I received a free e-book copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Yolen's Emerald Circus is a collection of short stories, many of which were inspired by books for children, legends (the Arthurian myth) or lives of writers. There is, for example, a story about Hans Christian Andersen, another about Emily Dickinson, a re-telling of what happened to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz series, three (3) stories inspired by Alice in Wonderland. (Seriously. Three Alice stories. Honestly, that is two too many and that is if I am being generous.)

It is a very readable collection; the stories are very well written and compelling, drawing the reader in. My major overall complaint is that I wish many of them were longer, as it often seemed that a particular idea had more to give - for example, in "Lost Girls", a story about a girl who goes to the Neverland and becomes one of the "Wendys". But even though I wouldn't mind it being longer, "Lost Girls" might have been my favourite and I am not surprised that it received a Nebula award. I was less fond of the other Nebula award winner, "Sister Emily's Lightship", which has Emily Dickinson meet an alien-- maybe I would have enjoyed it more had I not read Connie Willis's "A Soul Selects Her Own Society", which deals with a similar subject? Admittedly, it seems that the stories concerning real-life writers were the least interesting to me, with "The Bird" - about Edgar Alan Poe - being perhaps my least favourite.

To go back to the high points of the collection, in addition to "Lost Girls", I would mention "Jewel in the Toad Queen's Crown", an odd story about Disraeli and Queen Victoria, "A Knot of Toads", about a scholar discovering her father's work on magic, and "Our Lady of the Green Wood", a tale about newborn Robin of Locksley. All of them were captivating and highly enjoyable. "Blown Away", the aforementioned Dorothy story, was also interesting for diverting from source material / treating it in a much more mature way than some other stories contained here would.

Overall, I think this is a collection worth reading, if a little uneven. Still, I am happy I had a chance to read it and I think I would next like to try one of Yolen's novels.

This book is so much fun for anyone looking for something that takes you’re favorite fairy tales or even classic literary authors and gives them a new twist!

The collection itself is filled with enough variation that if you don’t care too much for one of the stories you can skip ahead and not let it diminish your overall reading experience, and in my case when I got to the novellas featuring tales I’ve never heard of it was fun to read this interpretation before going off to google the original on my own when it was finished.

My favorite story is that of Wendy and the lost girls taken from her 1998 novella, I would take an entire full length novel dedicated to those characters alone because it was so well done.

**thank you to netgalley for providing this book in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I really like a couple of the first stories, and I thought this collection was well on the way to 4 or 5 stars, but a lot of the later ones didn't really do it for me. Yolen definitely balanced original, creative thinking with homages to the original stories. I think this book is worth picking up particularly for the feminist take on Peter Pan ("Lost Girls), the The Gift of the Magi/Beauty and the Beast mashup ("The Gift of the Magicians"), the more realistic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story ("Blown Away"), and the several Alice's Adventures in Wonderland stories (particularly "Tough Alice"). An odd and intriguing collection!

First off I can say the cover of this book was why I got interested in it. It is so different and the bright green and yellow screams OZ! That being said, this story collection was really hit and miss for me, but introduced me to a new author I'll definitely be trying again. While I expected to not love everything within a story collection, let us be honest they can't all be winners; the major issue for me was that there were stories that I did not recognize, and I felt that you had to at least have an idea of the original in order to make sense of the retelling. Though I am sure that many others will know and recognize all of these I cannot say I was familiar with everyone. For those which I did not know, I found it hard to stay motivated, particularly when they came one after another. But I am glad I stuck with it, since I did always come across another which I would thoroughly enjoy! Inspired by classic literature and folk stories, Yolen puts her spin on everything from Peter Pan to Alice in Wonderland. The great thing about this collection is that each story felt different from the last and it was fun to see where her next inspiration would come from. I would not discourage anyone from reading this book, it is well written, imaginative, and a fun way to revisit some old fairy tales and fantasy stories.

The short stories in this were so refreshing: to be able to finish a story quickly on short journeys and not worry about having to remember what had happened when you stopped reading was great.

Lost Girls was my favourite - it switched up the story of Peter Pan, and painted a totally different picture of the goings on in Neverland, which I loved.

The little summary at the end of the book which explained where she came up with the ideas for the short stories was a great addition. It helped you if you didn't understand what story the plot came from (as I couldn't tell for a few of them) and also showed you her inspirations.

Overall, a great book, and I'll definitely be reading more short-story compilations in the future!

This is a collection of stories and poetry that has been published before. I enjoyed reading it as I have not read that much of her writing due to the fact that I usually find those books sold out. I like that there are re-imagining classic stories besides fairy tales. It's been fun to read these as they have her earlier writings to current writings. The familiar stories are told from a different slant. I highly recommend reading this collection.

The Emerald Circus is a collection of short stories by Jane Yolen. I would say the majority if not all of them are aimed at adults. All are previously published with the exception of The Bird - a short story about Edgar Allan Poe. The tales themselves are mostly retellings or riffs on famous stories or people. Three of the stories are based on Alice in Wonderland. Some examples of inspiration for other stories are Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Emily Dickinson, and Hans Christian Andersen.

All of the stories are well written. The book includes an introduction by Holly Black. And at the end, there are notes about the stories and poems related to each of the stories. I found even these end notes enjoyable to read. They tell a little about each story and its origins. The poems are an added bonus.

I enjoyed all of the stories, but I have a few favorites: Andersen's Witch, Blown Away, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Evian Steel, and Sister Emily's Lightship. Each I enjoyed for different reasons. All of them had excellent prose. And for example, I felt the characterization of Emily Dickinson in Sister Emily's Lightship to be right on target even though it is a fantastical tale.

I gave this collection 5 out of 5 stars for the quality of the writing. While each was a riff based on another tale or person, I can say that I haven't read anything quite like them. And I love retellings and have read quite a lot of them.

This book is perfect for people who enjoy Jane Yolen's writing and people who enjoy retellings.

The Emerald Circus was published November 14, 2017 from Tachyon.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Jane Yolen is one of those authors that I grew up reading. I have fond memories of many books (Dragons blood my absolute favourite!) so was very eager to read this and boy, it doesn't disappoint! Tapping into the current (resurfaced) trend of alternative takes on popular tales, these short stories are a delight to read! Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

The Emerald Circus is a collection of short stories which I would call a reimagining of fairy tales. I often struggle to become invested with short stories and I found that was true in this case. While the reimagining was often very creative, it streamed a little too outside the box for me. I did enjoy the Lost Girls story that showed Peter Pan and Wendy in a different light.

This was my first time reading Jane Yolen’s short stories, but before was familiar with her longer works and her books for children. I knew her as a prolific writer, so I was drawn to read a new (to me) side of her work. Within a few stories I became aware of Yolen’s talent for creating a sense of place, but most especially her talent for creating a powerful narrative voice. Jumping quickly from short story to short story demonstrated her ability to get inside of her narrator, each story was told with a distinct voice that helped to shape every aspect of the world. I am hooked and intend to pick up more of her shorts in the future, in addition I want to reread a few of her novels and pay closer attention to her carefully constructed narrative voice.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The premise is amazing and I've been reading Jane Yolen books for awhile, but, for me, these sort of fell flat. I can understand how others would adore these, because some of them are fun and they are well-written, but this book just wasn't for me. I would still recommend it for those that are fans of fairy tales or fairy tale retellings. 3 out of 5 stars.

Enter the Emerald Circus and be astonished by the transformations of your favorite tales. Ringmaster and internationally bestselling author Jane Yolen (Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship) spins modern fantasy classics in tales that go well beyond Wonderland and Oz, down the rabbit hole and back again.

Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course! A girl blown away from Kansas returns as a sophisticate with unusual gymnastic abilities. A talented apprentice, forging her first sword, is suddenly left to the mercies of Merlin. Alice’s infamous nemesis has jaws and claws, but also lacks the essential: a sense of humor.

Witty and bold, and unexpected, these tales go well beyond the rabbit hole and back again.

Table of Contents

Andersen’s Witch - I enjoyed this one and it's rift on Hans Christian Andersen
Lost Girls - quite possibly my favorite of the whole book besides the reimaginings of Oz and Alice.
Tough Alice - LOVED IT!
Blown Away - LOVED IT!
A Knot of Toads - I was very surprised by this story but enjoyed it.
The Quiet Monk - not a standout for me as a reader
The Bird - quite mysterious, loved the Poe vibe!
Belle Bloody Merciless Dame - just okay for me
Jewel in the Toad Queen’s Crown - same, just okay not a favorite
A Gift of Magicians - not a standout for me as a reader
Rabbit Hole - another favorite.
Our Lady of the Greenwood - a spin on Robin Hood
The Confession of Brother Blaise - not a standout for me as a reader
Wonder Land - short but packs a punch.
Evian Steel - extremely intriguing and engaging, sort of a prequel to King Arthur
Sister Emily’s Lightship - Emily Dickinson!!!!

Overall, this was a well written collection of stories. Yolen is a master of her craft.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is the first time I have encountered Jane Yolen’s work and it was an interesting experience with regards to how to rework fairy tales in a novel way. Or maybe I should have said subvert, because there is a sense of an initially straightforward approach to some of the stories which turn into something wonderfully not right. In other tales the setup leaves you in great suspense (or anxiety) trying to work out where the words might be taking you.
My particular favourites were a retelling of Peter Pan and that righting wrongs has consequences that you might need to take responsibility for, and Hans Christian Andersen’s creative life.
Some of the stories feel huge in scope, because they take place over years, but fit into a relatively small word space. Yet the reader is not left feeling as if there is any urgency in this apparent lack of room for the writer to express herself creatively.
These stories will have a wide age range appeal and an older YA reader might find these stories a great transition into more conceptually complex adult fantasy/sci-fi books because there is a great deal about relationships within them, and a depth to the stories they can really get their teeth into.
This is a book to go back to for a writer so you can pull it apart and learn technique. For a reader, The Emerald Circus is just to be enjoyed for the clever way in which an old story can be presented anew, and just because the book is a good read.
One to keep.

This was a mixed bag. I've loved Jane Yolen ever since I read Briar Rose as a kid, so I was excited to read The Emerald Circus. Some stories were wonderful. Others felt like they'd been included just to pad out the page count. My ratings of individual stories would differ wildly from a perfect score to a single star rating, which brings the whole book to an average rating overall. Which is a shame, because the great stories like The Bird, Lost Girls, Tough Alice and Andersen's Witch all deserve to be read and I fear the overall rating of this collection will make people less likely to pick it up. I'd love to see this re-released with a bit more quality control on the full range of stories.

I received this collection of short stories from Net Galley, The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen. Many of the stories take familiar fairy tales or folk tales and give them a new spin, like the title story about Dorothy Gale of Kansas. There’s one about Wendy and the Lost Boys, one about Hans Christian Andersen, and one about Wonderland. But there are other stories too, about witches and parents and children and legends of old. I’m about halfway done and it’s been great to have something I’m really enjoying. I think I’ve read one or two of these stories before. I didn’t know this, but Yolen has written 300 books! Can you even believe that? I’m struggling to finish one!

I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts remain my own.

I'm grateful to the publisher for an advance e-copy of this book via NetGalley.

The title of this collection of short stories and poems alludes to the fourth, Blown Away, which is a reworking of The Wizard of Oz - or perhaps a prequel, sequel or accompaniment, featuring a Dorothy who, though blown away by a tornado, does not - or at she claims not - end up in the land of Oz the Great and Powerful but in a circus. When she returns to Kansas with many new skills it seems though as if she might as well have been whisked to that land of magic and illusion.

And so it is with most of the stories here. They present new insights, new takes, on a familiar fairy story or childhood classic. Sometimes, as with Andersen's Witch or Rabbit Hole, the creator is entangled with the creation, as we see the young boy Hans bargaining with a witch over his future, or Alice at the end of her life pondering what her attraction for Mr Dodgson was (genuinely unsettling, the end of this one).

Sometimes Yolen's take is implicit in the original story, once you look, that is, and then you wonder that no-one had joined the dots before. For example, in Lost Girls, we're shown Neverneverland from a distinctly feminist point of view, with Peter shown up for keeping the women cooking and cleaning while he and the other Boys have all the fun (and in so doing he misses something very significant about his world).

Yolen sometimes returns to a setting or a theme. As well as Rabbit Hole, there is Tough Alice in which her younger self is making one of what appear to be a series of visits. As well as the usual Carrollian Surrealism - a pig turning into pork loin and back again, Alice pondering, on seeing that the Caterpillar has gone fishing, whether he uses with worms or whether that would be "too much like using his own family for bait" - there is a darker strand, the need to battle the Jabberwock. Alice looks for a champion, but where will she find one?

A Knot of Toads is a rather different story. It's not a riff on fairy stories so much as a more straightforward take on a favourite author of mine, MR James. This is a tale of Janet, a 1930s scholar from Cambridge (of course) come home to settle her father's affairs in the remote Scottish town of St Monan's. Janet is estranged from her dad ("Father and I had broken so many fences - stones, dykes, stiles and all") but sis till troubled by his mysterious death and his writings about an unsettling encounter with a toad. In true Jamesian spirit he has meddled with something best left alone, and in true Jamesian spirit he recorded his doings in manuscript, for Janet to unravel. Of course Monty never wrote a female lead and as this nice little story observes the proper forms it dynamites their conventions, not least by bringing in a love interest. My favourite story in the collection.

The Quiet Monk is the first of several stories in this book with an Arthurian theme (but we never meet Arthur himself, of course). Set in Glastonbury in 1191, it features the opening up of a rather remarkable grave, and a brother who claims to have wandered long and who has stories to tell.

The Bird is the story of a raven, and Virginia, and a writer named Edgar - one of several stories in which, like Andersen's Witch or Sister Emily's Lightship (where Emily Dickinson has a strange encounter which shows her the whole world and how she can live in a narrow place) Yolen winds a little magic round a writer's life.

Belle Bloody Merciless Dame is an eerie and effective collision between a gritty Glasgow and the otherness of - what exactly? There is mention of an elf, on a Solstice - and Sam Herriot has an encounter that he'll always remember (if, that is, he ever finds his way home).

The Jewel in the Toad Queen's Crown is a wonderful story, a mashup of 19th century British politics, cabalism and fairytales. It shows the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as an outsider figure, who, faced with the Widow of Windsor, resorts to certain... unusual... methods of managing his monarch.

The Gift of the Magicians, with Apologies to You Know Who, is a deeply strange take on Beauty and the Beast which both explores the practicalities and possibilities of Beauty's situation. What is the relationship between that castle and the outside world? Where does the food come from? Just how much can you achieve - even which "the magical help"? And what might that drive a girl to do?

Our Lady of the Greenwood is about the birth of Robin Hood. It's a table of moonlight, magic, promises, and protection, taking another, rather mysterious folk hero and plugging him firmly into a wider, yet living, context.

The Confession of Brother Blaise is a kind of counterpart to Our Lady of the Greenwood focussing this time on Merlin and, again, plugging into real history via the real Geoffrey of Monmouth. What is real and what's merely written down? When does the writing make the reality?

Wonder Land, despite its title, isn't another Alice story but has loose overtones of Red Riding hood. A girl is making a journey through the wood to tell her friend where Billy Jamieson had tried to put his hand...and where she let him put it. The animals she meets seem to illustrate her theme - a fox exposing its private parts, a pair of crows "doing it right there". It's not an innocent woodland, but Allison seems to know what she's about. And yes, there is a wolf too.

Evian Steel again takes us to the world of King Arthur with a simply bewitching tale of pagan women swordsmiths working in the mysterious mists of Somerset. A perfect story and I don't want to spoil it by saying anything about what takes place, but in many ways it encapsulates this book: these are women who are explicitly marginalised, who will be left out of the main story (reduced to an arm holding a sword out of the lake) yet they are central, indispensable, skilled - in control.

Yolen rounds off the book with notes on all the stories and with a poems suggested by each, or which suggested them or explores the same themes. As a way of gently closing down the book, echoing the themes of the stories and showing a wider world there from which they are drawn, this is hard to beat.

Overall a very strong collection of stories showcasing the talents of a master practitioner. Definitely not a book to miss.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. 

The Emerald Circus is a delightful collection of short stories and poems from Jane Yolen. She has been called the Hans Christian Anderson of America and I can see why. 

In this collection, Yolen retells familiar stories in ways that still managed to surprise me. She masterfully jumps from style to style and lends cunning imagination to familiar stories. Alice in Wonderland and Arthurian legend are the stars of more than one short story each in The Emerald Circus, but each take is fresh and new. More than once I thought I knew where the story was going, only to be completely surprised in the end. 

I thoroughly enjoyed The Emerald Circus, though I'd have liked Yolen's notes about each story to accompany the stories, rather than be in their own section at the end.

https://lynns-books.com/2017/11/30/the-emerald-circus-by-jane-yolen/
I don’t make a secret of the fact that short stories don’t always work for me and in fact I usually avoid collections but the promise of retellings based on old favourites such as Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz and the mention of tales that bring into play Robin Hood, Merlin and King Arthur, definitely intrigued me and I couldn’t resist picking up a copy of this one.

Did Jane Yolen manage to spin her magic in this collection, yes, for me she did. I’m not going to pretend that I was equally gripped by all the tales, in a collection like this it’s inevitable that you’ll have favourites, just like in a box of chocolates, but the writing was lovely and the feeling of reading a story before going to sleep all added to the sense of whimsy and nostalgia and made this collection enjoyable to pick up last thing of an evening. And, thankfully, unlike a box of chocolates – there were no coffee ones.

I’m not going to go into all the offerings but will highlight briefly the ones that worked well for me.

The first tale looks at the life of Hans Christian Anderson. Famous the world over for his wonderful stories this particular offering has a lovely fairytale feel that combines elements that for me brought to mind Pinocchio, The Snow Queen and even, a little, the Elves and the Shoemaker – which isn’t to say that those are Anderson stories (apart from the Snow Queen that is). This is a story that has a sad feeling to it although the ending is a little bit more upbeat. It brought to mind the saying ‘be careful what you wish for’ and also the fae nature of wishes and more to the point making sure that they’re very specifically worded.

Lost Girls was a story that shines a different light on Peter Pan and perhaps looks at the changing role of women – or maybe I’m just reading too much into it – there’s this whole element here of why did Peter really bring Wendy to Neverland? She didn’t really take part in his adventures but was brought there more to fulfil the role of ‘mother’. For me, Lost Girls adds another level to the story. Girls want to take part in the adventure not just facilitate the adventures of others while they stand by with a cup of tea and a hanky.

My absolute favourite of the book was A Knot of Toads. I just really enjoyed this story. Based in Scotland it’s a tale that invokes long shadows, whispers in corners and witchcraft. A young woman who returns to her childhood home to lay her father to rest. Estranged for many years the two of them shared a love of books and a misunderstanding of each other. This story just really appealed to me and on top of that who knew that toads were sometimes known as puddocks. That’s a keeper.

Our Lady of the Greenwood was another of my favourites. It takes the myth of Robin Hood, adds a hint of fae and comes up with a story of how Robin was named. I’m a bit of a sucker for all things fae and so the scene in the woods with the fae dancing beneath the trees, coupled with the sometimes dangerous side to their nature really appealed to me. The naming scene in the woods had a lovely element of the fairy godmothers in Sleeping Beauty. I could certainly have read more of this tale – Robin Hood and his adventures – brings fond memories of my gran who used to recount tales to me and my sister. I loved her storytelling – she had a way of telling us stories that on reflection could be quite dark. Robin Hood’s tales were the lighter ones and it was lovely to go back to a story about how he possible received his name. My gran would have liked this one I think.

The last two stories that I will mention are:

Evian Steel which is a beautifully written story that could be a very early start to the legend of Merlin, King Arthur and his queen . It revolves around the forging of swords, Excalibur, and also brought to mind the Lady in the Lake. I loved this one. The island came to life in my imagination, the life of the girls sent to learn how to forge steel and the fears they had of what was to come. It had a mysteriously dark side and was so well executed.

Sister Emily’s Lightship was the final tale and was very quirky and different in nature than the other stories in this book. A look at Emily Dickinson and her, perhaps, out of this world inspirational experience.

This was a lovely collection of stories. Some of them will undoubtedly appeal more than others but if you fancy a book that you can pick up randomly to read a story in one sitting this could be just what you’re looking for.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I have mixed feelings on this story collection. It is clear that Yolen is writing from a place of great love and passion for the old works that inspired her stories here. Many of these stories operate sort of as mini prequels or sequels showing what came before or after those old beloved stories. Yolen takes those stories in thoughtful directions. I loved some of the stories, such as Lost Girls, but at the same time, others failed to hold my attention for very long.

Here is the sort of thing you can expect to get in this collection: Peter Pan's "Wendys" go on strike to protest the motherly role they've been forced into. Emily Dickinson meets an alien. Hans Christian Andersen meets the Snow Queen. Excalibur is forged by a cult of women who make magical blades.