3 Unique Retellings to Revisit Classic Fairy Tales and Novels

Fairy tales and classic literature novels have influenced pop culture and the book world for decades. They are beloved staples for a reason and many readers crave new ways to consume those stories.

From these favorites, authors have written many different versions of these tales, giving readers exactly what they are searching for.

Here are a few unique retellings to revisit those famous classics:

“What Moves the Dead” by T. Kingfisher

“What Moves the Dead” is a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” This short horror novel follows non-binary, retired soldier Alex Easton who goes to visit Usher siblings Madeline and Roderick upon hearing that Madeline is dying. The ancestral House of Usher is full of secrets that Alex must unravel before the house takes them all.

This quick read is perfect for readers looking for a retelling that is a little more creepy and unsettling. (Trigger warnings: animal/body horror, depression and anxiety, mentions of suicide, death, attempted murder, fire)

“House of Salt and Sorrows” by Erin A. Craig

“House of Salt and Sorrows” is a young adult dark fantasy retelling of the Grimm Brothers’, “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” (sorry not the Barbie movie version).

The novel follows Annaleigh who lives in a seaside manor with her sisters, father, and stepmother. There used to be twelve sisters, but four sisters have passed, each in their own tragic way. Annaleigh is plagued by disturbing visions that raise suspicions that her sisters’ deaths were no accidents. As her sisters sneak off to lavish, shimmering balls each night, she questions the nature of these events and the “curse” that seems to be picking off the siblings one by one.

This fantasy is dark and disturbing, putting another twisted spin on the Grimm Brothers’ tale. (Trigger warnings: death, body horror, gore, grief, mental and physical illness).

“The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renée Ahdieh

“The Wrath and the Dawn” is a young adult fantasy retelling of “One Thousand and One Nights” (Arabian Nights).

It is the first book in a young adult fantasy duology that follows Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan, and Shahrzad, the girl who volunteers to be his next bride.

Each night Khalid takes a new bride, and each sunrise he has her executed. Shahrzad volunteers to marry the Caliph with a plan of revenge in order to avenge her best friend and all the other girls that met their end after marrying said man. Shahrzad makes it to morning, something that no other has done before. As she continues to make it through each night, she begins to discover that the Caliph and the deaths of the girls are not all that they seem to be.

This novel is a gripping fantasy with its own spin on the classic tale. (Trigger warnings: suicide, animal death, death, pregnancy loss, hanging mentioned, sexual assault). (Many of these trigger warnings are brief mentions and do not go into detail but are still important to the story).