Modern Fairies | Clare Pollard

Another find from the NY Times Book Review, this novel is based on some truth, which is storytelling within the French salon of Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy were truly part of literary history. The stories you read would evolve into the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. In my head, these stories emerged much earlier than the late 17th century, so that was new information, at least to me. These stories were told at the salon by aristocratic women, and a few men, in a way that casts light on the court shenanigans of the Sun King, Louis XIV, without, it's hoped, getting in trouble. And the shenanigans were intense, and comical, and sad, and devastating for many people. Pollard is a poet and a playwright, and the book is written with a poetic, theatrical touch which is charming. It's extremely creative and fun, and a bit bawdy.