The Scarlet Circus is part of Yolen’s fractured fairy tale series of short stories. I have read one other in this series and found her fresh adaptations of well-known stories interesting and particularly enjoyed her story notes about how she changed the stories and why. Shockingly, I think I actually want to own a copy of this collection for the poems in the story notes as much as for the stories.

Brandon Sanderson’s introduction talks about how Yolen’s Dragon’s Blood was one of the books that turned him into a reader, and about Yolen’s versatility as a writer, which is hardly surprising - with more than 400 publications to her name, she would have to be versatile to stay in the game. Yolen’s preface, “A Little Bit of Loving,” delves more deeply into the variety of genres she has published in, seemingly with an eye toward preparing the reader for a collection with an emphasis on love in its myriad forms.

“Falling in Love with the Other” - A poem that serves as an introduction. It talks about the many forms love and relationship can take nonjudgmentally and with hope.

“Sans Soleil” - A prince is prophesied to grow up to be so handsome he’ll outshine the sun and so he’s kept in the dark, away from the rays of the jealous star. In his bride’s determination to prove to him that he’s in no danger from the sun, to stop him fleeing to his cave at cock’s crow, one sees shades of Sleeping Beauty’s spindle and the tale of Eros and Psyche. It turns out, science is not always correct.

“Dusty Loves” - Opens with a tree on which is carved “Dusty loves ___” and there follow the names of the many beings the narrator’s brother Dusty has loved. This story is about the time Dusty fell in love with the ghost of a suicide whose tale is rather similar to that of Romeo and Juliet. He is not a particularly romantic paramour, even though he is one of the fey, and he falls out of love quickly, but agrees to help the lovers reunite - by convincing Roman to die. The narrator’s dry tone really does make the story seem like something a sister would tell. I particularly liked the line, “Humor is difficult enough between consenting adults.”

“Unicorn Tapestry” - I know I have read this story elsewhere (perhaps in Here Be Unicorns?), and I remember enjoying it the first time around, too. It’s about a middling, muddling princess named Marian who cannot marry because there are no more eligible princes and prefers not to be shut away in a convent. Her indifferent embroidery skills see her assigned to stitch unicorn hunt seat covers for her father’s unicorn hunt and on the final one she stitches a brown-eyed, uncollared unicorn that is both mundane and magical.

“A Ghost of an Affair” - Told in numbered sections, the first section has some excellent lines: “The heart need not be beating to entertain the idea of romance. To think otherwise is to misunderstand the nature of the universe. To think otherwise is to miscalculate the odds of love.” It tells the story of Andrea Crow, a rockhound and jeweler who sells her wares at renfaires and large stores and falls in love with a ghost, Simon Morrison, and then with his great-great-grandson, whom she marries eventually. Nobody dies who wasn’t already dead at the beginning of the story and it’s nice.

“Dark Seed, Dark Stone” - Bears some resemblance to Cinderella with a good, dead father and a less-than-heartbroken stepmother, but the stepmother is secondary. Bryony makes a future for herself and her people by defending her king and demanding a boon that sees them allied to another kingdom.

“Dragonfield” - This is the story of the end of the last dragon, Aredd, and of a maiden once called Tansy who, together with a man who is not a hero, pits her courage and her wits against fire and fury. The Italics bracketing the story, making it into a legend and not just a short story, could be shorter. Apparently it was made into a graphic novel with Rebecca Guay that I have read and really enjoyed, though I had to be reminded of this by the story notes.

“The Sword and the Stone” - This is probably the longest story and it is an Arthurian tale. Sort of. The king in question is a nominal Christian who still swears by Mithras. Merlinnus, a Christian Druid, is doing his best to prod him into actions that will lead to greatness, having failed with Uther and Morgana and dismissed Mordred as not worth the effort, but Arthur’s interest in a sword in the stone to declare him king over all Britain when he already holds that title is minimal. Eventually, a strange boy called Gawen (not Gawain, who is already one of the Three Fearless Men) appears. He has a mighty part to play in Arthur’s life, but not what one might expect.

“The Sea Man” - A lieutenant’s sea voyage is disrupted when a merman is brought aboard and most are mistrustful, and so it is soon thrown back to its wife and daughter, setting the lieutenant’s heart at ease. As thanks, the sea man later warns the crew of a storm ahead that they ride out in safety, allowing the lieutenant to return home to his own wife and daughter.

“Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn” - Another story about seamen, this one a Greek slave who has discovered a promising bottle. He sees no point in wishing for his own freedom, and the djinn does not want hers. Eventually, he wishes himself into her bottle as well.

“Peter in Wonderland” - An adult Alice Liddell visiting Wonderland meets an unprepared Peter Wallace and the eccentricities of Wonderland force them into a farcical marriage that will eventually become real in the world outside. One of the only truly new stories in the anthology.

“The Erotic in Faerie: The Footnotes” - The footnotes to a scholarly paper supposedly based on a presentation given by Jane Yolen at the Hundredth Anniversary of the International Society to Preserve the Fey. I do enjoy a good pseudo-scholarly presentation in my fiction. It reads almost like a poem.

Of course, one of the things that makes collections like this one so worthwhile are the story notes. For Yolen's fractured fairytale books, each story's note includes a poem about the story as well as the story’s provenance. Many of these poems were written during 2020 as part of her efforts to write a poem a day. My particular favorites were "Chaucer's Nightmare," a humorous poem about how horrified Chaucer would by by his scholarly legacy, and "The Girl Speaks to the Mage," which accompanied "The Sword and the Stone" and which I would love to see illustrated and on a wall.

Overall, I enjoyed this collection quite a lot, and I think that other readers will, too, whether for the fun of playing Spot the Storybones (or whatever you call it when you try to figure out what classic tale served as inspiration for the work you're currently reading), or for actually accessible poetry on fantastic themes (I do appreciate how accessible Yolen's poetry is, compared to many writers'), or simply for the craft that goes into them. Many are reprints, it's true, but they're strong enough to read again, I feel. At any rate, I like this book enough that I have added a print copy to my wedding registry.

I’m a fan of the author and have read other story collections so couldn’t wait to read The Scarlet Circus. I love fantasy and these stories were perfect. I enjoyed each and every one. I liked the fact the stories are all quite different so no two were the same so had a surprise every time. I liked the fact the stories are quite dark at times which was unexpected. I especially liked Dusty Loves, A Ghost Of An Affair, The Sea Man and Peter In Wonderland.

THE SCARLET CIRCUS by Jane Yolen

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a collection of stories featuring romance (not Romance) with twists and turns that make for extra delight. Old stories are quite new in this incarnation — Juliet, Guinevere (and their partners) with names changed a bit and stories amended for new luster. There are lessons, magic, love, and surprises. I can’t pick a favorite (well, maybe the dragon, or the merman, or . . . ?), but you might opt differently, depending on your own journey.
You will love this, and you might also want to give this special book as a gift; it seems ideal for anyone you might love . . .

This is the fourth volume in a series collecting Jane Yolen's short fiction, in this case, romantic fantasy. It's important to be clear that this isn't Romance in the romance genre sense. These stories contain romance, but are not primarily about romance. It's not the main point of the stories, and endings may be happy, sad, or something in between.

So, expectations set, right?

"Sans Soleil" is the story of a prince born with curse; he's "as handsome as the sun," and the sun will kill him if a sunbeam so much as touches his brow. But there's a lovely young woman, daughter of a duke, who is convinced that this is an old wives' tale, complete nonsense, and who is determined to save him from his confinement to the dark.

"Unicorn Tapestry" features one of the three daughters of a king, the least beautiful, and the one without any special talent to make her stand out. She's assigned the task of embroidering the seat covers for the upcoming unicorn hunt. Her work is competent, and people will be sitting on them, not studying the quality of her work. But gradually, with the help of a very plain little bird, she discovers that her needlework can affect the world in small but significant ways. And someone may recognize what's really special about her.

"Dragonfield" features a young woman who has her father's healing gift, and is not much on doing the essential household chores. Tansy discovers evidence of a dragon back in the area after two centuries--and no one believes her. Once the dragon begins hunting in the village, no one has a clue how to stop it. When a "hero" is recruited from outside the area, with a lack of any information on what they want him for, the "hero," Lancot, also has no real plan--but he and Tansy talk. Tansy knows where the dragonbane is, and Lancot knows how to build really good kites. They both confess--only to each other--that they are not heroes, but they do at least have a plan.

"The Sword and the Stone" is a different take on, well, you know. Nicely done, Merlin is determined to get Britain bound together as one country. Some of Arthur's knights have a plan to get Arthur married. There's a nice touch of historical accuracy--among the knights, only Arthur and a few others can be called literate at all, and reading and writing are work for them. The young lad that turned up at Merlin's workshop, hoping to go to court and learn to be a knight, can read quite well, and that's a clue. Fun story!

This is a very readable and enjoyable collection. Not everyone will love every story, but they're all well-done, and I loved or seriously liked most of them, and found all but one at least enjoyable. In addition, the "story notes" include poems Yolen wrote connected to these stories--some poems were written first, and others after, but they're connected, and she includes them for the enjoyment of the reader.

A really enjoyable collection--I said that, right?

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Jane Yolan has always been one of my favorite authors and influenced my own writing so I was excited for this collection of short stories. One of the aspects I liked the most was how, even as diverse as all the stories are, each one gives a unique perspective on love. Her words are lyrical and beautiful but even more are the ideas in each story. 

Each story is whimsical and delightful. Every character is engaging and wonderful to read. The love between the characters delves into depths and unexpected permutations, full of delight. I also immensely enjoyed the twist on different legends and tales. 

If you love poetry and love, language and emotion, each short story packs a punch and is one to love. I highly recommend this collection.  Jane Yolen is whimsical and delightful and her writing is well worth reading.

Ahoy there mateys!  I have always loved reading Jane Yolen's novels but as I have gotten older I have loved her short stories just as much.  The publisher is continuing the trend of gifting us with these collections.  This is the fourth one and deals with romance in lovely, untypical ways.

This collection has 10 varied tales.  Like any collection, I liked some better than others.  I also very much enjoyed Yolen's "Story Notes" at the end of the book which gives background on the short stories in the collection.

I don't want to spoil the magic of the stories and can't really do them justice with me own paltry words but I will try to give ye an idea of the bare bones of the stories:

"Sans Soleil" - This was a tragic tale of love gone wrong despite the best intentions.  Loved the sun imagery.

"Dusty Loves" - A rather unique take on the Romeo and Juliet story.  Involves the fae and a ghost.  I loved this.

"Unicorn Tapestry" - The deals with magic and unicorn embroidery and a middling middle princess.  I don't know that I understood all of the magic but the ending was excellent.

"A Ghost of an Affair" - A chance encounter has consequences across time.  I loved how the assumptions I had continued to be wrong.  Another lovely ending if somewhat bittersweet.

"Dark Seed, Dark Stone" - I loved this tale set in the 600s of a forward thinking woman dealing with the death of her warrior-hero father.  The time period came to life on the page.  The historical notes at the end were also lovely.

"Dragonfield" - Everyone knows that dragons are long gone.  Until they aren't.  A girl helps a boy become the hero he is thought to be.  Excellent.

"The Sword in the Stone" - I don't like King Arthur retellings but this one was fun.  It made me want Yolen to tell me what happens next and how things end up going wrong cause this version rocked.

"The Sea Man" - A short sea yarn about compassion and humanity in all its forms.

"Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn" - A Greek slave meets a Djinn and an usual wish is made.

"Peter in Wonderland" - This Wonderland tale was fine but didn't thrill me.

"The Erotic in Faerie: The Footnotes" - Weird.  I didn't get this piece at all.

I have to admit that I did enjoy the emerald circus better than this one but I will certainly read another collection of Jane Yolen's work, especially if published by Tachyon.  Arrrr!

This was a cute little book of fantasy short stories. Some a different telling, others a different time line in a fantasy’s story. This is my first Jane Yolen book it was very interesting and a quick read. I didn’t really know what to expect but it was a pleasant surprise. The collection of short stories is a continuation from others yolen has written as well as hundred of other books. Golem’s imagination is unending. The style of writing is very clear and easily digestible. Thank you net galley for the advanced reading copy.

I’m not a romance reader. The genre is just NOT my jam. But I DO enjoy Romance in ye olde sense of the word: swashbuckling heroes, Arthurian quests, fairytales… all that fantastical content!

So with that in mind, I happily picked up Jane Yolen’s ‘The Scarlet Circus’, an anthology of short stories about romance that range from reworked fairytales and myths to a dash of Shakespeare. All the olde worlde vibes.

I went in with high hopes… and BOY WERE THEY DASHED.

This book fell flatter than a crepe on an ironing board for me.

Most of the stories were originally published in the 1970s–2000s, but they feel like they were written by Aesop or Enid Blyton.

The dialogue is stiff, the characters have barely two dimensions to their names, and every plot seems to rest heavily on the assumption that readers will recognise the myth Yolen is reworking – the bones of the stories are built on prior reading. If you don’t recognise the original material, these tales are going to feel flatter still.

This was truly an unhappy surprise, because I expected to love this book.

Yolen has won two Nebulas and a bundle of other awards for her fantasy work, and Brandon Sanderson provided the intro. There are short stories riffing on Romeo and Juliet, Alice in Wonderland, time-travelling Scotsmen, mystical merpeople… it sounded ideal.

But the telling of every story grated on me something terrible.

If you enjoyed Holly Black’s ‘How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories’, you’ll likely enjoy ‘The Scarlet Circus’. If you’re expecting Angela Carter or Neil Gaiman, I’d try something else.

Thank you @netgalley and @tachyonpub for the eARC, and apologies that the Circus and I didn’t click!

A collection of magical love stories that the author has written which have been published before in magazines, story collections and anthologies.The tales includes passion and transformations. Her stories entertain, amuse, and/or touches the reader. These stories are fantasy. The romantic short stories include mermen, djinns, elves and ghosts for example. Love can end tragically. They are shorts stories filled with whimsy and unexpected endings.

I am trying my best to give you a hint of the terrific short stories that were written previously and put in one volume. It’s hard. I have never been disappointed with any of Jane Yolen books I have read. I think that this shows and highlights what a terrific author she is. Perhaps you can give this as a Valentine Day gift — probably a little late as it is suppose to be available on February 14 or to your true love.

Jane Yolen is a legend, so it's always a challenge to write an intro to a review on one of her books. I hardly need to convince anyone to read her books, surely! So this time I'm, or rather Jane Yolen, has added something a little extra. She very kindly wrote a poem to go along with the review, called 'Substitute'. Do give that a read and then join me below for the review.
Thanks to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest

I used to think I don't do romance. Or rather, Capital-R Romance. I think this is a leftover from my "I'm not like other girls"-phase. Thankfully I left that phase behind once I realised that it was mostly internalised misogyny. And yet, I continued to struggle a little with the Romance genre. Perhaps I felt weird reading it, considering I'm not really a dating or relationship person. Perhaps it also felt like something that would be too sensitive for me, make me feel like I should be pursuing a capital-L Love! But I have loved everything I've read by Jane Yolen, so I decided to one again place myself into her capable hands with The Scarlet Circus. If like myself you find love a little intimidating, I can now assure you that this is a lovely collection of stories. It is not just about romantic love, about having to find a partner and sticking with them forever or being a failure; The Scarlet Circus also highlights other forms of love. There is the love between parents and their children, between siblings, between friends, between a person and their culture, or a person and their profession. I felt like Yolen was celebrating not just romance but also the embracing of love in all aspects of your life. As a romance-shy person I must also say that Yolen perhaps got me a little more interested in trying out relationships, just for the fun of it.

It would be impossible to give a good idea of each of the stories and poems in this collection, so I will just highlight a few I adored. 'Unicorn Tapestry' is the third story and the one that made me fully settle into the collection. Poor Princess Marian is the plain one of the three sisters and also not especially skilled at tapestry-making. She has begrudgingly accepted that this is just how it is, that there is no grand love and epic adventure set aside for her, so when she is granted a wish she only half-heartedly believes it might come true. But magic, much like life and love, has ways of finding you. This is a delightful story. 'A Ghost of an Affair' is a must-read for anyone who liked Outlander (the TV show) and is ready to be sad. 'Dark Seed, Dark Stone', set in a kind of northern medieval past, was a story about love in a very different way. Bryony loves her people, her family (maybe not her step-mother), and is loyal to her king. Does this story feature bone-melting romance? No. But it does feature love in a more foundational way, perhaps, and I'm still intrigued by it. 'Dragonfield' is perhaps one of the most extensive stories and features literally everything I could ask for from independent heroines, to dragons, to lore, to ironic takes on heroism, and more. Truly the stand-out for me. 'The Sea-Man' got me on multiple fronts. As a Dutch person I enjoyed the Dutch main characters and history, but as a lover of Del Toro's The Shape of Water I also appreciated the way the story took on communication across species and the universal presence of love. 'Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn' truly is a loveletter to love, very different in tone from the other stories and yet fully alive. If you could spend eternity with your beloved, even if it meant living in a bottle, would you?

I've reviewed a few of Jane Yolen's books now and I always wonder whether I will actually think of something new to say when it comes to her writing. And in fact, I always do. In the case of The Scarlet Circus I was truly amazed by the variety of genre-influences she brings into her fairy-tale writing. Some of the stories are more "traditional" in that they take their inspiration from established classic themes or tropes, such as the djinn or Romeo and Juliet or curses to be lifted by true love. Others, however, work with time-travel elements, with critiques on genre staples like the overblown hero, and with complex ideas of duty and love. There is even a story that is just footnotes to a story, which my academic heart loved! There is never a dull moment in this collection and quite a few of the stories have remained with me long after reading them the first time. They'll flash into my mind and make me go back to The Scarlet Circus to relive them in full. I also once again enjoyed the poems collected at the end of the book. The poems feel a little darker, or more vulnerable, than the stories which makes for a nice contrast. It's like a nice sweetbitter grapefruit tart after a sumptuous meal, if that makes sense. It clears the palate and brings some freshness in. Perhaps most heartbreakingly beautiful is the poem Yolen wrote for her current partner, whom she met after the loss of her husband. There is something beautiful to love returning, to accepting new love without replacing the previous love. She also discusses this moment in her life in the introduction and it added quite some pathos and weight to some of the lighter aspects of the stories.

I greatly enjoyed The Scarlet Circus and found many more gems of Yolen's to treasure and carry with me. This collection has an inventiveness that is belied by the ease of Yolen's writing. I can't wait to read more of her short stories through Tachyon's collection series.

I will update with the URL link once the post goes live on the 14th.

I received an ARC of THE SCARLET CIRCUS in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks go to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications.

Genre: Fantasy

This is such a fun short story collection!

I loved every single one of these stories from mermaids, to djinn, to rabbits, and ghosts. The variety was so much fun. I often found I wanted to continue the story with the characters even though it was over. That's a sign of great writing.

Yolen's ability to draw me into a story so quickly and become vested in the characters is masterful. I was particularly absorbed into the story with the ghosts, the djinn, and the unicorn. Oh, and Alice and Peter too. Okay, okay—I really can't choose.

This is also the perfect book to read while commuting, or if you need a break from heavy topics, or just want to add a touch of magic to life! Seriously, it's so charming.

I highly recommend you give this book a try to fall in love with fantasy and storytelling.

Happy reading!

In recent years Yolen has been sharing collections of short stories and poems of things she has written in the past and some more recent ones. The Scarlet Circus focuses on romance fantasy stories. While a bunch do, there are also stories where I found a distinct lack of romance, that didnt seem to fit with the theme. Instead I felt that a lot of these stories shared the whimsical and fairytale like quality. A lot of them were also based on fairytales and legends like Camelot and Alice in Wonderland.

Perhaps it was the whimscial and fairytale like part but most of these stories were forgettable for me. There was very little for me to connect too and I missed a bit of diversity in the tales. As in classic fantasy romance doesn't always have to be straight.

Thoughts per story

Sans Soleil - 3 stars
Written as an old fairytale. Appreciated it was the male who was hidden away.

Dusty loves - 3 stars
A twist on Romeo and Juliet? It was cute. But there wasn't much actual love from Dusty here.

Unicorn Tapestry - 2 stars
Not sure what I'm suppose to take away from this.

A Ghost of an Affair 3 stars
A little whimsical, fairytale like. Could do well as a longer story.

Dark Seed, Dark Stone 2 stars
This really could have been great but for me it just stops in the middle and it feels so unresolved.

Dragonfield 4 stars
Dragonslaying! Cute interactions.

The Sword and the Stone 4 stars
I liked the playing of the King Arthur legend here.

The Sea Man 3 stars
As this story features a Dutch MC I'm going to look more critically at this. It was inspired by a Dutch Navy Man who said that he saw a mermaid. Leyden should have been Leiden. I understand that it is the English name for it but with a Dutch MC you could at least try since all the other names were the proper ones. And if you are going to say zee wyven then write it in Dutch in full which is Zee Wijven. Which you can translate as Sea Wives (as happened in the story at some point) but wijven is a bit more degatory. The story was okay.

Memoris of a Bottle Djinn 3 stars
An okay story, the start was a bit boring.

Peter in Wonderland 4 stars
Cute, would work for Alice.

The Erotic of Faerie 2 stars
Not sure what this was suppose to be?

DNF at 38%

While I really enjoy Jane Yolen, this collection of stories didn't hit the mark for me.

Jane Yolen’s short stories are among my favorites in this world, which is saying a lot when you consider how many short stories I have read. These were almost all new to me and every one was magnificent

Thanks so very much to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review

Thabk you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3.5 stars for this one!

I'd never previously read anything by this author but was quite captivated by the description of this book.

This collection of stories doesn't take place in a circus but they do delve into fantasy and some have a romance element to them. There are also a few nods to well-known stories too!

Overall, this feels like a cozy read, reminiscent of story books back in the day but a bit more elevated, if that makes sense.

This was a wonderful collection of short stories by Jane Yolen - all related in some way to fairy tales and all with some sort of romantic element. I really like the twists and turns made by the author, and I enjoyed all of the stories and the related poetry.

2.5*
Scarlet Circus is a collection of 11 short fantasy stories.
Contrary to what I thought, is has nothing to do with a circus.
I haven’t read a fairytale since I was a child and reading this was quite nostalgic for me. I loved the cozy fairytale settings of some of the stories.
Here are a few of my thoughts:
Sans Soleil: this one felt the most like a legend or myth and I enjoyed that.
Dusty Loves: I don't know if it was the intent but this one I found very humorous. The Romeo and Juliet aspect was clever and fun, but also dark? I liked that a lot.
Unicorn Tapestry: this one was my favorite. It was the most whimsical and I wanted more of the story when it was over.
Dragonfield: I love a good dragon and hero story. This one was good and I really liked Lancot and Tansy, even if there wasn’t a lot of time to develop their characters.

The other ones were not that memorable, that’s why I gave the collection 2.5 stars.
Overall it was a quick read and I had a good time reading this collection of stories.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was a fun foray into Yolen's (prolific) work. I was a little bummed that there wasn't more actual circus-ing in the book, but I digress.

This tome contains multiple short stories based on the premise of "love," which capture multiple different styles and genres. I felt like that was both the strength and weakness of the book. As a reader, you're bound to find stories you like that connect with you, but you're also as likely to end up with personal duds. I'm also not the biggest short story reader, so the constant bouncing between perspectives and tales was a bit jarring for me. If you're a fan of Yolen I definitely recommend picking this up, or if you're looking for something to read with minimal investment.

The Scarlet Circus
by Jane Yolen

Paperback, 256 pages
Expected publication: February 14th 2023 by Tachyon Publications
ISBN 1616963867 (ISBN 13: 9781616963866)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Jane Yolen Classic Fantasy Stories #4

This is an entrancing collection of short stories. The Reader is drawn through remarkable tales that lead into the next story building tension and wonder. Although Published throughout Jane Yolen's career, this book shows the depth of this world building author. Embracing the writing style of notable writers she develops into her own voice that is the strongest storyteller I know. Covering topics in these stories that include history, Fey mythology, unicorns, horror and merlin stories. Her breath of work displays astounding story telling. The growth of characters, to the world making ability she inhabits is enviable. I suggest this book to any reader of mythology, and short stories it would bring endless enjoyment, and create a world they will love to revisit.

This book was super interesting. I usually don't read short stories but this was a fun collection of classic stories. The stories were fun and unique tellings of the traditional stories i def need to go back and read her other three.