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Snow White And Rose Red (Fairy Tale)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 4,977 ratings · 222 reviews

Snow White and Rose Red live on the edge of the forest that conceals the elusive border of Faerie. They know enough about Faerie lands and mortal magic to be concerned when they find two human sorcerers setting spells near the border. And when the kindly, intelligent black bear wanders into their cottage some months later, they realize the connection between his plight and

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Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Published December 15th 1993 by Tor Books (first published April 28th 1989)

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The Best Fairytales and Retellings

54th out of 926 books — 5,287 voters

Snow White And Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede

The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm

Snow White and Rose Red

1st out of 36 books — 17 voters

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Jun 11, 2013 Mary Catelli rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-fantasy, patricia-wrede, fairy-tales

Being a retelling of the fairy tale of the same name. Note that the original German name is not even the same one as Snow White -- they are in different dialects.

The tale itself takes place in Elizabethan England, where Widow Arden and her daughters Blanche and Rosamund live and gather herbs in the woods. Rosamund meets a peddler, who goes to meet his brother in Faerie -- John and Hugh are the sons of Thomas the Rhymer and the Fairy Queen. The queen is not pleased with the way John wanders in an...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. In front of the cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose-trees, one of which bore white and the other red roses....

Rosamund and Blanche are the daughters of a poor widow in a small town in Elizabethan England; the three of them gather herbs from the woods to make remedies for the citizens of Mortlak. They are extremely careful when in the woods, for it contains the ever shifting border of faerie, a border they are wary of but cross ov...more There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. In front of the cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose-trees, one of which bore white and the other red roses....

Rosamund and Blanche are the daughters of a poor widow in a small town in Elizabethan England; the three of them gather herbs from the woods to make remedies for the citizens of Mortlak. They are extremely careful when in the woods, for it contains the ever shifting border of faerie, a border they are wary of but cross over occasionally while protected with herbs and small charms. The Queen of faerie has two half-mortal sons, one who resides mainly in faerie (Hugh) and the other who wanders freely the land of mortals (John). When the favored son of the Queen, Hugh, has his faerie-essence stolen and is exiled from his home, John goes against his mothers wishes and follows his brother to save him. Soon, he comes across the Widow and her daughters and together they risk their lives to right the wrongs that have been done.

This retelling of a classic German fairy tale weaves together fantasy, mystery, danger, and romance into a story that not only entertains but has a happily-ever-after ending. I really enjoyed the Wrede took liberties with the story, transforming the classic characters and introducing a few new one of her own while sticking to the main plot of the original tale - and to show you the parallels, she includes snip-its of the German version at the beginning of each chapter. The dialogue was also written in Elizabethan English which I have mixed feelings about: it added to the authentic feel of the story but the non-dialogue was written in modern day English and switching back and forth between the two was not always a smooth transition for the reader.

Overall, a wonderful story that proves that sometime the Disney version of fairy tales aren't always the best; I for one would take an overprotective and loving mother with two headstrong teenage girls who sweep in and save the Prince any day over the docile female characters of the 1950's Disney who wait to be rescued - take charge ladies....and teach a moral at the same time :)(less)

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Feb 23, 2012 Ewan Watson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Patricia Wrede is generally a fantastic writer, but this is quite a bit different from her usual work. The mix of a fairy tale and an Elizabethan historical fantasy are an interesting experiment that I think are even better than her usual genre.

For those who love the fairy tale in its traditional form, this is a fabulous gift, the ablility to find "another fairy tale". Most of us have exhausted the fairy tale genre and, sadly, there is only a set amount of authentic fairy tale out there. Snow...more

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Dec 12, 2009 Lydia Presley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, fairy-tales

Ever since I was a young girl, Snow White has always been my favorite "Princess" character. Although I grew up on the Disney version of Snow White, I'd read the original Grimm's Fairy Tale a few times as a teenager and liked that story as well.

Patricia Wrede approaches Snow White and Rose Red with an interesting twist on the story. Each chapter begins with a portion of the original tale, but rather than the story being disjointed and hard to understand, she smooths it out and provides a very coh...more

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Aug 23, 2009 Krystle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely loved Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles when I read them in middle school so when I saw this in the store, I just thought I’d try it out. You know how I’m a sucker for pretty covers, I couldn’t pass this up. Just look at it! Haha. I love the colors, the girl, her, the mood and atmosphere of the image, and even the font! It’s so pretty! Not to mention it has some relevance to the story so it’s awesome as well.

Snow White and Rose Red was a fun read. It stayed very true to t...more I absolutely loved Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles when I read them in middle school so when I saw this in the store, I just thought I’d try it out. You know how I’m a sucker for pretty covers, I couldn’t pass this up. Just look at it! Haha. I love the colors, the girl, her, the mood and atmosphere of the image, and even the font! It’s so pretty! Not to mention it has some relevance to the story so it’s awesome as well.

Snow White and Rose Red was a fun read. It stayed very true to the original tale, but the author worked her own magic on it to expand it into a smoother, connected, and well rounded story. I love how she used some old figures throughout history and placed them in the book. It helped give it a more firm base in reality. Snow White (Blanche) and Rose Red (Rosamund) are likable characters with their own distinct personalities, though they did tend to blur together once in a while. The romance right at the end was a bit sudden but it was dealt with more on the subtle side so you don’t have to worry about it being a bother at all.

The writing was great. Wrede’s writing in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles were of a humorous, witty nature, while this one is more on the straightforward serious side. At times it reminds me of Diana Wynne Jones’s but not quite. There are a few instances were her descriptions could have used a bit more elaboration, but it wasn’t enough to detract from the reading experience. The book had a nice even pace throughout it that while wasn’t action packed, wasn’t near to being draggy.

One area that was a bit of a throw off was the language used in the dialogue. Sure it’s set in Elizabethan times so of course they’d speak like that but it’s sort of jarring on your senses going from smooth flowing modern day prose to “Dost thou know why?” I got used to it as the story progressed but that was a bit of stumble when I first started reading it. I felt that it wasn’t consistent at times too but eh, not enough for me to put too much of demerit on it.

If you wanted to read a fairy tale that’s simple, sweet, and doesn’t veer off in crazy tangents away from the original then this would be for you. (less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Lynne Cantwell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Wrede has moved her version of the fairy tale to Elizabethan England. Two sisters live with their widowed mother at the edge of town, in a wood that borders Faerie. Two Faerie princes -- both half-human -- live with their mother, the Queen, although one of the brothers was raised by his human father. Their fates become intertwined; thanks to the machinations of magicians John Dee and Ned Kelly in the human world and a plot against the brothers hatched in Faerie, one of the brothers is turned int...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Rachel Piper rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I love Patricia C. Wrede, so I had high hopes for this book, especially since it takes on a fairy tale that has not been retold to death.

Apparently this was one of her earliest works, and it shows. Set in Elizabethan England, the characters speak in the dialect of the time, and it usually comes off sounding stilted at best--especially against the not-Elizabethan descriptions of everything else, as well as occasional bursts of modern-day speech by the characters--and at the worst like something...more I love Patricia C. Wrede, so I had high hopes for this book, especially since it takes on a fairy tale that has not been retold to death.

Apparently this was one of her earliest works, and it shows. Set in Elizabethan England, the characters speak in the dialect of the time, and it usually comes off sounding stilted at best--especially against the not-Elizabethan descriptions of everything else, as well as occasional bursts of modern-day speech by the characters--and at the worst like something a fourth-grader wrote. "Mother, hast thou the poultice? This gentleman haveth need." "Nay child!" etc.

The dialogue was the first stumbling block but I kept trudging on, only to find other problems. The villains--a discontented fairy, a water spirit, and either a tree spirit or a troll, it's never entirely clear--are straight out of an early-90s Disney movie knockoff, and I kept picturing them as poorly drawn cartoons. Their motives are never really explained, but since they're evil I suppose their aspiration is just to be evil and do harm to the good people/gain POWER OVER FAERIE.

A few times it seemed like there wasn't enough time to write a scene, so things are moved along/explained not by the characters themselves but by the omniscient narrator. "By chance, the Widow, Rose and Blanche were gone from the cottage that day, so their existence was not discovered by the other two sets of magicians." Oh ok, thanks for that. I was really worried! (Plus: That the Widow never earns a name is annoying. She has a last name, which I've forgotten, but for the most part she's referred to simply as "the Widow.")

There's some romance, and I am pretty sure the book ends with a double wedding, considering there are two beautiful sisters AND two handsome, upstanding faerie princes as major characters. The romances are clumsily moved along via too-loud protestations and encouraging words that are not only part of the dialogue but also explained by that pesky narrator. "Blanche's sudden, uncharacteristic burst of feeling met with a puzzled glance from Hugh, an exchange not lost on the Widow."

There are many similar gestures and expressions that are carefully described as to make abundantly clear that some people are in LOVE, some people are SHIFTY, etc. People pull wicked faces while other people's backs are conveniently turned to reach for a spell ingredient. People close their eyes during a spell and so can't see that their two evil henchmen are exchanging knowing glances. And, in one especially annoying, useless scene, the prince notices that one of the Queen's 14 ladies in waiting has a brief expression of triumph/malice when the Queen is delivering some bad news. Even though he's been astute enough to notice this millisecond-long smile, the narrator tells us that he's too busy to deal with it and so forgets about it immediately.

By the final third of the book, I was so bored that I couldn't finish. I knew the evil people were about to make one last push to finish their evilness, and that the good people were probably going to have a few stressful moments before they came out on top, but I just didn't care about any of them.

I was excited that this book was reprinted, but IMO it does nothing to further Wrede's catalog. Her short stories, Enchanted Forest books and Cecilia books are much better than this Robin McKinley wannabe, and I hope that this was no one's first Wrede experience.

As a side note, this book originally appeared in Terri Windling's fairy tale series. Most of the other titles are out of print (fine by me, if they're like this one) with the exception of Briar Rose, Jane Yolen's excellent, haunting retelling of the Holocaust and Sleeping Beauty.(less)

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Aug 17, 2011 Bethany rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While Wrede's works are usually written in such a way that they can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, her re-imagining of the Grimm fairytale Snow White and Rose Red does not contain much that would delight or amuse readers of any age.

The story strings together the somewhat disjointed tale of Snow White and Rose Red originally transcribed by Herren Grimm and makes of it a cohesive whole, bringing to the under-publicized story an element of romance and witchcraft and faerie that really ought to...more

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Mar 23, 2011 *MystGrrl* rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tales-of-historical-fiction, tales-of-magic, remade-fairy-tales, tales-of-the-supernatural, tales-of-witches, tales-of-romance

I love fairy tales and when authors re-tells an old favourite with their own spin on it my curiousity is always piqued.

The story is mainly about Rosamund (Rose Red) and Blanche (Snow White) who live with their mother at the edge of the forest that borders the Fairie realm. While the family makes their living off the herbs and plants they collect from the outer fairie territory, they've never offically met a fey creature and their mother intends to keep it that way. That is until a spell cast by...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf

I think this was a lovely book, but I will never find of Wrede's book that does the same thing for me that Dealing with Dragons once did. This book, like Mairelon the Magician, did not have villains that inspired fear or respect. Also like Mairelon, it seemed a comedy of errors, where all the characters stumble across one another at the end, and bad guys are revealed, revelations are made, etc. There was little suspense, because I was never concerned for the protagonists. Usually I'm a patient r...more

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May 18, 2009 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: folklore-fairytales, historical-fiction, romance

Fun little story with an interesting take on the world of "fairie." I loved the relationships between the sisters and their mother. I also really enjoyed the Elizabethan dialect - it took a couple of chapters for me to get into it, but I quickly found my footing in the language and it was a wonderful addition to the setting. Overall, a really great fairy tale re-telling.

When I first read this book, I made the mistake of completely missing the point that this fairy tale was being placed in a pseu...more

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May 08, 2013 Malin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-books

Another fairy tale retelling, this one is set in Elizabethan England, in a town not too far from London, where the Widow Arden lives with her two pretty daughters, Blanche and Rosamund. Mrs. Arden is a wise woman, who has taught her daughters some of her healing arts. Sometimes the girls have to cross the invisible border to the realm of Faerie to collect more unusual herbs and plants. John Dee, famous occultist and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, also lives in town. The book is set in the 1580...more Another fairy tale retelling, this one is set in Elizabethan England, in a town not too far from London, where the Widow Arden lives with her two pretty daughters, Blanche and Rosamund. Mrs. Arden is a wise woman, who has taught her daughters some of her healing arts. Sometimes the girls have to cross the invisible border to the realm of Faerie to collect more unusual herbs and plants. John Dee, famous occultist and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, also lives in town. The book is set in the 1580s, when Dee was working with Edward Kelley and experimenting with alchemy and investigations into the paranormal.

As well as the widow and her daughters, and John Dee and Edward Kelley, the major players are the Queen of Faerie's two half-mortal sons. Hugh, the eldest, is quite content to stay put with his mother and her subjects, having pretty much forsaken his human side. His younger brother John, who was actually baptized as a baby, is much more restless, and feels compelled to return to the mortal realm, but returns home around Halloween and May Day. Some of the fairies at the court are displeased by the close connection between the Faerie and human world, and are hatching a plot to get rid of John. They manage to manipulate a spell Dee and Kelley are casting, but something goes wrong, and Hugh is hit instead. Soon he is turning into a giant bear, and his mother has no choice but to expel him from Faerie. John promises not to rest until he has restored his brother.

It doesn't take long before the stories of Arden daughters and the Faerie princes join up. Hugh the bear arrives on the widow's doorstep, and as he's still able to think, if not to speak, he's able to nod or shake his head to all the women's questions. They resolve to help him, and after an attempt at a healing spell, he at least gets the power of speech back. Now the young women and John need to figure out how to heal Hugh completely, which is tricky when part of Hugh's essence is trapped in a crystal in John Dee's heavily warded house.

As a Medieval historian, with a particular interest in Tudor history, it was especially fun to see Patricia C. Wrede's take on this story. I must admit, the story of Snow White and Rose Red is not one I know all that well. Helpfully, each new chapter starts with a little excerpt from the original fairy tale, letting the reader see exactly how the story has been altered and adapted. With it being a fairy tale, none of the characters are especially complex. The widow Arden is wise, sensible and a bit suspicious of her daughters getting involved in Faerie dealings. The girls are pretty and virtuous. Blanche is the calm and diplomatic one, Rosamund is the headstrong and feisty one. It's obvious from the start which brother will end up with which sister, but it's still fun to see the story develop much more gradually than in a fairy tale.

Including John Dee and Edward Kelley into the story and the complications that ensue from their botched spell casting, give a creative explanation as to why Dee packed up his family and suddenly left for Poland in 1583. This is yet another book that had been on my shelf for years and years, languishing unread. I'm glad my various reading challenges finally gave me the push to read it. (less)

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Jun 13, 2007 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young_adult, fantasy, historical

A decent fairy tale retelling, set in Elizabethan England, but not up to Wrede's usual standards. After the hysterically funny Dragons Quartet, I expected something more from this retelling.

Yes, it fleshes out the story. Yes, her writing is neat and elegant. But there's no extra spark to the story to make it memorable.

McKinley remains the finest fairy tale re-teller out there.

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Jul 11, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I don't have that many skeletons in my closet, but the ones that are there are all wearing Renaissance Faire costumes and this book is largely to blame. If I gave stars based on how much I loved a book when I was 15 this one would get 10. And it's holding up well -- I don't have to feel faintly embarrassed for my former self. PCW did a good job with the language -- I appreciate it more now than I did as a teenager, especially since it's so rare that anyone even bothers to try. She did her histor...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: traditional-fantasy, young-adult

A novelization of the Grimm Brother's classic tale. I liked the additional details and plot that the author adds to the story. The wicked dwarf is gone, replaced instead by a couple of sorcerers--one knowledgeable but easily led by the other who was less skilled but more conniving. I also liked getting to know both princes, not just the one that was enchanted.

Even though the setting took place in Elizabethan England, the phrasing "it likes me not" became distracting for me each time it was used...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Delores rated it 2 of 5 stars

I thought the pros were well done. It took me a little while to understand all of the conversations as the characters speak in Elizabethan England's English. I was disappointed in the character development. I didn't get to know the characters or how their relationships developed. I felt that they were kind of stagnant - not much character growth to speak of.

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Jul 10, 2010 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: older children, teens, and adults who like fairy tales and Shakespeare, fans of Patricia C. Wrede

Shelves: fantasy, historical-setting, language-doorway, magic, story-doorway, ya-fiction

This is definitely not Disney's Snow White. True, there is no sex or bad language, and violence is only discussed, not really depicted, but that's really where the similarities end. In Patricia C. Wrede's version of the classic fairy tale, Snow White and Rose Red are the daughters of a poor widow who ekes out a living by making herbal remedies to sell to the townsfolk. They live next to a forest, on the edge of the border of Faerie, in the Elizabethan era of England. Living in the village of Mor...more

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Sep 25, 2009 Claire rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 11 and up who like stories set in medieval Europe with a touch of magic.

Shelves: 10-to-12-year-old-readers, a-7th-and-8th-grade-middle-school-t, high-school-and-beyond

Another edition in the Fairy Tale series edited by Terry Winding.

Set in Elizabethan England, Snow White and Rose Red are sisters living near a small village near the Thames. Their mother is a wise woman who keeps a low profile to avoid any accusation of witchcraft. She and her daughters become entangled in Faerie matters...
In a bit of sorcery gone awry, Hugh the half mortal son of the Faerie Queen is robbed of his faerie essence and turned into a bear. Blanche, Rosamond and their mother along w...more

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Jan 31, 2011 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

The fairytale of Rose Red and Snow White is sort of a weird, random one, so I wasn't sure how I'd like this retelling, but Wrede did an excellent job weaving the scattered fairytale into a cohesive and interesting narrative. It was hard to put down, to be honest. I liked the setting she chose and how she played up on the fears of witchcraft and the legends of faeries of the Elizabethan time to give her story a rich background and subplots. Also, I thought her use of Early Modern English was supe...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Vanessa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adolescent-literature, fairytale-retelling, historical-fiction, fantasy

2.5

I. loved the Grimm's story of Snow White and Rose Red, and always thought it sad that Snow White was known for someone else's story (Snowdrop was the Grimm's name for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) so I was rather exited when I saw Patricia Wrede had done a retelling. I enjoy her Enchanted Forest novels, and as a story I enjoyed this novel as well. However, I never felt a connection with the characters or felt they had any real character arcs. I appreciate that being set in Elizabethan Eng...more

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Feb 27, 2010 K. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fairy-tale-and-fantasy

Wonderful fun. She did a fine job of creating a world in Elizabethan England that mixed religion and magic. It was very different to have "witches" pray to God first to make their magic work. Herb lovers would like this book as most of the magic involved herbal concoctions.

Would have given it a 5 except for one part. For some reason unfathomable Wrede inserted a lame character, Joan Bowes, who seems like she's going to be pivotal (she asks in a lewd manner for the widow lady to make her a love...more

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May 30, 2013 Hazel West rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thoughts on the Overall Book: I've long been a fan of Patricia C. Wrede ever since I first discovered her through the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (still one of my all time favorite fantasy series). This one, though not as funny as some of her others, was still really enjoyable and I liked it a lot.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Despite the fact it's a photograph, I do actually like it. It's pretty, and definitely promotes the fact that this is a fairy tale re-telling.

Characters: Blanche and Rosamond (Snow W...more Thoughts on the Overall Book: I've long been a fan of Patricia C. Wrede ever since I first discovered her through the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (still one of my all time favorite fantasy series). This one, though not as funny as some of her others, was still really enjoyable and I liked it a lot.

Cover--Yea or Nay: Despite the fact it's a photograph, I do actually like it. It's pretty, and definitely promotes the fact that this is a fairy tale re-telling.

Characters: Blanche and Rosamond (Snow White and Rose Red) are likable leading heroines. I won't say they were my favorite re-telling heroines ever, but they were good characters and they never bothered me or got annoying. Blanche is the quiet, sweet one, and Rosamond was the feisty one. John and Hugh were awesome characters too. I loved their brotherly relationship, and the bond they shared. John's concern for his brother when he is turned into a bear is very touching. There's no real villains in this. Or at least they really weren't all that bad. Dee and Kelly were more meddlesome than villains though Kelly was nasty on occasions, and Medini wasn't as bad as she could have been either. I did like how the reader was able to understand her reasons behind doing what she did. Also, personal preference, I didn't really think the Faery Queen was as evil as she should have been, in my opinion. I always like evil faery queens better but she worked for this story.

The Romance: As this is a fairy tale re-telling, it's obviously there will be romance, but in all truth, the romance aspect really only comes out in the last chapter and there's not even a kissing scene (no, this is not a kissing book!)

Writing Style: Very fairy tale-ish. When I first realized all the dialogue in this story was going to be in Elizabethan English, I was pretty sure I would get tired of it real fast. I mean, I can do it when it's Shakespeare, but I don't really care for all the 'thees' and 'thous' when I'm reading a novel. However, it really didn't bother me at all. Once I got through the first few chapters, I hardly noticed it at all, and I actually ended up liking it. The book is set in Elizabethan England, so it's really historical fantasy (another thing I thought was cool) so the dialogue is just authentic. It might bother some people, but I really don't think it's a detriment to the story, and it's truthfully not hard to understand at all. I had actually never heard this fairy tale before reading this book either, so it was interesting to get to read something new.

Problems/What bothered me: The one real problem I had had to do with historical accuracy, and no one with prior knowledge would even catch this so its only because I'm nit-picky that I'm putting it here. John and Hugh were supposed to be the sons of Thomas the Rhymer. There really was a Thomas the Rhymer, and in actual history he was said to have been "captured by fairies". In fact, there's a whole folk tale about that. The problem was, Thomas lived in the 1200s, and this book is set in the 1500s. It also says in this book he only lived seven years with the Faery Queen in Faery. If this were true, how could he possibly have gotten from the 1200s to the 1500s? And John and Hugh certainly haven't been around that long, unless I missed something. I know that technically (I think anyway) if they stay in Faery, they are immortal, but it never says they've been staying there for 300 years either. Anyway, that was just something that kind of bothered me.

The only other thing I had a bit of a complaint about was Joan Bowes. I thought she would have more of a part to play in the story, but she really didn't, so she just kind of seemed a little bit like a loose end to me.

Conclusion: 4 stars. I enjoyed this book a lot, more so, actually, than I thought I would when I started it.

Recommended Audience: Girl read 12 and up, fans of re-tellings or Historical Fantasy. Or just Patricia C Wrede's books in general.
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Jan 08, 2010 Melanti rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fairy-tale, 2010

This book was a bit ... disjointed? Not disjointed in plot, but disjointed in language. All the dialog is in Elizabethan English, while the narration is all in modern English. While I like Shakespeare and other authors/playwrights of that time period, I just couldn't get into this one. As soon as I would catch the rhythm of the language in a long couple lines of dialog, there would be a break in it with a "she said" or "they walked out the door" etc. It broke the illusion of the language and mad...more

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Nov 29, 2009 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really did enjoy this retelling of the story of Snow White and Rose Red. I had never actually read this fairy tale and I found it particularly enjoyable to read the actual fairy tale at the beginning of each chapter and then Patricia Wrede's spin on that portion of the story. Wrede really created a good story that kept me interested the whole way. Lots of characters and an interesting plot.

My biggest problem with this book was that the writing was a little awkward. Wrede worked very hard at El...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Juli rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was a fun fairy tale novel. I really liked how the author put parts of the original fairy tale in italics at the beginning of each chapter. (since I had never read this particular tale, that I can recall). What was annoying was her use of middle English writing for the character's conversations. I understand that she did set the tale in Elizabethan England, and the language was added as a way to take the reader back to that time period. But having read Chaucer and Shakespeare (yes I re...more

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Apr 23, 2010 Kristy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

you know it's not a good book when all you can think is 'when is this going to end'! I had no expectations for this book, but the story really could have been good, but it just wasn't written in a very reader-friendly text. Part of my problem was the dialoge was in an Old English Vernancular and the narration was in modern day English. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but really it was just a little too random for me. And, the particular dialoge the writer chose to include was just ridicul...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Christina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-fantasy, fiction-historical, fairy-tale-retelling

Probably deserves more than 2 stars, but I have found myself giving everything 3 stars lately ...

I enjoy fairy tale retellings. I particularly like how the author added excerpts of the traditional telling of the tale at the beginning of each chapter. However, I didn't find the story itself very exciting. There wasn't a climactic moment, and I didn't wonder what was going to happen next. It wasn't one of those books you can't put down.

I found the old English dialogue distracting. If the entire b...more

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Mar 21, 2010 Ashton rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this a lot. It was a really interesting story. I have not read the original tale, and I kind of want to now for a comparison. I liked how Wrede uses language appropriate to the period, but still manages to make it understandable and readable. It's kind of funny to hear people make assertions and have the familiar spunkiness that Wrede's characters so often do, expressed in Elizabethan era english. I don't know what's so funny about it. Maybe having just re-read some of her other books...more

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Jun 12, 2009 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy, young-adult-romance

What can be said about this book? It's sweet and entertaining, though a little less clever perhaps than Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I found myself thoroughly enjoying it, but wondering if the intended audience (YA) would be able to get through the somewhat-forced dialogue of Elizabethan England.

Not too many of us know the fairy tale of Snow White and Rose Red, the sisters who care for a talking bear, only to find out he's an ensorceled prince... who has a brother. =) From the first few...more

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Aug 28, 2009 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved the introductory note from the editor. Sounds crazy, I know, but it was such a nice little introduction to fairy tales and why a group of authors are doing a series on it. I never really understood this fairy tale when I was little, and the author's note at the end says she didn't either, though she loved it. She always thought it was disjointed and jumped around with not a lot of continuity. Her treatment of this makes it more "modern," even though it's set in the Elizabethan age. It's...more

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Into the Forest: Snow White, Rose Red No Spoilers	10	34	Nov 03, 2012 01:47pm

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About Patricia C. Wrede

Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her se...more Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her second book at once, having become permanently hooked on writing by this time.

Patricia received her M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977.
She worked for several years as a financial analyst and accountant, first with the Minnesota Hospital Association, then with B. Dalton Booksellers, and finally at the Dayton Hudson Corporation headquarters.

Patricia finished her first novel in late 1978. In January, 1980, Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, and Patricia Wrede -- all, at that point, hopeful but unpublished -- formed the writer's group that later became known as "The Scribblies." In April of 1980, Patricia's first novel sold to Ace Books. It came out at last in 1982, which is the year she met Lillian Stewart Carl (who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold by mail).

In 1985, shortly before the publication of her fifth book, she left the world of the gainfully employed to try winging it on her own.

Her interests include sewing, embroidery, desultory attempts at gardening, chocolate, not mowing the lawn, High Tea, and, of course, reading.
She is a vegetarian, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her cats, Merlin, Brisen, and Nimue. She has no children, but as of this writing, she does have four nieces and four nephews ranging in age from seven months to twelve years old and in geographical location from Maine to Alabama.
She has published twelve and a half books:
Shadow Magic, Daughter of Witches, The Seven Towers, Talking to Dragons, The Harp of Imach Thyssel, Caught in Crystal, Snow White and Rose Red, Dealing with Dragons, Mairelon the Magician, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, The Raven Ring, and a collaboration with fellow Minneapolis author Caroline Stevermer, Sorcery and Cecelia, as well as a collection of short stories titled Book of Enchantments. She is also part of the Liavek shared-world anthology. (less)

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Books by Patricia C. Wrede

Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)

Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #2)

Calling on Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #3)

Talking to Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #4)

Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Cecelia and Kate, #1)

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title link	preview: Snow White And Rose Red
avg rating	preview: Snow White And Rose Red Goodreads rating: 3.72 (4977 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/81078.Snow_White_And_Rose_Red?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1303102483l/81078.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/81078.Snow_White_And_Rose_Red?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Snow White And Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede[/url]

Snow White And Rose Red (Fairy Tale)

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