From the author of VACILLIAN and THE LIGHTS OF BARBRIN, three dark fairy tale retellings with a psychological bent.Reared by a selfish egotist, Cinderella marries a prince not so different from her mother. He schools and shapes her into his ideal version of a wife and forces her to act a part in his sexual fantasies. She finally turns to self-injury for relief from her claustrophobic life in the palace.Gereth the Huntsman grew up on the same estate as Madlen, Snow White's mother, and knows her unfeeling, envious nature. When Madlen orders him to kill Snow White, he flees with her to the colony of the dwarfs (real dwarfs) where she is hated and eventually disposed of by their sociopathic leader Giddeus, always referred to by his honorary title: Mother.Shunned by the baker and his wife who live across the street, a jealous witch poisons their well and steals their baby daughter, bringing her up as her own. Years later, she drugs and then confines Rapunzel to a tower for daring to speak to strangers. The pretend "prince" who later climbs her hair rapes and emotionally manipulates her much as her "mother" has always done.Not for the faint of heart and most definitely unsuitable for children!