The Rose in Twelve Petals

by Theodora Goss

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Ebooks, Fairy Tales

59 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Theodora Goss was born in Hungary and spent her childhood in various European countries before her family moved to the United States, where she completed a PhD in English literature. She is the World Fantasy and Locus Award-winning author of the short story and poetry collections In the Forest of Forgetting (2006), Songs for Ophelia (2014), and Snow White Learns Witchcraft (2019), as well as novella The Thorn and the Blossom (2012), debut novel The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (2017), and sequels European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (2018) and The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl (2019). She has been a finalist for the Nebula, Crawford, Seiun, and Mythopoeic Awards, as well as on the Tiptree Award Honor List. Her work has been translated into thirteen languages. She teaches literature and writing at Boston University and in the Stonecoast MFA Program.

Reviews

[Carrie Irick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this a Sleeping Beauty retelling, it’s a THEODORA GOSS Sleeping Beauty retelling. And I’ll read anything that woman writes.

[Sharon Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theodora Goss' prose reads more like poetry than story. Filled with imagery and emotion, the writing contained within the pages takes you somewhere other, though I could not give you a single quote to capture the experience. You have to read the whole.
"A Rose in Twelve Petals" was enough to entice my imagination further down the collection's path. My favorite piece was "Lily, With Clouds." I recently read a story that spoke about people changing into someone they always were. The story of Lily took me back to that thought and how we should all be so lucky as to find new ways of seeing what is right in front of us.
"Her Mother's Ghost" is an illusive muse, I think, deliberately drawn in a way that mutes its colors so we can paint the picture for ourselves. So, you see, it initially seemed a harmless collection of fairy work, but I found it to be a portal beyond the surface of things --capable of conjuring magic, darkness, and healing.