My first encounter with fairy tale retellings dates back to my teenage years when I discovered Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber. The book and the idea made a huge impression and I have loved reading and writing fairy tale retellings ever since. Among many things, I’m fascinated by the range. I once read a whole book with nothing but retellings of Little Red Riding Hood and didn’t get bored for a minute. I also love modern retellings like those in Cassandra Parkins collection New World Fairy Tales. Among those which are retold most often are Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and, of course Sleeping Beauty. As you may have guessed, Thornhedge is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. A very original one, I might add.
T. Kingfisher is the pen name of the highly prolific children’s book author Ursula Vernon. Under her pen name she writes mostly fantasy for an adult audience. I saw a few reviews of Thornhedge here and there and the authors were all raving so I had to read it.
The main character, Toadling, has been guarding the thick thorny hedge which hides a huge castle for hundreds of years. The reader isn’t sure at first what Toadling is. A fairy, a toad, a witch, a bewitched human? It’s clear she has something to do with the hedge, the castle, and the sleeper in castle that goes beyond being its guardian. Toadling is a very nervous character. She’s afraid people might see the hedge, afraid people might remember it, and very afraid of knights who might remember it and try to get access to the sleeper.
As the centuries go by, fewer and fewer people approach the castle. It seems like a plague has decimated the population of the earth. But then, one day, a knight from a foreign country appears and unlike many others, he seems to know exactly what he’s looking for. Toadling must prevent this at all costs. Even if that means showing herself and befriending the stranger.
What follows is such a beautiful story. We find out who Toadling is and why she’s not only guarding the castle but extremely worried the sleeper might wake up.
Thornhedge is a beautiful story of belonging, loneliness, love, and loyalty. It’s very short, novella-length. If you like fairy tale retellings, fantasy and original tales and love stories, you might enjoy this as much as I did.
