Fairie Tale Fettish

One of my book fettishes is fairy tale adapatations. I love it when an auther takes a traditional fairy tale, then modernizes it, gives it a new twist, puts in a different setting, etc. By far, the most adapted fairy tale I have found is Cinderella. The whole plot is just so easily applied to any time period and any setting. I just read a book called A Countess Below Stairs, by Eva Ibbotson. I wasn't expecting it to be a Cinderella plot book, but was delighted to find one of my beloved fairy tales retold. (Also, I was delighted by how refreshing a read it was. Yes, it is what I consider a romance novel, but it also contains adorable characters and has interesting things to say about social classes in a English manor house post-WWI.)

So, in an effort to give myself a reason to blog more, I may start posting a feature about fairy tales and their adaptations. I'm not sure of the format, or if I will be motivated to post with any sort of regularity, but I'll try it, at least for a little while. Ok, first post, Cinderella.

Note: Anything that sounds factual probably came from the Wikipedia article on Cinderella.

There are countless versions of this beloved fairy tale told in various ancient cultures across the globe, including Greco-Egyptian (possibly the earliest version), Chinese, Japanese, Arabian and Celtic. Though I always assumed that the Brothers Grimm fairie tale was the original European version, I learned that Charles Perrault had written his own version in 1697 (according to the Wikipedia article) and that an Italian version had been published even earlier. Perrault, though, was the one who added the pumpkin turning into a coach, the fairy godmother, and the glass slippers. Grimm's version, which I prefer because it's more gruesome, has birds (Aha! Here's where those friendly woodland creatures come from!) and a magic wishing tree instead of a fairy godmother, stepsisters that cut off various parts of their feet to fit into the shoes, and pigeons that peck people's eyes out. Good stuff.

My Top Five Favorite Adaptations:

Disclaimer: All of the following is my opinion. Keep in mind that I am a silly fangirl at heart. Hence, many of the versions I love and enjoy are silly and girly and have no substance.

-Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (Any of the three movie versions, also the stage musical)
-Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (the book, NOT the movie)
-A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
-The Brothers Grimm version
-Ever After (1998)

Honorable Mentions:
-The Glass Slipper (1955) starring Leslie Caron
-Faerie Tale Theatre's "Cinderella" (1985) with Jennifer Beals and Matthew Broderick
-Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
-The Slipper and the Rose (1976)
There are about a billion others. Check out the Wikipedia article here for more adaptations. Make a comment if you have a favorite that I simply must read/see. Or make a comment to suggest what fairie tale to do next.