Robin McKinley: Girl Reader, Woman Writer (Volume 41) (Studies in Young Adult Literature, 41)

Annotation Since her first book, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, was published in 1978, Robin McKinley has enchanted young adult readers for more than thirty years. This study is the first in-depth analysis of McKinley's works, including her award-winning books The Blue Sword (Newbery Honor, 1983) and The Hero and the Crown (Newberry Medal, 1985). In Robin McKinley: Girl Reader, Woman Writer, Evelyn Perry examines McKinley's novels and short stories as grouped into three categories: those set in Damar, which introduce and develop the rich geographic, social, political, and linguistic history of McKinley's secondary world; the retellings of folk and fairy tales, which reveal not only McKinley's encyclopedic knowledge of source stories but her respectful and highly literate approach to their contemporary adaptation; and her other works, less easily categorized but generally most recent, written for more mature readers, and featuring a diverse set of influences from vampires to homeopathy. Perry also explores the feminist articulation of character and social settings that are dominant themes running through McKinley's works. Anyone interested in Robin McKinley and her work, including secondary and post-secondary students, faculty, and librarians, will find Robin McKinley: Girl Reader, Woman Writer a valuable resource Since her first book, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, was published in 1978, Robin McKinley has enchanted young adult readers for more than thirty years. This study is the first in-depth analysis of McKinley's works, including her award-winning books The Blue Sword (Newbery Honor, 1983) and The Hero and the Crown (Newberry Medal, 1985). In Robin McKinley: Girl Reader, Woman Writer, Evelyn Perry examines McKinley's novels and short stories as grouped into three categories: those set in Damar, which introduce and develop the rich geographic, social, political, and linguistic history of McKinley's secondary world; the retellings of folk and fairy tales, which reveal not only McKinley's encyclopedic knowledge of source stories but her respectful and highly literature approach to their contemporary adaptation; and her other works, less easily categorized but generally most recent, written for more mature readers, and featuring a diverse set of influences from vampires to homeopathy. Perry also explores the feminist articulation of character and social settings that are dominant themes running through McKinley's works Introduction: "a knot in the grain"--The novels of Damar -- The short stories of damar -- McKinley's damarian feminism agenda -- The short story retellings of folk and fairy tales -- Legend as historical retelling: The outlaws of Sherwood -- Novel-length fairy tale retellings: Beauty and Rose daughter -- Novel-length fairy tale retellings: Spindle's end -- Other recent works -- Conclusion: "a pool in the desert This study is an in-depth analysis of the works of the young adult author Robin McKinley, including her award-winning books The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. In this book, the author examines McKinley's novels and short stories as featuring a diverse set of influences. The author also explores the feminist articulation of character and social settings that are themes running through McKinley's works Introduction: "a knot in the grain" The novels of Damar The short stories of damar McKinley's damarian feminism agenda The short story retellings of folk and fairy tales Legend as historical retelling: The outlaws of Sherwood Novel-length fairy tale retellings: Beauty and Rose daughter Novel-length fairy tale retellings: Spindle's end Other recent works Conclusion: "a pool in the desert". This study of fantasy author Robin McKinley is the first full-length, in-depth analysis of the author's works, including her award-winning books The Blue Sword (Newbery Honor, 1983) and The Hero and the Crown (Newbery Medal, 1985).