Heidi Anne Heiner's Blog, page 165

News: Christian Louboutin to Design Modern Glass Slipper

From Christian Louboutin to Design Modern Glass Slipper for 'Cinderella' Diamond Edition DVD:

Christian Louboutin, the famous shoe designer known for his trademark red soles, has accepted the daunting but enviable task of creating a pair of dream-come-true modern high heels for the iconic footwear fairy tale character, Cinderella.

Louboutin was invited by Disney Studios to bring Cinderella's glass footwear up-to-date for the release of their Blu-ray Diamond Edition of the studio’s animated fairy tale Cinderella.

***

“Isn’t it everyone’s dream, to once in your life part of a fairy tale?,” enthuses Louboutin. “Walt Disney Studios gave me a wonderful opportunity to live this magical moment. I have been so lucky to have crossed paths with Cinderella, an icon who is so emblematic to the shoe world as well as the dream world.”

The real question is how will he manage his signature red soles with a "glass" slipper? Hmmm....

I posted almost three years ago about the Maison Martin Margiela Glass Slippers if you are also interested in those...

Bargain Book: Curses! by J.A. Kazimer

Curses! by J.A. Kazimer is part of this month's collection of Amazon's 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less Books. Last month was the first month in a long time that the list didn't have a single fairy tale related title on it. This month we have one again, but be warned that it is "adult" in nature with adult language and situations according to the reviews--the subtitle alone shows that as well as the author's other titles. When I first saw it, I thought it was self-published since there is a plethora of titles like this in the self-published arena, but this is published by mainstream publisher Kensington books. In fact, the author has self-published some other titles and this one was apparently picked up by Kensington based on her success--yes, J. A. is a woman.

Book description:

I'm no hero. In fact, up until a couple of days ago, I was the villain. Kidnapped maidens, scared kids, stole magic tchotchkes--until I got into a little scrape with the union. Now I'm cursed with the worst fate in New Never City--no matter what I do, I gotta be nice.
So when a head-case princess named Asia barges into my apartment and asks me to find out who whacked her stepsister, Cinderella, I have no choice but to help her. And I'm more than willing to head back to her parents' castle and do some investigating if it means I can get into her black leather cat suit. Except this twisted sister has a family nutty enough to send the Biggest Baddest Wolf running for the hills--and a freaky little curse of her own. . .

"More than f***ed-up. Demented. Hilarious." --Mario Acevedo, author of Werewolf Smackdown


From the Back Cover

I'm no hero. In fact, up until a couple of days ago, I was the villain. Kidnapped maidens, scared kids, stole magic tchotchkes--until I got into a little scrape with the union. Now I'm cursed with the worst fate in New Never City--no matter what I do, I gotta be nice.

So when a head-case princess named Asia barges into my apartment and asks me to find out who whacked her stepsister, Cinderella, I have no choice but to help her. And I'm more than willing to head back to her parents' castle and do some investigating if it means I can get into her black leather cat suit. Except this twisted sister has a family nutty enough to send the Biggest Baddest Wolf running for the hills--and a freaky little curse of her own. . .

French Cinderella: Le taureau bleu by Coline Promeyrat & Martine Bourre

Le taureau bleu by Coline Promeyrat (Auteur), Martine Bourre (Illustrations)

New Book: The Sisters Grimm: Book Nine: The Council of Mirrors

The Sisters Grimm: Book Nine: The Council of Mirrors (Sisters Grimm, The) by Michael Buckley was released earlier this month. It is the long awaited final book in the Sisters Grimm series, a favorite of many readers here.

Description from the publisher:

In the final volume in the Sisters Grimm series, Sabrina, Daphne, and the rest of the Grimms and their friends must face off against the Master to decide the fate of Ferryport Landing—and the world. When Mirror fails to escape the barrier using Granny Relda’s body, he turns to his plan B: killing all the Grimms so that the magical barrier collapses. In the meantime, Sabrina has gathered the other magic mirrors as advisors on how to deal with their mortal enemy. They tell her to join forces with the Scarlet Hand against Mirror, in exchange for offering all the citizens of Ferryport Landing their freedom. This final chapter is the end of the road for several beloved characters, but the conclusion is sure to satisfy devoted fans of the series.

Also, if you are a fan, or perhaps interested in becoming one, a companion book to the series--The Sisters Grimm: A Very Grimm Guide--was released earlier this year which is a fun introduction to the series although reading the books is of course preferable.

Since 2005, Michael Buckley’s bestselling Sisters Grimm series has delighted fans with the story of the Grimm family, guardians of the world's fairy-tale characters. There’s only one book left in the series, and this comprehensive guide provides the perfect refresher for fans looking to brush up before the dramatic final installment and is the perfect introduction for new readers. Featuring character profiles, maps of the town, found objects from life in Ferryport Landing, fairy-tale “facts,” and much more, this artfully designed guide supplements and enhances the beloved series. Even fan favorite Puck weighs in with his cheeky alternate take on all things Grimm.

Fairy Tale Advertising: "Little Red" Volvo Commercial

Volvo is riding the fairy tale popularity wave by offering us a commercial inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. Enjoy!

There are also two behind the scenes videos that may interest you:

New Release: Fairy Tales Framed: Early Forewords, Afterwords, and Critical Words by Ruth B. Bottigheimer

Fairy Tales Framed: Early Forewords, Afterwords, and Critical Words by Ruth B. Bottigheimer has a May release date, but it is already shipping from most booksellers. You can preview the book on Amazon with the Click to Look Inside feature or on the SUNY site.
Book description:

Translations of the forewords and afterwords by original fairy tale authors and commentaries by their contemporaries, material that has not been widely published in English.

Most early fairy tale authors had a lot to say about what they wrote. Charles Perrault explained his sources and recounted friends’ reactions. His niece Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier and her friend Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy used dedications and commentaries to situate their tales socially and culturally, while the raffish Henriette Julie de Murat accused them all of taking their plots from the Italian writer Giovan Francesco Straparola and admitted to borrowing from the Italians herself. These reflections shed a bright light on both the tales and on their composition, but in every case, they were removed soon after their first publication. Remaining largely unknown, their absence created empty space that later readers filled with their own views about the conditions of production and reception of the tales.

What their authors had to say about “Puss in Boots,” “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Rapunzel,” among many other fairy tales, is collected here for the first time, newly translated and accompanied by rich annotations. Also included are revealing commentaries from the authors’ literary contemporaries.

As a whole, these forewords, afterwords, and critical words directly address issues that inform the contemporary study of European fairy tales, including traditional folkloristic concerns about fairy tale origins and performance, as well as questions of literary aesthetics and historical context.

“There are many multifaceted gems in this collection and they will prove rewarding reading for those working with European fairy tales.” — Maria Tatar, editor of The Classic Fairy Tales: Texts, Criticism

Ruth B. Bottigheimer teaches European fairy tales and British children’s literature at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. She is the author of several books, including Fairy Tales: A New History, also published by SUNY Press, and Fairy Godfather: Straparola, Venice, and the Fairy Tale Tradition.

Table of Contents:

I. An Introduction to Fairy Tales and the Boccaccian Literary Model

1. An Introduction to Fairy Tales

2. Giovanni Boccaccio, The Genealogy of the Pagan Gods (begun circa 1350)

II. Fairy Tales in Italy: Early Authors, Theorists, and Critics

3. The Literary Fairy Tale in Italy

4. Giovan Francesco Straparola, The Pleasant Nights (1551, 1553)

5. Andrea Calmo, “Letter to Signora Frondosa” (1556)

6. Girolamo Bargagli, Dialogue on Games That Are Played during the Sienese Veglie (1572, written 1563)

7. Giambattista Basile, The Tale of Tales (Dedication for Day 1, 1634)

8. Girolamo Brusoni, The Glories of the Incogniti, Or the Illustrious Men of the Academy of the “Unknown Gentlemen” (1647)

9. Pompeo Sarnelli, Foreword to Giambattista Basile’s Pentamerone (1674) and Foreword to An Outing to Posillipo (1684)

10. Bartolomeo Lupardi, “Dedicatory Letter to Signor Giuseppe Spada” (1679)

11. Maddalena and Teresa Manfredi, and Teresa and Angiola Zanotti, The Gossip on the Chair (1742)

12. Ferdinando Galiani, On the Neapolitan Dialect (1779)

13. Luigi Serio, The Fart. Response to On the Neapolitan Dialect (1780)

III. Fairy Tales in France: Establishing non

14. Fairy Tales and Fairyland Fictions in France

15. Charles Perrault, Griselda, Novella, with the Tale of Donkeyskin and That of the Ridiculous Wishes. Fourth Edition (1695)

16. Charles Perrault, Tales of My Mother Goose (1695)

17. Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier, Diverse Works (1696)

18. Catherine Bernard, “Prince Rosebush” and “Ricky of Tuft” in Inès of Cordova: A Spanish Novel (1696)

19. Mercure galant, Extract from The History of the Marquise / Marquis of Banneville (September 1696)

20. Charles Perrault, Histories, or Tales of Past Times (1697) Licence

21. [Editor] Mercure galant, Presentation of Histories, or Tales of Past Times (January 1697)

22. Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, Tales of the Fairies (1697) and New Tales, or The Fashionable Fairies (1698)

23. Charlotte Rose de La Force, “Notice Concerning the Following Story” in
The Tales of the Tales (1698)

24. Henriette Julie de Murat, Sublime and Allegorical Histories (1699)

25. Abbé Pierre de Villiers, Conversations about the Contes de Fées and some other works of our time, to serve as an antidote to bad taste, dedicated to the gentlemen of the Académie Française (1699)

26. Antoine Galland, Thousand and One Nights. Arab Tales Translated into French (1704-1717)

Works Cited
Contributors
Index

Amy Adams' fairy-tale return in "Into the Woods"

From Amy Adams' fairy-tale return in "Into the Woods" by Jessica Turgeon:

Returning for another stage performance, the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine Brothers Grimm fairy tale, "Into the Woods," is set to play this summer at Central Park's Delacorte Theatre as part of the Public Theatre's summer series.

As Mark Kennedy of the Huffington Post said, after a few of her popular musical movies, actress Amy Adams will be "returning to fairy tales, starring opposite Cinderella and a witch." After a few bouts of the musical bug, the three-time Academy Award nominee will be playing the role of the Baker's Wife this summer. This role was originated by Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason who, Mark Snetiker tells Entertainment Weekly, is coincidentally also a redhead. ***

Sondheim's "Into the Woods" debuted in 1986 at the Old Globe in San Diego, California, moving on to "Broadway the next year, where it won multiple Tony Awards. This upcoming performance of the fairy-tale musical will also feature actors Jack Broderick as the Narrator, Jessie Mueller as Cinderella, Gideon Glick as Jack, Ivan Hernandez, Cooper Grodin, and more. Playbill.com announced Wednesday that two-time Tony Award winner Donna Murphy will be playing the Witch, a role originated by Bernadette Peters in the 1987 Broadway production, and Vanessa Williams in the musical revival. A full cast list has not yet been released, and actors playing the Baker, Little Red, and the Mysterious Man are unknown at this time. Preview performances are set to begin July 23 and the show will run through the end of August.

I got to see the Vanessa Williams revival when I lived in Los Angeles about 10 years ago now. For fans of Adams, this should be a treat.

Fairy Tales in Stitches: Little Red's Pears

I happened across this one by accident since the title doesn't make as easy a reference to Little Red Riding Hood. But it is her and there's the wolf, too. The pears, well, I can't explain that. But perhaps there's a story there? This one is out of print, I found a copy at Cobweb Corner which I have not ordered from before myself.

New Release: Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott is released today.

Book description:

A powerful tale of magic, love, and revenge set in fairy-tale Japan.

Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form - a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother's new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama's kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.

The Book Rat had a great interview with Marriott earlier this week. This is Marriott's second fairy tale inspired novel. She previously wrote The Swan Kingdom and more pictured below.

   

Fairy Tales in Stitches: Fairy Tales by Miranda's Needle

Here are Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella in cross stitch as interpreted by Miranda's Needle. I don't know if there were more in this series. The reference sites on cross stitch patterns tend to only list what is for sale currently, whether out of print or currently in print. Finding comprehensive lists is difficult at best.