Jane Yolen has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America. She is the author of more than four hundred books, including children's fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction. Her publications include Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily's Starship, and Sister Light, Sister Dark. Among her many honors are the Caldecott and Christopher Medals, multiple Nebula, World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Golden Kite, and Jewish Book awards; as well as the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Science Fiction Poetry Grand Master Award. Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She lives in Western Massachusetts and St Andrews, Scotland. Brandon Sanderson is the fifteen-time New York Times best-selling author of adult and young adult fantasy, including the Mistborn Trilogy, the Stormlight Archive, the Cosmere novels, and the Rithmatist series. In 2007, he was chosen by Robert Jordan's widow to complete Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series, published in three novels. He participates in the weekly podcast Writing Excuses. Sanderson's 2022 Kickstarter, for his four new entries in the Cosmere series, received finding of forty-one million dollars, the most in crowdfunding history. He currently resides in Utah with his family.
"As skillful as The Emerald Circus (2017), thematically
warmer than The Midnight Circus (2020), this volume's
central thread is love. Featuring an introduction by Brandon
Sanderson, it collects more of Yolen's reimagined narratives, many
of them previously published. But fairy-tale endings are not
guaranteed: Characters choose badly, and death and other sadness
enters in. Julie appears from her grave, mourning Roman, in a wry
rewrite of Romeo and Juliet narrated by an elf. Several tales are
about the power--for good or ill--of belief; merfolk, djinn, and
ghosts play major roles. There is time travel and some real history
as well as appearances by Merlin and Arthur, Alice Liddell, and
many brave and independent young women. The rich and varied plots
and tones are matched by advanced but suitable
vocabulary--fortuitously, lambent, incorporeal, slatterns,
sepulchral, and legerdemain, for example--much of which young
readers will be able to decipher from the context. Occasional poems
are interspersed among the stories. The fully realized details
bring to life both this-worldly and otherworldly settings. Yolen
enthusiasts will be rapt, and new fans will be won. Endlessly
imaginative, superbly crafted tales that stir the heart."
--Kirkus
"For this whimsical collection, World Fantasy Award winner Yolen
(The Midnight Circus) brings together 11 fantastical shorts
centered on romantic love. Yolen's trademark fairy tale styling is
on display throughout, with vivid, pithy prose animating each
quirky flight of fancy. In her author's note, she complains that
dictionary definitions of romance are all too 'human-centric.'
Indeed, these tales feature romance between all manner of magical
creatures: a fey man falls for a ghost in the comic 'Dusty Loves, '
though she's more interested in haunting the boy she left behind; a
sailor witnesses the love between a family of merpeople in the
sweet 'The Sea Man'; a princess meets a man who may or may not be a
unicorn in standout 'The Unicorn Hunt'; and an enslaved man finds
romance with a djinn in the dated 'Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn, ' the
weakest piece. Many stories riff on the familiar: 'The Sword and
the Stone' offers a fresh take on King Arthur, while 'Peter in
Wonderland' imagines an adult Alice falling down the rabbit hole
again . . . this enchanting collection is sure to charm."
--Publishers Weekly "The Scarlet Circus is a magical
collection of love stories, where love is often an act of courage
and intelligence. Jane Yolen has a true storyteller's voice--a
voice that makes the writing disappear so that only the stories
remain."
--Anne Bishop, New York Times bestselling author of the
Black Jewels series "A magnificent and beautiful anthology from a
master storyteller! Jane Yolen's stories and poems reach directly
into your heart and fill you with the loveliest kind of magic. I
absolutely adored it."
--Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Queens of Renthia
series "All these years, and Jane Yolen still reduces me to
helpless, gibbering admiration. I'll read anything with her name on
it, even if it's just a damn grocery list!"
--Peter S. Beagle, author of In Calabria "In the fairy tales
and poems of Jane Yolen's The Scarlet Circus, there are
curious permutations of haunting, mesmerizing love stories. . .
It's in these splendid spaces between the book's winking tributes
to sentimentality and its swerving surprises that an unabashed
sense of romance lingers."
--Foreword "Jane Yolen spins captivating tales of whimsy,
romance, brave knights, dragons, and twist endings. It was like
reading the Grimm's fairy tales as a kid--it has that same timeless
feel. I was immersed in every story."
--Heather Wallwork, author of Entwined "A charming bouquet
of love stories from a heady array of fantastical viewpoints. Here
be magic, and romance."
--Susan Palwick, author of All Worlds Are Real and Flying
in Place "Jane Yolen is not only one of the best writers I know
of, she's also consistently excellent. A Grand Master, old-school
style!"
--Mercedes Lackey, author of the Valdemar series "This is also the
perfect book to read while commuting, or if you need a break from
heavy topics, or just want to add a touch of magic to life!
Seriously, it's so charming. I highly recommend you give this book
a try to fall in love with fantasy and storytelling."
--Tales Untangled "Jane Yolen is a national treasure. Cozy
up, and let the master take you beyond the fields you know."
--Sherwood Smith, author of Crown Duel 5/5 stars. "This
isn't your typical romance novel though. That romance has a broad
definition and doesn't always have a happy ending. In fact, some of
the stories are quite dark. I really like it when Jane Yolen takes
a story you think you know and turns it on its head."
--The Neverending TBR List "With romantic tales inspired by
history, dragons, and literature, The Scarlet Circus is a
bright romance anthology marked by people's agile maneuvers.
--Foreword Praise for the volumes of the Jane Yolen Circus
Collection series "Jane Yolen is, simply, a legend. The powerful
fairy godmother of every writer working in mythic fantasy today. In
these dark and wonderful stories, that legend proves itself true
over and over again."
--Catherynne M. Valente, author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated
Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own "Look this way, look that;
blazing her consummate imagination against the shadows of human
sorrow, Jane Yolen has done it again."
--Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked "Haunting stories from a
modern master."
--Kirkus "[S]ings with magic, darkness, and wonder--perfect
for anyone who has ever loved a fairy tale."
--Meagan Spooner, author of Hunted "An engrossing collection
that will linger in readers' minds long after reading, and a
perfect (re)introduction to Yolen's rich well of fantasy horror.
For fans of Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, and Leigh Bardugo."
--School Library Journal [STARRED REVIEW] "These delightful
retellings of favorite stories will captivate newcomers and fans of
Yolen as she once again delivers the magic, humor, and lovely prose
that has attracted readers for years."
--Library Journal "Jane Yolen at her best, telling stories
you've never seen before but have known all your life, and stories
as familiar as your left hand that you barely recognize, spun from
shadows and moonlight and breathed through silvered glass."
--Patricia C. Wrede, author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles
"Yolen takes well-known fairy tales and splits them apart,
sometimes leaving them still quite familiar and other times shining
a light from an unfamiliar angle to reveal new truths and
possibilities"
--Margo Kelly, author of Unlocked "A master storyteller at
her best."
--Chanda Hahn, bestselling author of Reign "The Scarlet
Circus is another fantastic collection by a master storyteller,
one that should be added to every fantasy lover's library."
--Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
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