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Publisher Description
Lauren Groff’s Matrix meets Ophelia Field’s The Favourite in this wry, sexy, and sharp historical novel—inspired by true events—featuring an elite group of Paris intellectuals who perform fairy tales that will change the course of literature—and put both the storytellers and their closely kept secrets in grave danger.
Why don’t they tell you it is the beautiful princess who becomes the evil queen; that they are just the same person at different points in their story?
At a safe distance from the intrigues of courtly life at Louis XIV’s Versailles, an intellectual crowd of mostly women have been gathering in a Parisian home to share what hostess Marie D’Aulnoy herself has christened contes de fées: fairy tales. Recently ousted from court and still raw from the death of his beloved wife, Charles Perrault finds companionship and creative camaraderie at the salon, where he eagerly joins the storytellers. Their hostess is impressive, fiercely intelligent, but somehow unreadable. She is harboring secrets of her own: sold off as a child in marriage to a brutal baron, imprisonment, scandal. Despite the vicious Versailles gossip, Marie has mysteriously been allowed to return to polite society and establish her salon in the heart of Paris.
A devastating winter soon sweeps in, bringing with it all kinds of rumors and fears. A spate of poisonings at Versailles has led to several arrests, and no matter how high born the suspect, it seems no one is safe. Paranoia stokes the King’s insecurities, and there is a wolf among the salon’s members—someone more dangerous than any force they could conjure in their own tales, watching and waiting, reporting on the secret goings-on, and threatening to destroy them one by one.
Brilliant and bawdy, witty and wise, Modern Fairies is a dazzling novel of stories within stories, familiar tales spun with fresh and provocative meaning, perfect for fans of Jenny Offill, Deborah Levy, and Angela Carter.
Why don’t they tell you it is the beautiful princess who becomes the evil queen; that they are just the same person at different points in their story?
At a safe distance from the intrigues of courtly life at Louis XIV’s Versailles, an intellectual crowd of mostly women have been gathering in a Parisian home to share what hostess Marie D’Aulnoy herself has christened contes de fées: fairy tales. Recently ousted from court and still raw from the death of his beloved wife, Charles Perrault finds companionship and creative camaraderie at the salon, where he eagerly joins the storytellers. Their hostess is impressive, fiercely intelligent, but somehow unreadable. She is harboring secrets of her own: sold off as a child in marriage to a brutal baron, imprisonment, scandal. Despite the vicious Versailles gossip, Marie has mysteriously been allowed to return to polite society and establish her salon in the heart of Paris.
A devastating winter soon sweeps in, bringing with it all kinds of rumors and fears. A spate of poisonings at Versailles has led to several arrests, and no matter how high born the suspect, it seems no one is safe. Paranoia stokes the King’s insecurities, and there is a wolf among the salon’s members—someone more dangerous than any force they could conjure in their own tales, watching and waiting, reporting on the secret goings-on, and threatening to destroy them one by one.
Brilliant and bawdy, witty and wise, Modern Fairies is a dazzling novel of stories within stories, familiar tales spun with fresh and provocative meaning, perfect for fans of Jenny Offill, Deborah Levy, and Angela Carter.
4 Reviews
4.0
Karyl
Created 15 days agoShare
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“Is this why they tell fairy tales in here? To slip rebellious thoughts past the censors, in the guise of nursery stories?
As a kid, I knew of Mother Goose, of course, and even had a volume of her stories. But the fairy tales I read more often were those of Hans Christian Andersen, which were compiled in a large volume my parents had given me at some point. But like most Americans, I would guess, I had no idea that the Mother Goose fairy tales had been compiled by Charles Perrault, a main character in this novel, and it is he that founded the modern fairy tale genre.
I quite enjoyed the tales told within these pages, especially as they are in their earlier form than what we may now know (for example, Rumpelstiltskin is known as Ricdin-Ricdon). However, I don’t love the crassness that runs through the Bo. I know it’s the way things really were in those times, like the fact that there weren’t bathrooms at Versailles, and instead courtiers would relieve themselves in chamber pots and even a convenient corner when necessary, leading to an overwhelming odor of urine that hovered throughout the gilt halls. It seems like the “in” thing to do, to take historical events and make them more crass or more bawdy than they have generally been portrayed. It’s just not my preference.
But the telling of fairy tales ends up turning political, and there are serious consequences when the king gets wind of what’s going on in this salon.
I have to say, I hope Henriette and the Princesse did have their happily ever after.”
Nyna Dies
Created 25 days agoShare
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Calamity
Created 29 days agoShare
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“I loved the way they folded in fairytales into the plot like they were talking about the gossip of the day but with talking animals. The descriptions were great. I adored the characters. The ending was a total surprise to me.”Likable charactersDescriptive writingSuspensefulImmersive settingRealistic settingAbuseHomophobiaSelf-harmSexual assault
Emily
Created 3 months agoShare
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“✨3 stars✨
I thought this book was okay! It’s a collection of short fairy tale but with a very much adult twist!
However, due to the fact that they were just short stories I didn’t feel like I connected with any of the characters and the none of the stories particularly stood out to me sadly!
I can see how and why people would enjoy this book but sadly it was just not for me.
I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley.”
About Clare Pollard
Clare Pollard is an award-winning poet and playwright based in London. She is the author of five poetry collections and the former editor of the Modern Poetry in Translation magazine. Her acclaimed first novel, Delphi, was a Guardian Best Book of 2022. The Modern Fairies is her second novel.
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