Jane Yolen’s THE EMERALD CIRCUS is a favorite book of 2017
As 2017 draws to a close, Jane Yolen’s THE EMERALD CIRCUS contains to garner praise.
Photo: Jason Stemple
FOREWORD REVIEWS includes the collection among their REVIEWERS’ CHOICE: FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2017.
For lovers of literature, Arthuriana, and fairy tales, this is a treasure trove.
THE EMERALD CIRCUS is a moving collection of stories that conveys timeless truths as it affectionately plays with traditional tales.
Jane Yolen’s latest collection is a wonderful menagerie of twists on classic fairy tales, legends, and the lives of literary figures. These stories parade beneath a circus tent knit by the underlying theme of the power of art.
Andrew Andrews of TRUE REVIEW praises the book.
It’s always a treat to read a new Jane Yolen tale, but it’s especially rewarding when you thought you read them all, and then along comes THE EMERALD CIRCUS collection.
There (sic) are some favorites of mine in the collection:
“Andersen’s Witch.” Long ago, instead of a devil’s deal, an aspiring digter (a poet) makes a pact with the Ice Maiden – who will eventually transform into the Snow Queen – to have his own elements of career greatness. He wants to be the greatest digter: not only of Denmark, but the whole world. He isn’t careful about what he asks for, but the boy does have a well-thought-out plan instead.
“Lost Girls.” Plain and ordinary Darla stumbles into a Neverland populated and enslaved by many Wendys, who must serve the spoiled and tyrannical Peter Pan: all the while, fearing even the worse from Captain Hook. But a labor strike of all the Wendys against their boyish and boorish captor seems inevitable.
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“The Jewel in the Toad Queen’s Crown.” The relationship between Queen Victoria and her prime minister can be stark and dramatic. Are the effects a sovereign and an appointed position of power have on each other some sort of magic?
Yolen’s obsession with the life works of poet Emily Dickinson is all so evident when the poet is met by a star traveler in “Sister Emily’s Lightship,” and gives the poet a vantage point about earth that truly seizes the imagination.
For more info on THE EMERALD CIRCUS, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story