A Midsummer's Night Giveaway: The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Sam from A Journey Through Pages is hosting an awesome fairytale adaptation themed giveaway and is awesome enough to let me participate!

Today I'm going to focus on my favourite fairytale. It's always been hard for me to choose a favourite fairytale but I was forced to during uni in my (lucky me) fairytale themed classes. In the end I chose the Twelve Dancing Princesses.
There are a lot of different fairytale elements within the Dancing Princesses that appeal to me, and there are so many variations of the original tale which creates a wide base of possibilities for re-imagining the fairytale.

I'm going to introduce you to some of my favourite websites: SurLaLune Fairy Tales where you can take a look at most of the classic fairy tales and learn more about their origins. Or you can check out ABC Televisions Re-Enchanted, I went to a series of lectures by the creators last year and this crew really know their stuff!

I'm going to include the annotated version of Twelve Dancing Princesses as told by the Brothers Grimm available on SurLaLune for you to explore. Click on the links to reach SurLaLune's annotations discussing where this story is different to other editions or explaining old fashioned terms.

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Entwined by Heather Dixon

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.
Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.
But there is a cost.
The Keeper likes to keep things.
Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Original Language: English
Publisher: Greenwillow Books/Harper Collins, Inc.
Country: USA
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
ISBN: 0062001035
Page Count: 336

Entwined is Heather Dixon's debut novel and a fantastic reworking of the fairytale favourite The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Her characters are fun, and sweet and the plot is a fascinating way to look at a beloved old tale.

I've always loved fairy tales and any story that gives me a chance to sing a familiar tune in a new place is worth a shot. Twelve Dancing Princesses is one of my all time favourites and I adore the chance to explore it again. Dixon has created an enchanting magical world of sweet young princesses named (alphabetically by age) after flowers.

For the most part the characters are charming and well developed. I would have liked less pip in Lord Teddie and a bit more pip in Lord Bradford. Of course, this is a story aimed primarily at young teenagers who want more story that deep characterisation so it worked out well the way it was. The older Princesses seemed to have quite distinct personality traits that make it easier to differentiate them. Azalea was especially well developed - her relationship with her father (Sir) and her budding romance with Lord Bradford.

Keeper was sufficiently terrifying though a tad predictable. I could have done with a little more mystery but knowing the original story as well as I do makes that difficult.

The plot was interesting, though at times it did feel a little rushed and vague. It seemed to struggle to move on at times, and the transitions from exciting to frightening seemed somewhat disjointed. I did, however, enjoy the development of the romances between the Princesses and their suitors though I found Clover's romance a bit strange and almost creepy.


Ultimately though, Entwined was an engaging reworking of an old classic and I look forward to more stories from Heather Dixon. 

Judging by the cover: I adore this cover! I can't even explain how beautiful and whimsical it is. The silver design around the border and the dress are both amazing. I don't know how but I want to combine them and wear them somewhere.