Oh, I definitely think that infatuation feels like magic. Imagine being Rapunzel, out in the forest, seeing Josef for the first time with all his riches and glamour and that big gleaming horse. Of course she would imagine that that stricken, dazzled feeling was true love, combined with her excitement, her fantasy about what he represents, the way he could change her life in an instant. I think we often see this kind of instant love in fairy tales, especially in the Disney versions, not to mention in countless romantic comedies and shows like The Bachelor. In Mermaid and The Fairest of Them All, there are moments of instant love like this, but of course this kind of love will probably lead, eventually, to disappointment. We all know the idea that one person can swoop in and save and complete you is a bit flawed, and that the real magic comes with deep, lasting love.
What are you working on next? Do you have more thoughts about reimagining fairy tales?
I’m working on a book about Beatrice Portinari, who’s the mysterious woman Dante Alighieri wrote about in The Divine Comedy (she’s up in heaven and helps initiate his entire journey) and other works. No one really knows anything about her other than that she was an aristocratic girl who was contracted to marry (and did marry) a much older banker and then died at twenty-four. No one knows if Dante actually knew her or if they had any kind of actual relationship, romantic or otherwise. So I’ve imagined what I think is a really cool and surprising story about her. It’s not a fairy tale, but it’s a kind of retelling, a looking at something familiar through an unexpected point of view. Plus there will be a medieval setting, a little grittier than the one in Fairest, but with a similar overlay of magic and beauty. I think that fans of my fairy tales will like it!
Of course, there are many, many more fairy tales to explore, so you never know . . .
© JOI BROZEK
CAROLYN TURGEON is the author of Rain Village, Godmother, Mermaid, and the middle-grade novel The Next Full Moon.
www.CarolynTurgeon.com
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ALSO BY CAROLYN TURGEON
The Next Full Moon
Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story
Rain Village
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Carolyn Turgeon
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Touchstone trade paperback edition August 2013
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Designed by Akasha Archer
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Turgeon, Carolyn.
The fairest of them all / Carolyn Turgeon.—First Touchstone trade paperback edition
pages cm
PS3620.U75F35 2013
813’.6—dc23
2013005232
ISBN 978-1-4516-8378-3
ISBN 978-1-4516-8379-0 (ebook)
Table of Contents
Cover
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Reading Group Guide
About Carolyn Turgeon
Copyright