ARC/book review: Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance by Jane Harrington

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We all know the Brothers Grimm but long before the famous siblings put pen to paper, a group of women in 17th-century Paris were already creating the fairy tales we know today. These women, who called themselves conteuses (female storytellers), wove tales that were both enchanting and politically subversive, challenging the status quo of their time.

Among them was Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, who coined the term “fairy tale.” Many of the elements we now associate with classic stories like Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast can be traced back to these early tales. Yet, the voices of these women—and their stories have largely been forgotten by history.

Harrington’s book gives them the spotlight they deserve. Through the biographies of these writers, the author introduces us to their lives and the challenges they faced. Most of these women were young noblewomen, trapped in marriages they didn’t choose and living in an era where their voices were stifled. But they fought back in the most creative way: by writing stories that subtly critiqued their lives, their marriages, and the reign of King Louis XIV. Their fairy tales are filled with themes of romance, fantasy, and escapism; reflecting their longing for a life where they had control over their own destinies.

What makes Women of the Fairytale Resistance so fascinating is how Harrington doesn’t just retell these women’s stories but also places them in their historical and personal context. These fairy tales were more than just escapism; they were a form of resistance, a way for these women to express their dissatisfaction with their own lives and the oppressive forces around them. Through their tales, they imagined worlds where women were powerful, free, and in charge of their own fates - something they could only dream of in their reality. The book is also a visual delight and comes with beautiful illustrations throughout.

Thank you for this ARC, I truly enjoyed reading it.

Such an informative, well-researched piece of literary history and translation. I, like I assume many others, had been bamboozled by the Grimms' brothers and had never heard about any of these conteuses or the work they did to help create fairy tales as we know them today. I loved learning about their histories and the salons where they developed their conte de fées, and I especially loved reading the translated and adapted stories themselves and seeing how some of the fairy tales I've come to know and love got their (uncredited) inspiration.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Even though nonfiction isn't usually my jam, I'll definitely dive in to anything involving literary history and fairy tales, especially when you had a feminist bent as a nice cherry on top.

I enjoyed this! It’s well-researched, and the retellings in the voice of the author are fun. It did take a while for me to get really into it, as the profiles are all sort of ordered in a way that makes them seem samey.

As an introduction to the idea of women writers in the late 1600s using fairy tales to subvert modern expectations, "Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance" is a good book. It gives brief biographies of 7 women and includes 2 of the tales each woman wrote in their section. The illustrations alone make the book worth checking out: they are gorgeous.

The biographies themselves are short and basic. I kept thinking as I was reading them that they were designed more for a younger audience, but maybe that was just the writing style- which mimics a fairy tale style of writing. I don't know much about women's lives during this period of French history and the book suggests specific biographies are difficult to come by, but I'd have liked something more focused on the history of the time and how the women used their writings to subvert patriarchal expectations. Clearly they were getting under some people's skins since some of them were arrested, sent to convents, or used and silenced in other ways.

Possibly a good jumping off point to start learning about the idea, it includes an extensive bibliography to check out more in-depth books for more information if you're interest is piqued the way mine was.

“Women of the Fairy Tale Renaissance” is a beautifully curated introduction to the female authors who helped shape the fairy tale tradition. For readers unfamiliar with these pioneering women, the book offers a rich and accessible gateway into their lives and works. Each author is thoughtfully introduced and their stories are vividly brought to life. The book’s design is equally enchanting—small illustrations and flourishes add to the subject matter perfectly.

While the book excels as an introductory resource, seasoned fairy tale enthusiasts might wish for deeper analysis or broader historical context. Still, its elegance and clarity make it a standout celebration of literary women whose contributions deserve far more recognition.

This was a review for NetGalley.

I love running across a book which teaches me something through a bit of storytelling. This book delves into a group of French women who formed a bit of a writing group and are some of the forgotten mothers of familiar fairy tale themes. Many people know fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Charles Perrault, however, it seems as though many of these stories may have originating ideas from the conteuses, female storytellers.

I picked this book with an interest to learn about many of these women and I was pleasantly surprised with how the author shared their stories and their works. Though others seem to critique the simplicity if the writing, I didn't feel the narrative of their lives needed to be complex. I do read a good deal of retellings and interpretations but I enjoyed a brief history into these women's lives. I am sure there are more comprehensive works but this was a good intro if someone is not familiar with the conteuses. I would love to know more and look at more of their works. I think this book will encourage me to do a bit more research into the topic and writings of these women and many others.

I recommend this for anyone who may not have much knowledge on the female writers of this era who may have paved the way for others to follow.. I do think a younger audience could enjoy this book as well so it could fall into a YA category if it wanted. Overall, an enjoyable read with nuggets of history to enjoy as well.

I love learning more about literature, especially tales and authors that have been lost to time. I especially liked how this book gave samples of the author's work along with their history so that I could really get to know who they were as people and writers. Some of the fairy tales included here have similar themes and tropes that we see in the more well-known fairy tales which was also really interesting - it made me wonder how many of these were inspiration to the tales that are the ones we all know. I received this as an e-book but will definitely be purchasing a physical copy as soon as it is released.

This book is divided into two separate parts. The first part is the stories of the women themselves and this part I loved. Their individual stories and struggles were intriguing and relatable even though they are decades in the past. The eternal struggles women face that never seems to end. The second part I struggled with. That part was the actual tales themselves. I think that perhaps they may have lost something in translation. The language was stilted but the cores of each of the indivisible fairy tales was clear and it was intriguing to read them with women’s own personal stories as a reference. I will buy a copy of this beautiful book. It is filled with stunning color illustrations and is something I’m sure I will reference for years to come. Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc.

A very interesting and cool book! Wonderful details and illustrations throughout, that suited the premised.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review,

Great book about the woman that "influenced" the so called great storytellers of old. Not only does it tell the story of these women's' lives, but it also gives us the stories that they were telling in their times. It's so easy to see how HCA or the brothers Grimm took their words and twisted it. Some of these stories were even better that the ones the men wrote.

I love books that bring out the hidden figures, who were often steamrolled over for the sake of social norms, and are now able to be celebrated in their own right. This book does a wonderful job of that. The illustrations and overall design of the book is beautiful and very fitting to the content.

Now that I've read this little collection, I can say that the publishers are missing the target audience and should repackage this for marketing it to the right age range: elementary to middle schoolers. This is by no means a book for older readers, and definitely not for knowledgeable fairy tale lovers.

I loved learning more about these female authors whose voices have been overlooked historically. I definitely saw the way their stories influenced the fairy tales that so many are familiar with. This was such a wonderful way to share these women's art and give insight into the past. I liked that this was part history lesson and part sharing of the fictional tales that created fairy tales. The illustrations were beautiful and it would be really nice to own a hard copy. I'll be on the lookout for it when it's published.

Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance gives us a detailed (or at least as detailed as possible) look at seven women writing in the salons of 17th century Paris and the environment that grew out of those famed gatherings. The lives, personalities, triumphs, and challenges of these conteuses are explored in personable, conversational biographies.

I particularly enjoyed the layout of this book. Each section gives a few pages of biography followed by one or two stories by the writer discussed. After reading several books that either focus entirely on the writers and assume a reader's familiarity with their work or that give the stories with a brief paragraph about the authors at the end I truly appreciated being able to have such a nice balance of each set side by side. This presentation was particularly important to me as I was reading an e-copy of the work that makes flipping back and forth inconvenient. I also have to highlight the beautiful illustrations that were in my version. Fairy tale collections have a strong tradition of wonderful, enchanting artwork and I was overjoyed to see that this book, while focused on giving an historical look at the writers presented, was also allowed to keep this tradition of including artwork that helps bring the stories to life.

I've had a long interest in fairy tales, but for many years the narrative I kept coming across was that these stories were universal tales whose oral origins were lost to the mists of time and retellings. I'm excited to see more writers and historians pointing out that many of these stories do indeed have individual authors whose names we can know. Many of these stories grew out of particular cultural and social environments that we can study and learn more about. While there may be much that has been lost, and the section on Louise D'Auneuil highlights just how hazy things can get, there is much that can be known and these writers of the past deserve to be known by name.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I gave 'Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance' by Jane Harrington 3 stars. While I found the information presented to be fascinating, I couldn't help but feel that this book wasn't entirely for me. Perhaps someone younger or with a different reading preference might appreciate it more. As a lover of fairy tales, I was grateful for the opportunity to explore the origins and stories behind these timeless classics. The way the fairy tales were retold and presented was engaging, and I appreciated the insight into the women who created these stories. This book is a great resource for understanding the historical context and female authors who contributed to the fairy tale genre. Overall, it's a worthwhile read for those interested in the subject matter, even if it didn't quite resonate with me

Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance shares the history and stories of women writers who enhanced their craft in the French salons of the 1700s. These “fairy tales” were their artistic resistance to the role of women in aristocratic society. Author, Jane Harrington focuses on seven writers (Marie-Catherine D’Aulnoy, Henriette-Jolie Murat, Charlotte-Rose La Force, Marie-Jeanne L’Heritier, Catherine Berrard, Catherine Durand and Louise D’Auneul). Each section begins with a biography of the writer and is followed by a translation of two of their stories. The text is chatty, feminist and engaging. The illustrations by Vietnamese artist, Khow Le, is fluid, dreamy and magical. (Contrast this to Frank’s illustrations found in The Island of Happiness (2021) which often take a distressingly surrealistic tone.) Included is an extensive bibliography and index. Highly recommended.

So who started the fairy tale craze? It definitely was not the Brothers Grimm since they only compiled tales that they gathered from the country folks they interviewed. Charles Perrault is often credited as the "Father of Fairy Tales" but maybe he should be credited as "Mother since his most famous creation is Mother Goose. What is forgotten and not credited are the women who gathered in salons in the 1690s and later to write tales together. They called themselves conteuses and would set challenges for the types of tales to write. They would then come back together and compare tales.

In Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance, Jane Harrington provides brief histories of seven of these women and one or two of their tales. The women are Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, Henriette-Julie Murat, Charlotte-Rose La Force, Marie-Jeanne L'Heritier, Catherine Bernard, Catherine Durand, and Louise D'Auneuil. Also each tale has gorgeous illustrations created by Khoa Le. Harrington also provides a bibliography of sources so that interested parties can follow up on areas of interest.

If the reader enjoys fairy tales, especially ones not well known, do pick up Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance!

Thanks Netgalley and Black Dog & Leventhal Publishing for the chance to read this title!

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It had a lot of information about women that I had not heard of previously who contributed to the fairy tale genre but had been overlooked historically. Each woman had a very interesting story, and a lot of them ended up exiled or locked up for various "crimes" (being an educated, literate, and independent woman). I would like to have this as part of my fairy tale collection or as a coffee table book. The fairy tales were interesting but most of them were familiar as the women's male counterparts had popularized their own versions of these tales.

The art included in this book is so pretty. I love it. I kinda wish there was more. This book feels like two separate, shorter books were put together. One is a biography of different female authors, and the other is a collection of retellings. I wish the biographies were longer. I picked this book up for them. The retellings could have been an appendix or a separate book entirely.

What a fascinating subject and such a gorgeous book, even to read digitally! I will be doing so much more research on this topic - thank you Jane Harrington for awakening a passion in me!