The Princess Tales
Juvenile Fiction
Harper Collins
March 21, 1999
Paperback
96
Gail Carson Levine charmed the world with Ella Enchanted, her spirited retelling of the Cinderella story. Now this award-winning author turns her attention to two more classic fairy tales, and deftly turns them upside down and inside out with her trademark wit and hilarity. In The Fairy's Mistake, two very different sisters have two very different encounters with the fairy Ethelinda. Rosella is kind and helpful. Her reward: Jewels and gems tumble out of her mouth whenever she speaks. Myrtle is rude and spiteful. Her punishment: Bugs and vipers slither out of her mouth. The fairy Ethelinda feels she's meted out justice just right--until she discovers Rosella has been locked up by a greedy prince and Myrtle is having the time of her life! In The Princess Test, King Humphrey has decided it's time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests? In these first two delightfully entertaining, laugh-out-loud Princess Tales, Gail Levine gently spoofs the notion that fairies are always right and that tests can ever prove a person's worth, but holds fast to the notion that true love will always win in the end.
WrensReads Review:
Do you like retelling of fairytales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairytales all the while making you love the story even more.
“Once upon a time, in the village of Snettering-on-Snoakes in the kingdom of Biddle, Rosella fetched water from the well for the four thousand and eighty-eighth time.”
– The Fairy’s Mistake by Gail Carson Levine
Just by the first paragraph, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words.
In The Fairy’s Mistake, a retelling of a French fairy tale called Toads and Diamonds by Charles Perrault (titled “Les Fées,” or “The Fairies”), two twin sisters are cursed (or gifted?) with two completely different things. Let’s rephrase that: one sister is bestowed a curse and the other a gift, though which is which is yet to be determined.
Oh a prince! Being so humble and pleasant as he is realizes his love for a lady he just met! Oh, and she happens to have something he wants. Coincidence I am sure.
One sister uses what the fairy gave her for helping others, and the other uses it to gain control over people.
Will the sister with the curse live happily ever after? Will the other sister with the gift live happily ever after? Will the fairy ever learn that things don’t always happen the way she wants them to?
I have a soft spot for fairy tales and that is exactly up Levine’s alley. She is a spectacular writer and story teller. She will make you laugh out loud with her classic retelling. I recommend this book, and the rest of her books, to anyone that loves a good fairytale.
WrensReads | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
Leave a Reply