Once upon a time in the Old West, there lived a beautiful girl named Rapunzel in a grand villa with her Mother Gothel. Every day, Rapunzel would learn rope tricks from one of the guards and wonder what lay beyond the villa’s ridiculously huge garden wall…
What’s that you say? That’s not the way this fairy tale goes? Well then you’ve never heard the tale told by Newberry Honor-winning author Shannon Hale, her husband Dean Hale, and artist Nathan Hale (no relation) in their hilarious and exciting take on the classic Rapunzel story.
Fractured Fairy Tales for Western Fans
All her life, Rapunzel has dreamed about what lay on the other side of her villa’s wall. Then on her twelfth birthday, she uses her lasso skills to sneak over the top of the wall – and is horrified to discover Mother Gothel has been keeping hundreds of people enslaved in a horrible mining camp, including Rapunzel’s real mother!
Furious at Rapunzel for discovering the truth, Mother Gothel banishes her to a gigantic hollow tree where Rapunzel spends four years, watching her hair grow ridiculously long. To pass the time, Rapunzel practices her old rope tricks – using her braids as makeshift lassoes and whips. Eventually, she gets so good at using her braids that she lassos a distant tree and swings to freedom. (Who needs a prince?)
Grimm's Fairy Tales Were Never Like This...
Making her way to a nearby town, Rapunzel soon makes friends with a young outlaw Jack and his pet goose Goldy. Together, Jack and Rapunzel gallop across the wild western landscape, giving Rapunzel plenty of chances to rope outlaws, battle ferocious coyotes, and even ride a monstrous sea serpent.
But all these adventures prove to be only minor skirmishes when Rapunzel learns Mother Gothel is a witch who’s been drying up the land and holding everyone in bondage. Now, with Jack’s help, Rapunzel sets out to take down her former step-mother – and show her what a pair of twenty-foot long hair braids can really do!
A Rapunzel Story for Modern Audiences
Combining the hyperbole of an American tall tale like Pecos Bill with elements from well-known fairy tale stories, Rapunzel’s Revenge offers readers an amazing adventure that can be enjoyed on many levels. Aside from being a great new Western yarn, the graphic novel will keep fairy tale lovers eagerly scanning pages for new versions of their favorite characters. In addition to Jack, there are cameos by Snow White’s dwarfs (or possibly their immigrated descendants), and even a scene reminiscent of Gulliver’s Travels.
Turning a girl like Rapunzel – who’s been portrayed as a passive character in most fairy tales – into a Western hero isn’t easy, but the Hales pull it off with style, making Rapunzel’s boldness not only plausible but fun to watch. Credit also goes to Nathan Hale’s character designs, which show Rapunzel grow from an awkward teen into an outlaw hero who can do rope tricks that would make John Wayne green with envy.
Fans of this graphic novel will be thrilled to know that the creative team is finishing a sequel to Rapuzel’s Revenge entitled Calamity Jack, which according to Shannon Hale, “[is] as awesome or perhaps even more awesome than its predecessor. Yee-ha!”
Learn why Shannon Hale wanted to write Rapunzel's Revenge by reading this Interview with Popular Author Shannon Hale.
Hale, Shannon; Dean Hale; and Nathan Hale. Rapunzel's Revenge. New York: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-59990-070-4
Looking for more fairy tales and adventure stories of strong girl heroes? Read How Peter Parker's Daughter Became a Superhero and The Legend of Holly Claus.
And visit Shannon Hale at The Official Site of Shannon Hale!
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