Fairy Tale Queens: Representations of Early Modern Queenship

by J. Carney

Overview

Most of today's familiar fairy tales come from the stories of Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen, but this innovative study encourages us to explore the marvelous tales of authors from the early modern period Giovanni Straparola, Giambattista Basile, Madame Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, and others whose works enrich and expand the canon. As author Jo Eldridge Carney shows, the queen is omnipresent in these stories, as much a hallmark of the genre as other familiar characteristics such as the number three, magical objects, and happy endings. That queens occupy such space in early modern tales is not surprising given the profound influence of so many powerful queens in the political landscapes of early modern England and Europe. Carney makes a powerful argument for the historical relevance of fairy tales and, by exploring the dynamic intersection between fictional and actual queens, shows how history and folk literature mutually enrich our understanding of the period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349444052
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	09/14/2012
Series:	Queenship and Power
Edition description:	1st ed. 2012
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jo Eldridge Carney is Associate Professor of English at The College of New Jersey, USA. She is the author of essays on sixteenth-century literature, Shakespeare, and fairy tales and has edited essay collections o the early modern period.

Table of Contents

Early Modern Queens and the Intersection of Fairy Tales and Fact The Queen's (In)Fertile Body and the Body Politic Maternal Monstrosities: Early Modern Queens and the Reproduction of Heirs and Errors Succession The Fairest of Them All: Queenship and Beauty The Queen's Wardrobe: Dressing the Part The Queen's Body: Promiscuity at Court

Editorial Reviews

'By exploring the confluences between fairy tale motifs and historical records related to queens and royal female consorts, Carney establishes unexpected and enlightening resonances between two cultural spheres, one literary, the other historical. Her contribution to queenship studies offers a unique lens through which to view the historical realities of European queens, from their pregnancy wishes and fears to their obligation to provide a royal heir, from their treatment by male monarchs to their various forms of self-representation. At the same time, this book makes a convincing case for the queen as a central figure, even a hallmark, of the fairy tale genre.' Marguerite A. Tassi, Martin Distinguished Professor in English, University of Nebraska at Kearney, USA

From the Publisher