The queen makes her way through zombie-like sleepers, past a thorny forest to the sleeper in the castle and wakes her up. In a week from now, she would have no choices. It would be the end of her life, she decided, if life was a time of choices. She wondered how she would feel to be a married woman. She decides to go on a rescue mission, in part because she is hesitant to get married and in part because she has a duty to protect her people from the sleeping curse. In this tale, the main characters are female and the queen, though never named, is alluded to as Snow White. The book expects its reader to have some knowledge of the two stories it borrows from and subverts: Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. The Sleeper and the Spindle can be read on its own, but a richer understanding of it relies on intertextuality. They return home to inform the queen and the wedding is put on hold: the queen must protect her people from the sleeping curse and the only way to do so is go to the source and break it. A sleeping curse, cast a hundred years ago, is slowly creeping through the land and will soon affect the dwarves’ land of Kanselaire.
They find themselves in a town where everyone is slowly falling asleep. So opens The Sleeper and the Spindle with three dwarves travelling through a mountain pass in order to get the best silk from Dorimar for the (unnamed) queen’s upcoming wedding. It was the closest kingdom to the queen’s, as the crow flies, but not even the crows flew it. Some Background Informationīased on: Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, originally published as part of an anthology in Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Talesįairy tale tropes featured: Sleeping curse(s), evil witch, magical kisses The Sleeper and the Spindle Disclaimer: this is sadly not a romance story between the sleeper and the queen, which is why expectations were not met on the first reading. It is a clever, subversive fairy tale retelling with gorgeous illustrations. I didn’t enjoy this much on the first reading but when I re-read the book for this blog post I kind of loved it. Today I’m focusing on Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and the Spindle.
THE SLEEPER AND THE SPINDLE SERIES
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.Welcome to Fairy Tale Fridays, a new monthly series where I pick fairy tale inspired media and share my love of fairy tales. Shortlisted for The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2016 Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents. This queen will decide her own future - and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell - weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.
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