(Books about) Escaping the Tower
I was so excited to see how the Italians get cannibalism into this story, and I was not disappointed. The witch in ‘Angiola’ is going to eat the girl who steals from her garden, and of course gets the thief’s firstborn child instead as compensation (which she also threatens to eat). Yay!
I also wasn’t expecting the dog-headed moment in that story (for escaping, Angiola is cursed by the witch and given a dog’s face, so the prince can’t marry her). That was a surprise. I love learning things. It’s not the same thing as cynocephaly, exactly, but I fell into that rabbit hole recently when looking for some inspiration for werewolf-related stuff, although they are not themselves werewolves.
But now, I’m thinking about how cool it would be to have a Rapunzel story where she gets a werewolf curse because she chose life outside the tower.
I hadn’t really read many Rapunzel versions, but they are a lot of fun. Here’s the Grimm brothers’ versions side by side, 1812 and 1857 – this is the version most people know, and the one Tangled is based on. But in the Grimms’ version, the witch sends Rapunzel (pregnant by the prince) out into the wilderness alone, and tells the prince that he’ll never see her again. The prince despairs, throws himself out of the tower window and is blinded by the thorns at the tower base. Blinded, he wanders the wilderness and eventually finds Rapunzel and her twin babies (his) living miserably together. Rapunzel’s tears fall on his eyes, and heal him.
Rapunzel, or rampion, is not the only salad plant that the protagonist’s mother craves. There’s parsley, too, and fruit – and the child is not always named after what’s been stolen. So if you want a retelling that isn’t constrained by salad, there are plenty of options.
Here are a few versions of this tale (type 310), and how it differs across Europe (and the Philippines) – here’s a timeline of when they were all recorded, and here is a list of the tales themselves:
The Brothers’ Grimm versions side by side: 1812 and 1857, for comparison. Parsley/Petrosinella (Italy) – it’s an ogress, not a witch, in this one!The Fair Angiola (Italy) – not only does the witch threaten to eat people, but when the prince rescues Angiola, she turns Angiola’s face into a dog’s face, so the prince can’t marry her or take her home to meet his parents. The witch has a little pet dog she loves, and the dog also loves Angiola – so the dog mediates and the witch lifts the spell. Prunella (Italy) – if you guessed plums, instead of salad, you guessed right! BUT this one has Bensiabel, the son of the witch, and he helps poor Prunella succeed in the tasks the witch, his mother, sets her while she is held hostage. Bensiabel helps her in exchange for a kiss – although Prunella never gives him one, and he helps her anyway – and eventually she gets over the fact he’s the witch’s son and they live happily ever after, I guess?Parsinette (France) – if you read French, it’s here. This seems to be the Brothers’ Grimm version, where she has a craving for parsley that kicks everything off. Parsillette (France) – in this version, Parsillette’s first lover reacts badly when all her gifts from her fairy godmothers are taken away (her ability to speak different languages, her great beauty, her fine clothes etc), so she realises he’s not the one for her, and decides to go back to the tower to say sorry to her fairy godmothers for sneaking off. And the first guy is struck dead immediately. She goes back, but her godmother no longer keeps her locked up as she clearly has more common sense than to stay with worthless, shallow wastrels, and eventually she meets and marries a wealthy prince. Yay. Blond Beauty (France) – another one where her godmother (fairy variety) curses her for her disobedience, and turns her into a frog. She does get her beauty back, and ends up winning half the kingdom. Juan and Clotilde (Philippines) – this one is great, and has fiendish magician who locks the king’s daughter Clotilde in a tower along with three magical horses, so that nobody can get her back. Cue the hero! RecommendationsI didn’t get a lot of these, but here are a handful of some recommended Rapunzel stories! If you’d like to explore more for yourselves, a list of Rapunzel retellings is on GoodReads. Here’s another list! There is an interesting article on Queering “Happily Ever After” by Barbara Curatolo that is free to access here. Book Riot has a wonderful list of diverse retellings of multiple fairytales, which you should check out alongside these! Epic Reads has this great list of YA queer retellings that’s also worth a look.
Wane and Wax by Devan Barlow – NEW RELEASE! It’s free to read online with Electric Spec Volume 19, Issue 1.
CW: disordered eating
Braided: A Lesbian Rapunzel by Elora Bishop – Zelda is cursed to spend her days on a platform in an ancient, holy tree, growing her hair long enough to touch the ground. But it wasn’t her curse to bear: Gray, the witch’s daughter, was meant for that lonely fate. Gray visits Zelda each day, mourning their switched fates, and falling deeper in love with the cursed girl, until one night, at the Not-There Fair, an extraordinary creature outlines a magical plan that could set both of them free. Will Gray’s love for Zelda be strong enough to survive the strange dream world of Chimera, or will Zelda remain a prisoner of the curse forever?
The novella BRAIDED is the lesbian retelling of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel. It is part of the series SAPPHO’S FABLES: LESBIAN FAIRY TALES.
The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake – Luke can uncross almost any curse—they unravel themselves for him like no one else. So working for the Kovrovs, one of the families controlling all the magic in New York, is exciting and dangerous, especially when he encounters the first curse he can’t break. And it involves Jeremy, the beloved, sheltered prince of the Kovrov family—the one boy he absolutely shouldn’t be falling for.
Jeremy’s been in love with cocky, talented Luke since they were kids. But from their first kiss, something’s missing. Jeremy’s family keeps generations of deadly secrets, forcing him to choose between love and loyalty. As Luke fights to break the curse, a magical, citywide war starts crackling, and it’s tied to Jeremy.
This might be the one curse Luke can’t uncross. If true love’s kiss fails, what’s left for him and Jeremy?
The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores – A queer Rapunzel retelling where a witch and a vampire who trust no one but themselves must journey together through a cursed forest with danger at every turn.
Ava and Kaye used to be best friends. Until one night two years ago, vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting their town, and in the ensuing attack, Kaye’s mother was killed, and Ava was turned into a vampire. Since then, Ava has been trapped in her house. Her mother Eugenia needs her: Ava still has her witch powers, and Eugenia must take them in order to hide that she’s a vampire as well. Desperate to escape her confinement and stop her mother’s plans to destroy the town, Ava must break out, flee to the forest, and seek help from the vampires who live there. When there is another attack, she sees her opportunity and escapes.
Kaye, now at the end of her training as a Flame witch, is ready to fulfill her duty of killing any vampires that threaten the town, including Ava. On the night that Ava escapes, Kaye follows her and convinces her to travel together into the forest, while secretly planning to turn her in. Ava agrees, hoping to rekindle their old friendship, and the romantic feelings she’d started to have for Kaye before that terrible night.
But with monstrous trees that devour humans whole, vampires who attack from above, and Ava’s stepfather tracking her, the woods are full of danger. As they travel deeper into the forest, Kaye questions everything she thought she knew. The two are each other’s greatest threat—and also their only hope, if they want to make it through the forest unscathed.
Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth – The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love
French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens…
After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.
Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.
Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.
The Stone Cage by Nicholas Stuart Grey – A retelling of Rapunzel, told by Tomlyn, the cat, apprentice to Mother Gothel, the witch who kept the maiden in a stone cage at the top of a tall stone tower.
Nicholas Stuart Grey (1912-1981) was an actor, author and playwright who presented as a man from the 1930s and underwent medical transition in 1959 – as an actor, his preferred role was a cat, which was often a self-insert character in his stories. He played the Cat role in Puss in Boots and in adaptations of his own plays.
Rumaysa: A Fairytale by Radiya Hafiza – This funny and empowering story weaves together three classic fairytales into one new adventure with an unusual structural twist: Rumaysa is a Muslim girl who lets her hijab down from a tall tower in order to escape. Set in a magical version of South Asia, Rumaysa explores enchanted forests and dragon lairs, teaming up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara along the way to create a strong sense of sisterhood.
Middle Grade story for younger readers, with a sequel: Rumaysa: Ever After.
Lehua by Leialoha Humpherys – “I had to get out of there, because if I didn’t find an escape, then who would?”
Lehua always believed people despised her. It was the only way she could explain why the villagers of Hilo sent her from one home to the next. She never lived in one place, until a powerful mo’o, a woman from the legendary Hawaiian gecko race, trapped her deep in the heights of Waiakea.
When the handsome king of Hilo tries to help her escape, a terrible curse falls upon him. Lehua must escort him to the palace for help, even as she yearns to run away from the Big Island of Hawai‘i.
But as she spends more time with the king, her desire to escape the island begins to fade, and she sees that maybe she was wrong about people all along. Maybe people were better than she thought. When her moment to leave finally arrives, will she follow the new feelings in her heart, or choose the narrative she always believed?
Lehua is inspired by the story of Rapunzel, as well as Hawaiian mythology, folklore, and culture. Fans of clean romance and happily ever afters will be moved by Lehua, the first book in The Enchanted Hawai‘i Collection, a fairy tale retelling series set in ancient Hawaii.
“The Golden Rope” by Tanith Lee, a short story (1983) in the collection Red as Blood, or Tales from Sisters Grimmer.
How would it be if Snow White were the real villain & the wicked queen just a sadly maligned innocent? What if awakening the Sleeping Beauty should be the mistake of a lifetime–of several lifetimes? What if the famous folk tales were retold with an eye to more horrific possibilities?
Only Tanith Lee could do justice to it. In RED AS BLOOD, she displays her soaring imagination at its most fantastically mischievous. Not for nothing was the title story named as a Nebula nominee. Not for nothing was the author of THE BIRTHGRAVE & THE STORM LORD called by New York’s Village Voice, “Goddess-Empress of the Hot Read.”
Here are the world-famous tales of such as the Brothers Grimm as they might have been retold by the Sisters Grimmer! Fairy tales for children? Not on your life!
Another recommended Tanith Lee story is “Open Your Window, Golden Hair”, which is more horror, and found in her collection Redder than Blood.
In her World Fantasy Award-nominated short story collection, Red as Blood, Tanith Lee deconstructed familiar fairy tales, recapturing their original darkness and horror in haunting new interpretations. Behind gilded words and poised princesses, she exposed a sinister world of violence, madness, and dangerous enchantments.
With Redder than Blood, Lee resumes the tradition of twisting tales. Among its nineteen tales, this volume explores unnerving variations of Beauty and the Beast, The Frog Prince, Snow White, and other classics, including three never-before-published stories.
“Erana” by Robin McKinley, in the short story collection A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories. This is based on the Prunella folktale version, I think, where the witch has a son.
1 Lily. She has the power to heal, but no speech – until a mage hears words from her mind.
2 Ruen. The princess was abandoned by her uncle deep in a cave to die at the hands of a stagman – who will surprise fate.
3 Erana. Given as a babe to a witch, raised beside the witch’s troll son, she learns love comes in many forms.
4 Coral. The lovely newcomer consents to marry an older widower who soon wonders why she wants to live at Butter Hill Farm.
5 Annabelle. In the attic of their new house, the teen finds a knot that leads her on a magical mission.
Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsin Muir – When the witch built the forty-flight tower, she made very sure to do the whole thing properly. Each flight contains a dreadful monster, ranging from a diamond-scaled dragon to a pack of slavering goblins. Should a prince battle his way to the top, he will be rewarded with a golden sword—and the lovely Princess Floralinda.
But no prince has managed to conquer the first flight yet, let alone get to the fortieth.
In fact, the supply of fresh princes seems to have quite dried up.
And winter is closing in on Floralinda…
Next Time:Rapunzel tales in film!
I think our last tale will be Cinderella, and then I will pause this series!
It’s been a lot of fun and I’m excited for the last one. Catch up on the whole series in the “Essays and Series” page.
