This week, the dragons bring you another fairy tales in focus episode. Rumpelstiltskin is a mixed bag when you really look at it, but this macabre and often funny tale of deception and trickery has always resonated with children. However, this story dates back far further than the Brothers Grimm. In fact there's good evidence that it may be one of the oldest fairy tales in existence. Join Jules and Madeleine as they take a look at what's hidden in the story, from it's probable bloody origins as a tale of bargaining and sacrifice to its more modern retellings as a horror story or an upbeat fantasy. On the slab this week: Gilded - Marissa Meyer, Spinning Silver - Naomi Novak, A Curse as Dark as Gold - Elizabeth C Bunce and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by smiling Cynic
Episode 355: He’s a Maneater - the Global Invasion of Ogres in Myth & Fiction, part two.
Episode 354: He’s a Maneater - the Global Invasion of Ogres in Myth & Fiction
Episode 353: High Fidelity and Historical Accuracy - Do Adaptations have a Duty to be Accurate
Episode 352: 2022 A Space Oddity - Sci-fi (& Fantasy) Tropes which Don’t Work
Episode 351: Picture This - Enhancing Scenes with the Right Frame in Speculative Fiction
Episode 350: When Pain Says No - Chronic Illness Representation in Speculative Fiction
Episode 349: The Stones Remember - Cursed Places of the UK
Episode 348: Written in Blood - Vampires of the UK and Ireland
Episode 347: Bat Beasts Kellas Cats and Wolf-men - Lesser Known Cryptids of Britain and Ireland Part 2
Episode 346: Wodewose, Owlman & Morag - Lesser Known Cryptids of Britain & Ireland
Episode 345: Once More with Feeling - The Successes and Failures of Musical Episodes in Genre TV Shows
Episode 344: Enough to Make a Cat Laugh - Tracing the Origins of Puss in Boots
Episode 343: Exiles, OutCasts and Outsiders - Solitary Villains and Isolated Heroes
Episode 342: Distant Fathers 2D Beefcakes and Tortured Villains - Sexist Tropes Against Men in Speculative Fiction
Episode 341: True Beauty is Found Within - Tracing the Origins of Beauty & the Beast
Episode 340: There is none so capable as Anne - Why we should celebrate gentle characters
Episode 339: You Can’t Take the Sky From Me - Weird Westerns and Why We love Them
Episode 338: There are Wolves in the Woods - What Folklore Can Teach Us About Storytelling
Episode 337: Relatable or Debateable - Avoiding Mediocre Main Characters in Speculative Fiction.
Episode 336: The Lesser of Two Evils - Creating Moral Dilemmas in Speculative Fiction
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Ex Libris
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Great Expectations
Gulliver’s Travels
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Myths and Legends