Synopses & Reviews
A series of contemporary fairy tales populated by wolves, witches, snakes, and an entirely new breed of heroine.
In this Brothers Grimm–meets–Bridget Jones collection of linked stories, Danielle Wood introduces readers to Rosie Little, a thoroughly modern Little Red Riding Hood who offers her sharp, rueful take on life, love, and everything in between.
Rosie knows better than most that some men are wolves at heart, that the snake in the grass is to be avoided, and that fairy-tale endings are usually, after all, only fairy tales. And yet stout-hearted Rosie reassures us that there are ways out of the deep dark forests of our own making in these survival tales of teenagers deflowered at parties, a young journalist who misses the chance to write a front-page story because shes busy flirting with a married man, and two women who must cope with the loss of their babies.
A brand-new take on the age-old fairy tale, Rosie Littles Cautionary Tales for Girls will appeal especially to readers like Rosie, with “boots as stout as their hearts, and who are prepared to firmly lace them up (boots and hearts both) and step out into the wilds in search of what they desire.”
Synopsis
Charming and thoroughly modern, Rosie shares with us her piquant and utterly engaging views on life and love, marriage and mating, desire and destiny as she tackles the sometimes thorny business of making her way through life. These are not, I should say at the outset, tales written for the benefit of good and well-behaved girls who always stick to the path when they go to Grandma's. Skipping along in their gingham frills - basket of scones, jam and clotted cream upon their arms - what need can these girls have for caution? Rather, these are tales for girls who have boots as stout as their hearts, and who are prepared to firmly lace them up (boots and hearts both) and step out into the wilds in search of what they desire. Taking her cues from the Brothers Grimm, Rosie - a thoroughly modern Little Red Riding Hood - tells us of love and desire, men and women, heartache and happiness. Beguiling, clever and funny, Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales for Girls is a sheer delight. With wit, simplicity and directness, Rosie offers her clear-eyed, slyly funny and rueful take on life, love and everything in between.
About the Author
Danielle Woods first novel, The Alphabet of Light and Dark, was short-listed for the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Best First Book category (Southeast Asia and South Pacific Region) and nominated for the 2005 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Wood is also the recipient of the 2002 Australian/Vogel Literary Award, Australias richest prize for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five.