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Twice Upon a Time
How would Little Red Riding Hood's story play if we heard it from the viewpoint of the wolf, and what's the real scuttlebutt about the seven dwarves? Whether they're told to us as bedtime treats or viewed as Disney movies, fairy tales fuel our imagination. Now fantasy's finest indulge themselves and offer us some wonderful new versions of these treasured tales. Maybe the wolf should get to eat at least one little pig. Perhaps Cinderella was really a master schemer in her own right. Could Sleeping Beauty have had a problem with narcolepsy? Whatever readers' favorite story is, they're bound to find it in this treasure trove of carefully fractured fairy tales.
309 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 17, 2009
"Slay the dragon... Find the treasure... Marry the princess... That's what fairy tales are all about -- or are they? What if the dragons, the princesses, the big bad wolves, the giants, and all the other characters -- good and bad alike -- got to tell their side of the story? Well, here's your chance to find out, as some of today's finest fantasy weavers -- such master crafters as Jody Lynn Nye, Josepha Sherman, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Springer, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Jane Lindskold, and Esther Friesner -- give classic stories a brand-new spin.
From the lawsuit brought against Jack -- of beanstalk fame -- by the giant's grieving widow... to Rapunzel's self-instituted escape from her tower prison... to a princess who'd rather be a goose girl than marry a prince... to the story that only began after the bear found Goldilocks in his bed... Now you can learn the other side of the stories -- and discover whether anyone did get to live happily ever after!"
I picked it because it seemed cute, but I have to admit that "other side" stories of faeri tales are kind of overdone. That said, some of the stories in here were really cute, or really sweet. The one about Prince Charming and his many loves was pretty funny. A story with Red Riding Hood's sweetheart trying to save her but being too late was surprisingly sad. Cinderella running off with another servant instead of the prince was a cute one. And the frog prince and his bride trying to fend of ridiculous lawsuits was quite humourous.
It would have been kind of neat to see a little more awareness of other stories within each one. What I mean by that is that in a way, they all seemed like they were taking place around the same Enchanted Forest, and periodically, the paths of the characters in one story would cross the paths of characters from some other story. But never in any related way to any of the other stories actually in this book, if that makes any sense. For example, a PI trying to find Rumplestiltskin's name discovers that R only wanted the princess's firstborn because he and his wife couldn't have kids of their own, so when the PI finds Hansel and Gretel abandoned in the forest, he brings them to the Rs, who adopt them. But there are other stories in the book, about both R and H&G. So it just would have been neat if any mention in passing of a character form another faeri tale actually corresponded with the details of the story about that character.
Of course, in order to do that, the editor would have had to make sure there was only one story about each tale, rather than just letting each author pick the one they wanted, regardless of what others were writing. Certain characters were mentioned in various ways in several stories, and there were two stories actually about the finding of Rumplestiltskin's name -- although at least those were from different angles. I do have to seriously question the editor's decision to include not two, but THREE tellings of the story of how Jack is not a hero, he's a horrible murderous thief who climbs the beanstalk and completely abuses the hospitality of the peaceful and friendly giant family. If you're going to allow three stories about Jack, they should at least be different. By the third, it was really quite tedious.
But all in all, it was a nice fluffy read.
From the lawsuit brought against Jack -- of beanstalk fame -- by the giant's grieving widow... to Rapunzel's self-instituted escape from her tower prison... to a princess who'd rather be a goose girl than marry a prince... to the story that only began after the bear found Goldilocks in his bed... Now you can learn the other side of the stories -- and discover whether anyone did get to live happily ever after!"
I picked it because it seemed cute, but I have to admit that "other side" stories of faeri tales are kind of overdone. That said, some of the stories in here were really cute, or really sweet. The one about Prince Charming and his many loves was pretty funny. A story with Red Riding Hood's sweetheart trying to save her but being too late was surprisingly sad. Cinderella running off with another servant instead of the prince was a cute one. And the frog prince and his bride trying to fend of ridiculous lawsuits was quite humourous.
It would have been kind of neat to see a little more awareness of other stories within each one. What I mean by that is that in a way, they all seemed like they were taking place around the same Enchanted Forest, and periodically, the paths of the characters in one story would cross the paths of characters from some other story. But never in any related way to any of the other stories actually in this book, if that makes any sense. For example, a PI trying to find Rumplestiltskin's name discovers that R only wanted the princess's firstborn because he and his wife couldn't have kids of their own, so when the PI finds Hansel and Gretel abandoned in the forest, he brings them to the Rs, who adopt them. But there are other stories in the book, about both R and H&G. So it just would have been neat if any mention in passing of a character form another faeri tale actually corresponded with the details of the story about that character.
Of course, in order to do that, the editor would have had to make sure there was only one story about each tale, rather than just letting each author pick the one they wanted, regardless of what others were writing. Certain characters were mentioned in various ways in several stories, and there were two stories actually about the finding of Rumplestiltskin's name -- although at least those were from different angles. I do have to seriously question the editor's decision to include not two, but THREE tellings of the story of how Jack is not a hero, he's a horrible murderous thief who climbs the beanstalk and completely abuses the hospitality of the peaceful and friendly giant family. If you're going to allow three stories about Jack, they should at least be different. By the third, it was really quite tedious.
But all in all, it was a nice fluffy read.
March 10, 2009
WEll! That certainly was fun! I read a little bit here, a little bit there, dabbling into the worlds of alternate fairy tale universes. I think my faavorites were the ones about Gilly Goose Girl (I agree- true princes are not always royalty) and the one about Evil King Chuck. The way the authors tied up several stories together was fun- I always had thought it odd that all princes seemed to be named "Charming", but now understand why!
January 13, 2010
Rumpelstiltskin told as crime noir, Jack and the Beanstalk as a legal/court proceedings...oh, yeah this is good stuff. Fun to read, and it gives a completely new slant to some very old stories.
June 24, 2012
Five stars, of course. Well, my story, Baron Boscov's Bastard (A Conderella story) is in here. But don't rush out and read it just because of that. There are some other good stories, too.
April 27, 2019
As with all short story collections, I really liked some, really hated some, and the rest were somewhere in between. My average rating for the book as a whole was 3 stars, but I decided to go with an "It's okay" rating of 2 stars because of the repetitive stories. There was not enough variety in the retellings, with 2 of the 18 being about finding Rumpelstiltskin's name, and 3 being about how Jack (of the Beanstalk variety) is a murderous piece of crap. Of those three stories, two were set in a court room. Beyond that, the seven dwarves and Hansel and Grethel show up A LOT. There should have been more thought given to the overall composition of the collection to avoid this. It became tiresome reading about the same set of characters in different ways. There are more than enough fairy tales out there to avoid any sort of overlap at all.
The stories I most enjoyed were How I Came to Marry a Herpetologist, Gilly the Goose Girl, and Baron Boscov's Bastard. I absolutely hated Wolf at the Door and The Emperor's New (and Improved) Clothes.
The stories I most enjoyed were How I Came to Marry a Herpetologist, Gilly the Goose Girl, and Baron Boscov's Bastard. I absolutely hated Wolf at the Door and The Emperor's New (and Improved) Clothes.
August 31, 2022
Perhaps I was a little too hard on the tales, because I have in all honesty wanted to read this book for YEARS -- it was passed down from my Mother -- and the first half of the book was FANTASTIC! However, the tales really did range all up and down from hilarious and thought-provoking to sad to one that even had some truly disgusting moments. Some tales were 5, some were 1 or even less than 1, so in the end, I feel it only fair to give it a 3 as neither the 5s nor the 1s out ranked the other.
April 28, 2018
It was ok but i don't like how serious the stories are with taxes and politics added. I also don't like breaks written within the stories with the narrator speaking to me personally then back to the story.
June 24, 2024
Not a book for kids. Most of these are adult fairytales with adult themes and language. Some stories I really enjoyed, others were okay. Quite a range of tales (some usual and some lesser known stories). There are a few repeat tales (Jack and the Beanstalk) twisted different ways.
November 14, 2017
This would have been a really good book if there wasn’t so much bad language and an occasional inappropriate reference...
August 9, 2025
a lot of similar stories, some kinda unhinged. very few from the POV of the actual villain of the piece. most just retold stories. not bad. just not what it advertised.
December 30, 2025
2.5 stars. Some stories were really good. Others were cringe worthy.
April 16, 2014
This was a fun bit of a read. Not too substantial, more of a cotton candy, if you follow me. I would easily recommend it to my younger daughters (13, 12, 9) as every entry was wholesome, if decidedly different in perspective. Since I want my kids to learn to see things from multiple points of view, this is a good thing, to me. I liked it, but would only purchase it if I found it in a second-hand bookstore or yard sale. What can I tell you? I'm parsimonious.
January 30, 2014
There were only a handful of stories that were readable in my opinion. Spinning a Yarn, How I Came to Marry a Herpetologist, True Love, Gilly the Goose Girl, and Baron Boscov's Bastard.
Fifi's Tail could have been good but they tried to cram in every fairy tale.
The Beanstalk Incident was ok too.
Now that I think about it, there were just some really really bad ones that ruined the bunch for me.
Fifi's Tail could have been good but they tried to cram in every fairy tale.
The Beanstalk Incident was ok too.
Now that I think about it, there were just some really really bad ones that ruined the bunch for me.
October 14, 2008
Includes several good stories. The best one being "True Love", a tale about Prince Charming and his brides.
April 4, 2011
Hilarious!
March 4, 2012
Rather boring, I must say. Not at all what I expected when reading the "other side of the story."
October 26, 2014
Interesting concept, some cool ideas. Editors could have done a better job choosing the better stories.
August 13, 2016
3 stars "How I Came to Marry a Herpetologist"
Want to read
November 15, 2017I'm putting this book off to the side for now. I'm going to circle back to this one later on.
Read
January 26, 2018I would recommend this book for people who like humor and fantasy. i personally did not enjoy this book very much because it was telling about multiple stories at a time but for the most part i would give it two and a half stars.
Read
April 9, 2018Just kidding I didn't actually read this book, I clicked the wrong book.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews