The Scarlet Circus
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
This third volume in Jane Yolen’s World Fantasy Award-winning series brings you passionate treasures and delirious transformations. This bewitching assemblage, with an original introduction from Brandon Sanderson, is an ideal read for anyone who appreciates witty, compelling, and classic romantic fantasy.
“The Scarlet Circus is a magical collection of love stories, where love is often an act of courage and intelligence. Jane Yolen has a true storyteller's voice.”
—Anne Bishop, New York Times bestselling author of the Black Jewels series
A rakish fairy meets the real Juliet behind Shakespeare's famous tragedy. A jewelry artist travels to the past to meet a successful silver-smith. The addled crew of a ship at sea discovers a mysterious merman. More than one ignored princess finds her match in the most unlikely men.
From ecstasy to tragedy, with love blossoming shyly, love at first sight, and even love borne of practical necessity—beloved fantasist Jane Yolen’s newest collection celebrates romance in all its glory.
Other short story collections by Jane Yolen in the Jane Yolen Circus series
The Emerald Circus
How to Fracture a Fairy Tale
The Midnight Circus
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
For this whimsical collection, World Fantasy Award winner Yolen (The Midnight Circus) brings together 11 fantastical shorts centered on romantic love. Yolen's trademark fairy tale styling is on display throughout, with vivid, pithy prose animating each quirky flight of fancy. In her author's note, she complains that dictionary definitions of romance are all too "human-centric." Indeed, these tales feature romance between all manner of magical creatures: a fey man falls for a ghost in the comic "Dusty Loves," though she's more interested in haunting the boy she left behind; a sailor witnesses the love between a family of merpeople in the sweet "The Sea Man"; a princess meets a man who may or may not be a unicorn in standout "The Unicorn Hunt"; and an enslaved man finds romance with a djinn in the dated "Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn," the weakest piece. Many stories riff on the familiar: "The Sword and the Stone" offers a fresh take on King Arthur, while "Peter in Wonderland" imagines an adult Alice falling down the rabbit hole again. Despite the variety of romances here, with endings ranging from tragic to blissful, there's never any hint of queerness, a glaring omission in a celebration of love's possibilities. Still, this enchanting collection is sure to charm.