000) (German, pagan, European middle-ages Christian mythology)

• Kerr, Peg. The Wild Swans (1999) - AIDS story & retelling of old fairy tale
• Kinstler, Clysta. The Moon Under Her Feet (retelling of the New Testament from Mari the Magdalene's perspective)

• Lee, Tanith. Red as Blood
  --. Forests of the Night
  --. White as Snow (2000) (the Snow White story)
• Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted (1997) (Cinderella, young adult)

• Maguire, Gregory. Wicked (The Wizard of Oz)
• Martin, Valerie. Mary Reilly (Frankenstein)
• Mathur, Ashok. Once Upon an Elephant (Canadian retelling of the Hindu creation myth of Ganesh; not explicitly feminist but is very interesting, has gay characters ... )
• Morrow, James.
  --. "Arms and the Woman" (Helen of Troy)
  --. "Bible Stories for Adults No. 17, The Deluge" (Noah's Ark / flood)
  --. Only Begotten Daughter (not a retelling of the New Testament story, but a sequel)
• Murphy, Pat. --. Wild Angel (Tarzan)
  --. There and Back Again (Lord of the Rings)
  

• Namjoshi, Suniti. Feminist Fables (1981)
  --. Saint Suniti and the Dragon, and Other Fables (1994, Virago)
  
• Newport, Cris. Queen's Champion: The Legend of Lancelot Retold (1997, Pride Publications)

• Park, Severna. The Annunciate (Eos 2000 - sort of a retake on the Garden of Eden myth)
• Potts, Cherry. Mosaic of Air - collection of short stories. Included several sf, fantasy, or magical-real stories. "Arachnë's Daughters" (a talk from the Lesbo-Arachnid League of Friendship); "Behind the Mask" (a Helen of Troy story); "Penelope is No Longer Waiting" (Trojan War, Penelope) - all involve retelling of familiar myths or stories.

• Roszak, Theodore. The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein)
• Rudnick, Paul. The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (2000, Overlook Press). (Indeed, God did create Adam and Steve, and Jane and Mabel. Two plays.)
• Ryman, Geoff. Was (Wizard of Oz)

• Salmonson, Jessica Amanda, with Jules Remedios Faye. Wisewomen & Boggy-boos: A Dictionary of Lesbian Fairy Lore (1992: Banned Books, Austin, Texas) (lesbian fairy "dictionary" with amusing stories, puns, parables)
• Schimel, Lawrence. The Drag Queen of Elfland (mostly new fairy stories, but some rewrites)

• Tennant, Emma. Two Women of London (1989) (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde)
• Tepper, Sheri.
  --. The Gate to Women's Country for a feminist re-telling of The Iliad
  --. Beauty

• Vicki. Sleeping Beauty: A Lesbian Fairy Tale (chapbook) (1971, Sojourner Truth Press, Atlanta; 1972, revised, Sojourner Truth Press, Atlanta) (Vicki is pseudonym for Vicki Shanamary)
• Vinge, Joan D. The Snow Queen (1979) [a far away in space & time play on The Snow Queen]

• Barbara G. Walker's Feminist Fairy Tales
• Ward, Cynthia L. "The Enchanted Frog" in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress IX (1992)
• Wittig, Monique. Across the Acheron (1987) [originally published as Virgile, Non (1985). [retelling of Dante's visit to the Inferno, but in a San Francisco dyke bar]
• Wolfe, Chris Anne. Bitter Thorns (aka Roses & Thorns: Beauty and the Beast Retold).

• Zipes, Jack. Don't Bet on the Prince

  Anthologies

• Attic Press. Sweeping Beauties: Fairytales for Feminists (Attic Press, Dublin: 1989, 1990)
• Husain, Shahrukh. Daughter of the Moon: Witch Tales from Around the World (1994)
  --. Handsome Heroines: Women as Men in Folklore (1996)
• Mieder, Wolfgang, editor. Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetry. University Press of New England: 1984.
• Phelps, Ethel Johnston. Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from Around the World (1981)
• Ragan, Kathleen. Fearless Girls, Wise Women and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World (1998)
• The Armless Maiden
• Datlow, Ellen, & Terri Windling, editors.
  --. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
  --. Black Thorn, White Rose
  --. Snow White, Blood Red
  --. Black Swan, White Raven (1997)
  --. Silver Birch, Blood Moon (1999)
  

Other Suggestions:

• Robin McKinley. Rose Daughter (beauty and the beast)
  --. Beauty (McKinley's first novel) (beauty and the beast)
  --. Deerskin
• Jennifer Roberson's Lady of the Forest
• Chris Anne Wolfe's Bitter Thorns (aka Roses and Thorns: Beauty and the Beast Retold)