Books based on fairy tales and folktales have a special place in my heart. There are so many of these beautifully re-imagined stories or fun and inventive twists on well-worn tales that it’s hard to pick a favorite.
I tend to prefer books written with an adult audience in mind, and I was surprised that I couldn’t find a proper list of fairy-tale retellings that weren’t YA books. Don’t get me wrong, I love plenty of YA fairytale retellings and have read scores of them in the past, but here’s my list of the best fairy tale and folk tale retelling (for adults)!
If you know of any more good ones, please do drop a comment!
P.S. For more retellings, check out Books Based on Mythology, Myths and Legends
The Snow Child Eowyn Ivey
What It's About:
Publication Date: February 1, 2012
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Bloody Chamber Angela Carter
What It's About:
Publication Date: January 1, 1990
out of 5 on Goodreads
Boy, Snow, Bird Helen Oyeyemi
What It's About:
Publication Date: March 6, 2014
out of 5 on Goodreads
Gingerbread Helen Oyeyemi
What It's About:
Publication Date: March 5, 2019
out of 5 on Goodreads
All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother Danielle Teller
What It's About:
Publication Date: May 22, 2018
out of 5 on Goodreads
Confessions of an Ugly Sister Gregory Maguire
What It's About:
Publication Date: October 3, 2000
out of 5 on Goodreads
Wicked Gregory Maguire
What It's About:
Publication Date: November 28, 2000
out of 5 on Goodreads
Cinnamon and Gunpowder Eli Brown
What It's About:
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
out of 5 on Goodreads
Deathless Catherynne M. Valente
What It's About:
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Bear and the Nightingale Katherine Arden
What It's About:
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Girl in the Tower Katherine Arden
What It's About:
Publication Date: December 5, 2017
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Winter of the Witch Katherine Arden
What It's About:
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
out of 5 on Goodreads
Unbury Carol Josh Malerman
What It's About:
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Girl in Red Christina Henry
What It's About:
Publication Date: June 18, 2019
out of 5 on Goodreads
While Beauty Slept Elizabeth Blackwell
What It's About:
Publication Date: February 20, 2014
out of 5 on Goodreads
Bitter Greens Kate Forsyth
What It's About:
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Wild Girl Kate Forsyth
What It's About:
Publication Date: July 22, 2013
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Beast's Garden Kate Forsyth
What It's About:
Publication Date: February 18, 2024
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Big Over Easy Jasper Fforde
What It's About:
Publication Date: July 25, 2006
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Fourth Bear Jasper Fforde
What It's About:
Publication Date: August 3, 2006
out of 5 on Goodreads
Children of Blood and Bone Tomi Adeyemi
What It's About:
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
out of 5 on Goodreads
Beauty Susan Wilson
What It's About:
Publication Date: February 10, 1997
out of 5 on Goodreads
The Book of Lost Things John Connolly
What It's About:
Publication Date: November 7, 2006
out of 5 on Goodreads
Gods of Jade and Shadow Silvia Moreno-Garcia
What It's About:
Publication Date: July 23, 2019
out of 5 on Goodreads
I couldn’t agree more on The Bear and The Nightingale!! It’s so good!
Thanks for this magical list – I’ve added a good few to my tbr pile 😊 (And agree the Bear and the Nightingale Winternight Trilogy is just amazing!)
Love this! I think so many times retellings come from the YA world, so I’m loving this list!
What a fantastic list! I love a good retelling too!
What a fantastic list! I love a good retelling too!
Wow! 😍 I look forward to reading The Bear and the Nightingale soon.
Have you read Till They Have Faces? An adaptation of the Cupid and Psyche tale. I was blown away by it.
oooo that sounds really interesting, I’ll have to look into it!
I was making a list of books to read and came across this. But I only counted 24. Is one missing?