This is an absolutely delightful collection of short stories by the masterful Jane Yolen. When I saw this on Netgalley I knew I had to read it, and read it I did! I cannot resist re-tellings, I just can't. Jane Yolen's BRIAR ROSE is to blame for this affliction of mine.

The stories in this collection run the gamut from Alice in Wonderland to Edgar Allen Poe. There is a good variety here, with a short and brutal retelling of Beauty and the Beast being followed by Arthurian legend. I think my favorite has to be Lost Girls. What an unabashedly feminist take on Neverland! Telling Dorthy's story from the POV of her family is sheer brilliance. And she was a circus performer?! Be still my beating heart.

I can't say enough good things about this collection. Maybe I was in the right frame of mind. Maybe it's just what I needed when I needed it, but I devoured this book. I will definitely be doing a re-read and a more in-depth review to post online closer to the release date.

This is a mixed bag of stories, in all genres and styles, all combined by their (sometimes tenuous) links to original fairy tales, myths, and legends. These short retellings received a mixture of responses for me, with some being deceptively clever and poignantly written, to others falling short and feeling rather pointless. Whilst I enjoyed finding the myriad of original tales mentioned and did find this a well-written anthology, I wasn't sold on every one of the tales gathered within, and therefore could only give a mediocre star rating. This is, however, well-worth a read as some gems await to be discovered within.

Andersen’s Witch - 4/5 stars

This focuses on the son of a washerwoman and a shoemaker. Right from the very beginning this seemed to evoke the classic fairy tale vibe, even before the intermission of any magical disturbances. Discontent with his life of poverty and struggle young Hans makes a bargain with the Ice Maiden that will see his current position in life reversed as he ages. But making a deal with the Ice Maiden is fraught with difficulties and loop-holes, as Hans will soon find out for himself.

I enjoyed this tale but right up until the last few paragraphs wondered what the point of it all would be. Once the ending was revealed it completely changed the tone of the preceding writing and turned this into a joyful, lovely little piece.

This also showcased some truly lovely penmanship. Peppered with lovely expressions, such as “a low cloud cover, like a well-made bed, kept everything neat and tidy”, I was eager to carry on with this collection to see if the others would prove to be as captivating.

Lost Girls - 4/5 stars

From the title I had assumed this to be a Peter Pan retelling, but with switched genders for the young island inhabitants. The appearance of Captain Hook in the very first paragraph proved this assumption correct.

This revoked the darkness of the original Peter Pan tale, rather than retelling the Disney version, as Peter isn’t content with just one Wendy and has stolen a total of sixteen young girls to serve him and his horde of lost boys.

This is a modern feminist re-visioning of the Wendys’ fate. The expectations of the females to serve the males is accepted by all the previous Wendys, taken from throughout history and seen as figureheads of their individual time periods, but it takes the modern-day Wendy to inform them of the unfairness of this treatment. With new notions of gender equality invading their thoughts, the Wendy’s revolt! And through this political uprising the reader is made aware of the satirical and political edge to this tale, and a democratic community is created to replace the previously accepted dictatorship.

Tough Alice - 4/5 stars

The original Alice is one of my favourite books so I was eagerly anticipating reading this re-telling. I was initially disappointed,as the first portion of this was just a whistle-stop tour of the events from the original. That is, until the battle with the Jaberwock.

This felt most like a traditional fairy tale, as it was tinged with a moralistic edge that gave the events a wry feel. Despite its shortness this left the reader much to mull over and, again like the original tales, had an ageless and timeless appeal because of this.

Blown Away - 3/5 stars

This Wizard of Oz retelling began much like the original, only with Toto’s fate being decidedly less wholesome than in the original. Once the tornado hit Dorothy’s farm and she disappeared with the winds, this follows the lives of those left behind to mourn her.

When Dorothy returns she tells the story of what happened whilst she was far away. As part of the Emerald Circus, which this anthology is named after, she lived an extraordinary life before returning, seven years later, to her rural farm life. She changed the way the farm folk viewed their lives and inspired a yearn for otherness in some, or an acceptance of their lot in others. I found the ending of this as poignant as the others but it just missed out on the insightfulness the others seemed to achieve.

A Knot of Toads - 2/5 stars

This probably had the best title of the collection and, so, I was intrigued and excited to begin reading it.

It was easy to fall in love with a protagonist who loves books but the rest of the story kept me at a distance. For such a short piece there seemed too much preamble before the main point of the story. I also think the fantasy of the story is obvious to a reader who is aware of fables including amphibians. Once set up nothing happens for some time and I found this a dull addition to the anthology.

The Quiet Monk - 3/5 stars

The Quiet Monk has come to join the brotherhood and share the burden that haunts him. His mysterious past makes him the focus of much speculation and eagerness to learn what drove him to wandering and religion.

This brought some much needed diversity to the collection and, whilst I was not aware of any original tale it was based from, enjoyed the legends evoked in the piece. This was another slower paced story, like the last three, yet I thought it worked well in this instance.

The Bird - 4/5 stars

This begun with a hilarious anecdote of a bird who defecates wherever it lands. Its owner is at the end of his tether with his uncontrollable pet. But however negatively he feels towards it, he feels quite the opposite for Virginia. This object of his affections is brought to meet the bird but It ends up delivering far more than just amusement.

Despite the shortness of this piece it managed to deliver a surprise ending that belied the frivolity of its beginning. In a Gothic twist of events this managed to completely turn the tone of the tale around in just a few paragraphs.

Belle Bloody Merciless Dame - 3/5 stars

The reader is invited to feel nothing but dislike and distrust for the protagonist, who willingly cheats on his betrothed during his bachelor party. I adore stories with unlikable focal characters, so this immediately intrigued me. Before this even got started it seemed to end, however, which stunted my enjoyment.

The Jewel in the Toad Queen’s Crown - 3/5 stars

This follows on, in dual perspectives, from one discussions between two individuals - Disraeli and Queen Victoria. Whilst with a distinct magical twist, the basis for this story is authentic and an unlikely friendship did, in fact, form between the renowned duo.

This is a fascinating insight to the historical period detailed. Discussions of religion and belief dominate and form much of the text’s focus. Through these conversations a heartening relationship is formed and the reader is privy to its conception.

The Gift of the Magician’s - 2/5 stars

The note by the title exclaims ‘with apologies for You Know Who’, which evoked a link to Harry Potter, in my mind. Immediately, though, the reader is introduced to Belle and the Beast, which confused me, before this quickly transforming into an Alice in Wonderland retelling. There was too much going on in this one for me to understand any of it.

The Lady of the Greenwood - 4/5 stars

I believe this is my first ever Robin Hood retelling so I was intrigued with what I was going to discover. This begun nothing like the original tale and with no discernible links to it. A boy is born on the stroke of midnight and, with instructions from his now deceased mother, the midwife is to deliver him to the fae who reside in the forest. The woman’s journey through the glade is penned with a poetic beauty that made me feel the dappled moonlight and gentle stroke of leaves, as we made our way to the forest’s heart together. It also made me feel the creep of dread with what possibilities could lay in the shadows.

Despite enjoying this tale I wondered where the links to the renowned Robin Hood would come about. The reader is not provided with this information until the very last line. This, like the earlier pieces in this collection, used the withholding of information to the story’s power and made this a far stronger piece by doing so.

The Confession of Brother Blaise - 3/5 stars

This tale was set in the year 1125, in a monastery. A young girl falls pregnant within the confines of the monastery walls and claims it to be the product of a liaison that happened entirely inside her dreams. Despite the brothers of the monastery crying of the devil’s work, I could not help but to see links between this story and that of the biblical birth of Jesus. Whether that was the author’s intention or not, I can not say.

This review will be posted on my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales on 14 October 2017.
https://foxesfairytale.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/review-the-emerald-circus

I'd never heard of Jane Yolen before I picked up this book but the description as "the Hans Christian Anderson of children's literature" and the idea of quirky retellings had me sold.

The stories themselves were a bit more hit-and-miss. While there were none that were truly bad, I found some a little dull. On the other hand, there were several I really enjoyed. There's takes on Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Queen Victoria, Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Anderson himself. The top three I especially liked were:

Blown Away - I loved this take on The Wizard of Oz. Instead of Oz, Dorothy loses her memory when she is carried off by the tornado to a quirky circus. The 'voice' is so good in this and you can really feel that little Kansas town.

Evian Steel - On the Isle of Women, an order of female blacksmiths forge the very best blades. The future Guinevere struggles to create Excalibur. In the notes, Yolen says that she had ideas of this as the middle act of a novel or as a trilogy of novellas. I would definitely read that if she ever writes it.

The Gift of the Magician - A sort of old-fashioned 'story-with-a-moral' and full of atmosphere. Struggling for money, Beauty tries to find a Christmas present for the Beast.

Overall this collection was interesting, although some stories were better than others. It did intrigue me as to Yolen's other work though, and I think I'd look up some of her other stories.

I like collections of short stories because when you are not in the mood or have the time to read a full length novel sometimes it’s nice to pick one of these up, blow through a quick story to pass the time and still feel like you achieved that satisfying ending. No lingering questions of what is going to happen, who did what, how is the author possibly going to make this all work, etc because you got all your answers in those few minutes you had to read – hence ‘short’ story.

Yolen kind of screwed me over with this one because I found her writing so intriguing and was absolutely captivated by her take on well-known fairytale and literary figures I couldn’t stop at just one or two I had to read through her whole collection including the poems and story notes at the end. If you know someone who likes fairytales, who is even a fan of Hans Christian Anderson, then you’re going to want to pick this up which luckily for you comes out before the Christmas holiday – there I just helped you mark an item off your list.

Yolen’s story notes with the poems at the end are worth it all by themselves to pick this up as you feel like you get to know her, as if she’s sitting with you by the fire one late wintry night spinning tales to enthrall and bemuse you. She is the epitome of what the title “storyteller” hopes to define.

I have never read anything by her before and more is the pity that I have missed out on years’ worth of being entertained by her talent. In the Irish culture from which my family comes the Storyteller, or SeanchaÍ, was held in high esteem. They kept the histories alive and were heavily relied on since they were the only way to keep them from getting lost. Yolen does a remarkable job of taking up the torch in spirit.

You get to relive stories and people from long ago in a whole new way such as Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Anderson’s Snow Queen, Alice in Wonderland, Edgar Allen Poe with his Raven, Robin Hood, legends from Arthur’s genre and nods to works from across time periods and cultures. Her work entertains certainly but it also leaves you feeling intellectually satisfied.

A collection of short fiction by Jane Yolen. Yolen is known for her fairy-tale retellings, but she doesn't restrict herself to fairy tales here, by any means - though several of the stories combine fairy tales with other literature, history, or author biography. The first story, for example, blends the real life of Hans Christian Anderson (to whom Yolen has been compared) with his story of the Snow Queen; the last has Emily Dickinson in space. In between are several Alice in Wonderland stories, a Peter Pan and Wendy story, a Robin Hood story, a Wizard of Oz story, several Arthurian stories (something else for which the author is known), and stories that play off such diverse originals as Keats' "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" and O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" (mashed up with "Beauty and the Beast"). There's one based on Scottish history and legend, with no specific literary model that I noticed, and another on the relationship between Queen Victoria and Disraeli (involving kabbala).

The author's note at the end talks interestingly about each story, interleaved with poems.

Frequently, especially early on in the book, the fictional heroines fight (with some effectiveness) against the patriarchy, but that's not the only theme of the book. The lure and terror of the wonderful is probably the most dominant impression I took away, which is a very fairy-tale element.

Did I love it? I'd have to say I didn't completely love it, and one or two of the stories (such as the Oz one) fell a bit flat for me, being more a series of odd events than a story with an arc of development. That could just be a matter of my taste, or mood at the time I was reading. Yolen is a highly skilled, and highly literate, author, and at their best the stories were moving and thought-provoking.

I received a review copy from Netgalley.

A very powerful, heartwarming and heartbreaking story!