Modern Versions of the Sleeping Beauty Story
Contemporary Authors Often Give Fairytale a New Slant
Mar 1, 2009
The story of the comatose princess and the handsome prince who revives her has been retold countless times in books, short stories, movies and plays. Some of these have been faithful to the original, some have been updated or given new twists, while others written with a dark, cynical tone or an emphasis on sex are definitely not for young ones.
Sleeping Beauty Stories for Younger Readers
The Light Princess by George MacDonald (Grades 4-8). Not well known today, MacDonald was a 19th Century author whose writings influenced J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Madeline L’Engle. His 1864 version of Sleeping Beauty concerns a young girl who does not fall asleep, but due to her lack of “gravity” (seriousness) is cursed by only being able to float. A 1984 reprint of this book was illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
Clementine by Sophie Masson (Grades 5-9). Set during the time of the French Revolution and 100 years later, Clementine is the story of two young friends -- one a princess, the other a woodcutter’s daughter -- who both go into hundred year slumbers. Unique in that there are two actual Sleeping Beauties and two “princes.”
Waking Rose by Regina Doman (Grades 7 and up). Waking Rose deals with complex moral problems related to euthanasia, embryonic research, and sexual morality. When college student Rose Brier looks into the dealings of an unscrupulous medical facility, she falls victim to an “accident” that leaves her comatose, but aware of what is going on around her. This is the last book in a trilogy of modernized and revamped fairy tale stories centered around two sisters, Blanche and Rose Brier. Written from a Catholic viewpoint.
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (Grades 8 and up). Yolen sets her tale against the backdrop of Nazi Germany. When a young American journalist asks her grandmother, a concentration camp survivor, to tell her stories of her experiences, the older woman refuses. Instead, she narrates versions of Sleeping Beauty. Later, after visiting Europe, the young woman sees the vast symbolism of her beloved grandmother’s tales.
Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley (Grades 8 and up). As in most Sleeping Beauty versions, a princess is cursed to die by pricking her finger on a spindle, but from that point McKinley creates a new story. Rosie, as the princess is named by her protective peasant fairy, grows into a strong independent young woman who has no need for a prince to save her. Strong characters, particularly the animals who help raise Rosie, are the strength of this novel.
Sleeping Beauty Stories for Adults
The Sleeping Beauty Novels by Anne Rice (writing as A. N. Roquelaure). Best known for her gothic vampire stories and later religious-themed works, Rice is also the creator of a trilogy centered on Sleeping Beauty -- The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty; Beauty's Punishment; and, Beauty's Release.
Rice puts a strong emphasis on human desire and Beauty’s sexual awakening with these erotic, sometimes sadomasochistic, stories.
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. A Soviet born, American educated, folklore scholar returns to his native land to find a sleeping woman on a pedestal that he saw as a child. When he rediscovers her and awakens her with a kiss, the two are transported back to her world -- 9th Century Russia.
Card’s novel is a well-crafted blend of the Sleeping Beauty story, science fiction, and Russian folklore.
Briar Rose by Robert Coover. This short novel is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story through the intertwining narratives of the slumbering princess, the prince, and the wicked fairy. Coover, a postmodern writer, relies greatly on cynicism and bawdy humor in this surreal parody of romance, love and sexual desire.
More information on Robert Coover’s works, and the text for Briar Rose can be found at Bedford St. Martins Publishers.
Related Articles: The Story of Sleeping Beauty, Modern Versions of Snow White.
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