Rapunzel and Other Maiden in the Tower Tales From Around the World

SurLaLune Fairy Tales presents a new collection of fairy tales: Rapunzel and Other Maiden in the Tower Tales From Around the World. For now, this book is only available for the Kindle, but the priority now is for paper versions and other eformats. I plan to have this title as well as the previous two, The Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World and The Fairy Tale Fiction of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, available in at least paper and PDFs by the end of the October.

Here's the official description which is not posted on Amazon yet--that takes a few more days to appear after the book is launched:

RAPUNZEL. Just the name conjures up images of long golden hair and tall stone towers. She remains part of our popular culture thanks to countless children's books, as well as advertising, movies, and merchandise. Rapunzel, far from falling into historical obscurity, is very much a part of modern culture. However, she is far from the only maiden in the tower to be found in folklore. Her tale and those of other imprisoned women reach back hundreds of years and come from many cultures from around the world.

This anthology of tales offers several stories similar to Rapunzel. A few more resemble the tale of Maid Maleen, another imprisoned daughter. Most are tales of other imprisoned maidens, princesses, and wives from around the world. Not all of the women are kept in literal towers, some are entombed instead, but all are unwilling captives.

Maidens are imprisoned by their parents for their own safety, as punishment, or to guard their virtue. Wives are imprisoned by jealous husbands hoping to avoid cuckolding. A few women are political prisoners. A surprising number of the tales come from France where tower prisons were popular devices of the French salon authors, especially Madame d’Aulnoy.

While it is impossible for this collection to be comprehensive, it contains over fifty tales and stories--some well-known, some mostly forgotten--reaching back to ancient myths and moving forward to some stories just reaching their hundredth birthdays, such as those by Edith Nesbit.

Also included are two tales newly translated into English from the original French, "Persinette" and "Parsillette," the latter a rare variant of the tale with an unusual ending.

Whether you are a student of folklore or an armchair enthusiast, this anthology offers a diverse array of tales with a unifying theme that both entertains and educates, all gathered for the first time in one helpful collection.

I gathered a wide range of tales, some obvious and many not. Most are European this time, or directly influenced by European tales, but the appearance of imprisoned maidens is pervasive to folklore. I also found a few obscure variants of tales, such as Saint Demetra, that are well-known tales told slant from the usual versions.

I thought I was finished with this collection a few weeks ago and then realized I wanted to add two French tales, Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, which is a direct ancestor of Rapunzel from France, and, Parsillette, an obscure tale that is quite surprising. I can translate French with painstaking care and time, so I did. I haven't found an English version of Parsillette anywhere else. Persinette is available in Jack Zipes' The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm. (And if you don't own that book, it's one of the absolute "must owns.")

Table of Contents:

Introduction by Heidi Anne Heiner

Rapunzel Tales

Rapunzel Germany
Petrosinella Italy
The Fair Angiola Italy
Filagranata Italy
Prunella Italy
Persinette France
Fragolette France
Parsillette France
The Maid and the Negress Portugal
Uzembeni; or, Usikulumi’s Courtship South Africa

Maid Maleen Tales

Maid Maleen Germany
Princess Who Was Hidden Underground Germany
Girl Clad in Mouseskin Denmark

More Maiden in the Tower Tales

The Prison of Danae Greece
Perseus the Savior Greece
Demeter and Persephone Greece
The Story of Saint Demetra and Her Daughter Greece
Hero and Leander Greece
Saint Barbara Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Saint
Solomon’s Daughter Jewish Tradition
Princess of the Tower Jewish Tradition
The Three Enchanted Princes Italy
The Story of Hugdietrich and Hildeburg Germany
The Lay of Yonec France
The Blue Bird France
The Princess Mayblossom France
Princess Rosette France
The White Cat France
The White Doe France
The Satin Surgeon France
The Discreet Princess France
Long, Broad, and Quickeye Czech Republic / Bohemia
The Grateful Beasts Hungary
The Maiden’s Tower Azerbaijan
Legend of the Maiden Tower Turkey
The Tower of Las Infantas Spain
Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses Spain
Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra Spain
The Slices of Fish Portugal
The Three Princes and the Maiden Portugal
Schmat-Razum Russia
The Tinder Box Denmark
The Flying Trunk Denmark
Punchkin India
Juan and Clotilde Philippines
The Three Brothers Philippines
An Impossible Enchantment Unknown
The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson England

Bonus Stories

“The Yellow Wall Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman United States
“Melisande or, Long and Short Division” by Edith Nesbit England
“The Princess and the Cat” by Edith Nesbit England
“The Imprisoned Princess” by Eleanor Farjeon England

So if you are interested in this title, please post or email with desired formats. I'm focusing on paper and PDF since they are the most popular, but I will consider others if I see a demand.

That said, I'm working on several other collections, too. Cinderella is a top priority since I am familiar with her popularity and know there is a higher demand for her stories. She's also high maintenance with all her variations and moods. I already have nearly 100 tales for a Cinderella collection and estimate the SurLaLune collection will be closer to 200. At some point I will just choose to abandon and publish since the possibilities of finding more of her tales are nearly infinite, it seems.