Why am I passionate about this?

GK Chesterton reportedly said that "fairytales are more than true: not because they teach us that dragons are real, but because they teach us dragons can be beaten." This rings true to me; I've been fascinated by the darker side of fairytales since childhood, when I used them to escape and make sense of my own dark experiences. Stories that began as oral traditions are my favourite, a blend of entertainment for long nights around a fire, and cautionary tales that teach us to fear the wolf, and beware of that which seems too good to be true. Old stories teach us what it means to be human. I hope you enjoy these.


I wrote

Once Upon A Twisted Fairytale

By Victoria Pearson ,

Book cover of Once Upon A Twisted Fairytale

What is my book about?

What if Red Riding Hood's grandmother didn't want to be saved? What if Cinderella's prince was actually a bit of…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Whitby Witches

Victoria Pearson Why I love this book

As a child, one of my favourite stories, that went on to help shape my personal writing style, was The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis. As a care leaver I found the main characters, siblings who had been shunted between several foster homes because of the brother's psychic gift, relatable. The sister doesn't believe him - a brilliant source of conflict because all they have is each other, yet there's this huge wedge between them. But the best part is how well the author blends the magical with the mundane. There's a group of almost Lovecraftian creatures that can only be seen by those with The Sight, living alongside the villagers. I loved the idea of unseen people, just a shadow's width away, unknown things living side by side with a blissfully ignorant human populace. That contrast between the ordinary and fantastical had crept into a lot of my stories.

By Robin Jarvis ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Whitby Witches as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A glorious new edition of Robin Jarvis's classic and the inspiration for The Power of Dark and its sequels. Contains bonus material specially produced for this Egmont Modern Classics title.

When orphans Ben and Jennet arrive in the seaside town of Whitby to stay with Alice Boston, they have no idea what to expect. A lively 92-year-old, Miss Boston is unlike any other foster mother they've known.

Ben is gifted with 'the sight', which gives him the power to see things invisible to other mortals. He soon encounters the mysterious fisher folk who live under the cliffs and discovers that…


Book cover of Wyrd Sisters

Victoria Pearson Why I love this book

I was torn between recommending a few different Pratchett books, but Wyrd Sisters has a special place in my heart because although it isn't the first in the series, it was my first Discworld book. My grandma gifted it to me for Christmas when I was about ten, and I was transfixed by it, drank it down in just a few days, and was catapulted into the Discworld as an instant fan. Wyrd Sisters is a beautifully drawn satirisation of our world, wrapped in surrealist magic. I didn't appreciate it as deeply when I first read it, but I've returned to it many times - it's one of those books I've read to tattered shreds more than once - and noticed first the references to Shakespeare's Macbeth, then the classical fairytale elements, the cleverly worded puns and jokes. Each time I return to a Pratchett book I discover something new, a different perspective I haven't seen in it before. The characters went on to feel like lifelong friends, and Wyrd Sisters is one of my absolute favourite comfort books.

By Terry Pratchett ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Wyrd Sisters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Destiny is important, see, but people go wrong when they think it controls them. It's the other way around.'

Three witches gathered on a lonely heath. A king cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. A child heir and the royal crown, both missing.

Witches don't have these kinds of leadership problems themselves - in fact, they don't have leaders.

Granny Weatherwax is the most highly regarded of the leaders they don't have. But even she finds that meddling in royal politics is a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe. Particularly when the blood…


Ad

Book cover of The Flight to Brassbright

The Flight to Brassbright by Lori Alden Holuta,

Constance is a wild, stubborn young girl growing up poor in a small industrial town in the late 1800's. Beneath her thread-worn exterior beats the heart of a dreamer and a wordsmith. But at age twelve, she’s orphaned. Running away to join the circus—like kids do in adventure books—seems like…

Book cover of Undine

Victoria Pearson Why I love this book

As a teen, I'd visit my aunt, in her flat above a laundrette. The flat had a small attic room with a little window and a few old boxes of junk. My cousins and sister and I would play up there, or sit up there telling ghost stories, because it was one of those unclaimed spaces, overlooked by adults, that children colonise. A liminal space almost, where adult rules and laws don't quite apply and therefore magic can happen. One day I was snooping up there and found a beautiful copy of  Friedrich De La Motte's Undine, illustrated by Arthur Rackham. It was so stunningly beautiful, it felt like a book that had been plucked out of some fairytale land. I lost myself in the illustrations or weeks before I even read the words. And when I did my heart broke for Undine, who loved so hard, but left her fragile heart in the hands of a boy who carelessly dropped it. It was the first story that taught me a fairytale doesn't have to have a happily ever after, and I've been in love with dark fairytales with bleak endings ever since.

By Friedrich de la Motte Fouquée , Arthur Rackham (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Undine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Undine is a fairy-tale novella, written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (1777 – 1843). A true classic of the genre, it tells the story of Undine (a water spirit), who marries a knight named Huldebrand in order to gain a soul. It is an early German romance, which has subsequently been translated into English and many other languages. It was immensely popular on its initial publication in the nineteenth century, with The Times in 1843 describing it as ‘a book which, of all others, if you ask for it at a foreign library, you are sure to find engaged’.…


Book cover of The Fourth Bear

Victoria Pearson Why I love this book

The Fourth Bear is possibly too light to be included in a list of dark fairytales, but the main character is a classic, almost noir type detective, so maybe it's ok. Nursery Crime Division, to be exact. I think Jasper Fforde may be to blame for my desire to write Jack and the Beanstalk as a dark gritty courtroom drama (maybe one day!), he blends genres together so seamlessly, and I long to be able to do it as well as he does. There's a terrifying serial killer on the loose, and I was as on the edge of my seat as I am with any thriller, even though I knew that killer was The Gingerbread Man. It follows the plot of a standard police procedural/thriller, while including Punch and Judy, Goldilocks, an illegal porridge ring, and a murderous biscuit....or is The Gingerbread Man a cake? I absolutely adore the mix of genres and tones in this book, and it very much influences how I write my own stories.

By Jasper Fforde ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Fourth Bear as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Return to the world of the Nursery Crime Division in this novel from Jasper Fforde, the New York Times bestselling author of the Thursday Next series and The Constant Rabbit

The inimitable Jasper Fforde gives readers another delightful mash-up of detective fiction and nursery rhyme, returning to those mean streets where no character is innocent. The Gingerbreadman-sadist, psychopath, cookie-is on the loose in Reading, but that's not who Detective Jack Spratt and Sergeant Mary Mary are after. Instead, they've been demoted to searching for missing journalist "Goldy" Hatchett. The last witnesses to see her alive were the reclusive Three Bears,…


Ad

Book cover of The Exiled Queen

The Exiled Queen by Roxana Arama,

She spent years following the path reserved for highborn men. When she’s thrust back into a subservient role, how will she forge her own destiny?

When Princess Andrada tries to become the heir to her father’s throne, she fails and is sentenced to death. To avoid execution, her father marries…

Book cover of Snow, Glass, Apples

Victoria Pearson Why I love this book

Snow, Glass, Apples is my all-time favourite Gaiman story, which is quite staggering given how much of his work I adore, but I'd only seen it in short story form before, in Smoke and Mirrors. Then I was given a copy of just Snow Glass, Apples, illustrated by Colleen Doran. The artwork is stunning, beautifully dark with a tight palette and rich, intricate detailing. Every page is a work of art, allowing you to linger and slowly digest the tale as it unfolds. This story is a huge influence for me, in particular for my collection Once Upon A Twisted Fairytale, because it flips the story of Snow White on its head. All of the elements of the traditional tale - the huntsman, the stepmother queen, the dwarves, the glass coffin - are there, but put together from the perspective of the queen, totally changing the story. I love to play with who is narrating a story, seeing how that changes the motivations, the moral theme, the feel of it, and the shape of it. Thanks to Gaiman I've written a great many new twists on old fairytales, but I've never done it so masterfully as this.

By Neil Gaiman , Colleen Doran (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Snow, Glass, Apples as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2020 Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel!

A chilling fantasy retelling of the Snow White fairy tale by New York Times bestselling creators Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran!

A not-so-evil queen is terrified of her monstrous stepdaughter and determined to repel this creature and save her kingdom from a world where happy endings aren't so happily ever after.

From the Hugo, Bram Stoker, Locus, World Fantasy, Nebula award-winning, and New York Times bestselling writer Neil Gaiman (American Gods) comes this graphic novel adaptation by Colleen Doran (Troll Bridge)!


Explore my book 😀

Once Upon A Twisted Fairytale

By Victoria Pearson ,

Book cover of Once Upon A Twisted Fairytale

What is my book about?

What if Red Riding Hood's grandmother didn't want to be saved? What if Cinderella's prince was actually a bit of a creep? What exactly was Prince Charming doing kissing a girl he found in a coffin anyway? Find out why you should always be careful what you wish for, why you shouldn't trust Hansel and Gretel just because they look sweet, and why you really don't want to displease Mr. Elffe.

Grab some iron to protect you from the Shining Ones, some salt to throw in the face of the fairies, and see what happened once upon a twisted fairytale...

Book cover of The Whitby Witches
Book cover of Wyrd Sisters
Book cover of Undine

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,352

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 You might also like…

Book cover of Broken Mirror

Broken Mirror by Cody Sisco,

A fractured mind or a global conspiracy? Uncovering the truth can be hell when nobody believes you… and you can’t even trust yourself. 

"A fantastic science fiction thriller with a sincere and important message.”—Kirkus Reviews. 

“A breathtaking, deeply dark alternate-history Earth with complex characters, layered worldbuilding, and twist after twist…

Book cover of Last Ship Off Polaris-G

Last Ship Off Polaris-G by Carol Van Natta,

Planetary blockades. Rampant viral outbreaks. Can two ex-lovers forge a path through the stars to save their world? 

Independent trader Gavril Danilovich is slowly slipping into madness. Stuck in quarantine on a dying planet, his raw talent to feel everyone’s emotions has him wrestling with waves of terror and rage.…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in fairy tales, nursery rhyme, and Snow White?

Fairy Tales 321 books
Nursery Rhyme 22 books
Snow White 13 books