Beastly: An Anthology of Shapeshifting Fairy Tales

by Jennifer Pullen

Overview

Everyone is familiar with the tale: a man marries a woman, and she transforms into a crane. Or a seal. Or a bear. Or a woman marries a beast, who transforms into a man; or a man who transforms into a beast. Tales of shapeshifting animal spouses have long been a staple of folklore around the world.

In this collection, fantasy and fairy tale scholar Jennifer Pullen selects fourteen classic tales that explore the boundary between the human and the beastly, showing how their telling and retelling reflects a constant longing for–and terror of–what seems to be “other.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941360934
Publisher:	Lanternfish Press
Publication date:	02/16/2026
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Pullen holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Ohio University, as well as degrees from Eastern Washington Universityand Whitworth University. Her work has appeared in journals and anthologies including F(r)iction, Phantom Drift Limited, Corvid Queen, Pinch, and Strange Machines (Apex Publishing). Her books include A Bead of Amber on Her Tongue and Fantasy Fiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology, the first comprehensive history of fantasy and craft guide. She grew up running wild in the forests of Washington State. She has since been sufficiently domesticated to become an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio Northern University.

Table of Contents

• Cupid and Psyche By Lucius Apuleius 
• The Green Serpent By Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy
• Beauty and the Beast By Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont
• The White Cat By Madame D’Aulnoy
• The Little Mermaid By Hans Christian Andersen
• The Fisherman and his Soul By Oscar Wilde
• East of the Sun and West of the Moon By Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe
• The She-Bear By Giambattista Basile
• Mr. Fox By Joseph Jacobs
• Bisclavret By Marie de France
• The Good Man O’ Wastness By Walter Traill Dennison
• The Robe of Feathers By Grace James
• The Fair Melusina By Horace E Scudder
• Prince Bairâm and the Fairy Bride By Reverend Charles Swynnerton