If there’s one thing most cultures around the world share in common, it’s the tradition of passing down fairy tales to children. “The Three Little Pigs” and “Little Red Riding Hood”, for example, are just a few of the legendary narratives commonly retold across a multitude of countries that date back over thousands of years. What many people fail to realize from these tales, however, is that the purpose of their origins in the 1600s-1800s was not meant to entertain children. These typically named ‘nursery tales’ were originally intended for adults, and their first editions involved gruesome topics that were later adjusted or removed entirely, including acts of violence, murder, and sexual assault. Fantasy fiction author, William Moore, took a deep interest in this topic for his new book, Twisted Fairy Tells: The Untold Truths, and managed to tie together some of history’s signature fairy tales while reimagining and readapting the classics for a more mature, adult audience.
Certain details from the well-known stories make an appearance in Moore’s novel as they tie into a timeline based on an alternate planet Earth. In part one of his three-part series, Charles Wellington, the novel’s narrator, takes us through a familiar world in which the tales align and form facts of a hidden past that the public has never been exposed to. When Charles discovers a mystical scroll in his home that’s been handed down to his family, he reads it to find the true events of the fairy tales we know and love– but they’re nothing like what Disney and the Grimm Brothers have fooled us into believing.
The concept of the book came to Moore when a good friend of his presented him with a series of contemporary drawings based on dark versions of well-known fairy tales. After the idea struck, he proceeded to conduct over seven months’ worth of research in order to learn about the history behind the fables and their creators. He claims that this was the most important task behind the writing process of the novel, and also the most extensive. “When I read some of the details in the original stories, I thought they were brutal compared to the ones we were told as kids,” Moore said. “They were really, really dark. But I wanted to find a way for the reader to be able to reminisce on their childhood while reading a novel with a more ‘adult’ feel. So that’s how I came up with the storyline,” he added.
Twisted Fairy Tells: The Untold Truths was designed to serve as the introduction to a brand new world containing familiar elements and characters. While the traditional fairy tales we have been trained to recognize have been eerily alternated in the novel, a few details from the original stories remain. In fact, the author reveals that some of the names, dates, and locations in the book are accuracies taken from the first-edition folktales. Certain places in the novel also pertain to real-life locations that have been adjusted to fit the storyline. Moore’s hope was to carry the reader through a fantasy that allowed them to feel as if they were a part of the adventures from an overlooking perspective. “I’ve always been into cosplay, and I enjoy the narratives that make feel like part of the story. That’s what I wanted for the reader to feel when reading the book,” Moore said.
Part One of the series is available now on Amazon.com and other online retailers. The second part of the book is currently in progress and is estimated to release in October 2021. If there’s anything we can tell you about the story, it’s that you won’t want to miss the beyond-twisted universe of your favorite magical creatures.