Rapunzel – a Groovy Fairytale (Chrysalis Children’s Books 2004, ISBN 1-84458-156-X) is retold here by Lynn Roberts and makes full, and indeed interesting, use of a period of modern history which itself contained bizarre, larger-than-life details. The illustrator of this book is the author’s brother, David Roberts. At his sister’s suggestion, he has taken the 1970s and brought them to life in an amusing, yet highly detailed fashion for a younger audience.
A Truly Groovy Setting
Against a 1970s backdrop, the highly detailed illustrations, well-remembered by the illustrator himself from when he was a child, depict a teenage orphan, Rapunzel, who is looked after by her rather terrifying witch-like aunt, Edna, and lives in virtual captivity in a 1970s high rise flat.
Vinyl records and posters of Abba and Kate Bush adorn Rapunzel’s bedroom, as do the lava lamp and gigantic cheese plant (how many people remember owning either of these – and would admit to it?!). Brown and orange décor is the order of the day and the height of Edna’s good taste is defined by the set of three flying duck ornaments on the wall above the TV.
Parents, or even grandparents, of a certain age who read this book with their children will be most impressed by the detail in the wardrobe of bell-bottomed trousers, frilly cuffs, gaudy ties and platform shoes worn by Rapunzel and the “prince” character, played by Roger, a boy who spies Rapunzel and her aunt’s strange method of entering and leaving the high flat one day when he is mending his bike.
Fairytale Characters to Fit the Glam Seventies
Rapunzel is the working-class “princess”, kept locked up in her ivory tower flat. She is left to her own devices, playing with her Rubik’s Cube and the passing butterflies once Edna has climbed down Rapunzel’s hair, to go to work.
Edna is every 1970s child’s worse nightmare. Anyone who has ever stayed at school for cooked meals will identify with Edna as the dinner lady from hell who makes the children eat every mouthful of the revolting, lumpy food which she dishes up for them. Clearly, the author and/or the illustrator had an interesting time at school!
Roger, the rescuer of the damsel in distress, is as much in distress himself during the story. He is a far cry from the glamorous knight, wearing shining armour. Instead, he is a bell-bottomed, scruffy offshoot of the 1960s’ enthusiasm for boy pop bands, and thus has his own band – Roger and the Rascals, with his own hopes of fame and fortune, as any good knight should have. This transports him firmly into this remodelled version of the fairytale.
But this teenager, who secretly visits Rapunzel when Edna is busy terrifying other children, is fallible. He is knocked unconscious by Edna, once she discovers the children’s secret meetings. His fallibility leads Rapunzel to have to fend for herself, once she has escaped the clutches of Edna.
A Thoroughly Modern Conclusion
As could be predicted in a modern retelling, it is the female who provides the resolution to the tale. Rapunzel discovers where the dazed and confused Roger’s band is playing. In making him remember her, temporarily reverting to the role of rescuer, she achieves her goals of lifelong friendship and freedom to do whatever she wants in the big, wide world.
The retelling of a well-loved fairytale, therefore, combined with the vibrance of the 1970s period detail of the beautifully observed illustrations, has given a new lease of life to Rapunzel and will bring a sense of wonder and a smile to the faces of children and the young at heart. It is highly recommended.
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