Five sisters. Tati, the beautiful one, destined to fall in love with a man lost to the fairies. Jena, the sensible one, who searches for her own destiny as she tries to hold all the threads of her family’s life together. Iulia, the romantic one. Paula, the scholar. And Stela, the youngest.
Every full moon, the sisters slip through the secret portal in the bedchamber of their Transylvanian castle home, Piscul Dracului, and over the lake to dance among the fairy folk in the Other Kingdom.
Julliet Marillier‘s young adult fantasy novel, Wildwood Dancing, is based on the german fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses, recorded by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812. Several Central European versions already existed at the time. It’s also known as The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes and The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces.
Marillier’s novel is a close retelling of the original tale that weaves in other elements of folklore. An enchanted prince. Vampires, called Night People in the novel. A magic mirror. And a witch of the woods who can help or harm depending on how she is treated by those who encounter her. The result is a rich, enchanting tale that makes you want to slip away to the Other Kingdom at the next full moon.
But beware. A journey to Faerie is not without peril. You must always be on your guard against fairy tricks. Fairy folk are fond of testing humans. And you must never eat anything offered there or you will be trapped forever.
The Grimm story tells of twelve beautiful princesses. Although they sleep in a locked bedchamber, their shoes are always found worn through the next morning, as if they had been out all night dancing. The king offers one of his daughters as a reward to the man who can discover the truth.
A soldier, who is given an invisibility cloak, follows the sisters across a lake to a magic castle where the princesses dance all night long. He follows the girls for three nights, taking souvenirs from the Other Kingdom as proof for the king. He solves the mystery and marries the eldest daughter, becoming king himself.
Other modern retellings include Jessica Day George’s young adult fantasy Princess of the Midnight Ball and Diane Zahler’s middle grade fantasy The Thirteenth Princess.
The story lends itself well to darker retellings as well as romantic ones. Perhaps young men and women are lured into the Other Kingdom to dance for the Faerie Queen’s pleasure. Perhaps someone must seek amongst the dancers for a lost love. Or maybe the Other Kingdom is a birthright that must be reclaimed by fairy folk exiled in the human world and raised as human. Perhaps…
What possibilities do you see in The Twelve Dancing Princesses? Have you read Juliet Marillier’s Wildwood Dancing? What do you think of her version of the tale?
I loved Marillier’s version! I thought it was beautifully written and I enjoyed the characters. I also liked her sequel with Paula in Cybele’s Secret. I just read another version, Entwined by Heather Dixon. It included the part about the king offering a reward for anyone who could discover where the girls snuck off to dance.
I loved Cybele’s Secret too. I haven’t read Entwined. I’ll have to check it out.
Oh, I haven’t yet read any of those, but I’ll definitely will! I love fairy tales, and magics, and those fantasy and other-worldly books! I’m glad you mentioned this one.
I have not read it yet but I am on my way over to Amazon now, it sounds great. Thanks for the post about it.
I love Marillier’s books! I think my favourite still have to be the Child of the Prophecy trilogy though, I was hooked from ‘Daughter of the Forest’ and never looked back. I think I’ve read almost all of her books, and Wildwood Dancing was equally as fascinating as the others
Marillier is such a great storyteller. I love the Bridei series too.
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