Customer Reviews

Fitcher's Brides (Fairy Tale Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A widower, with a little help from his cold-hearted new wife, has fallen under the spell of Elias Fitcher, an apocalyptic preacher who predicts the world will end within the year. Packing up all his earthly belongings, and his three daughters--romantic Vernelia, neurotic Amy, and practical, skeptical Kate--he and his wife move to a tiny village in upstate New York to await the end of days. There, the charming, charismatic, and utterly horrifying Fitcher takes a shine to Vernelia, and sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind courtship.

It says on the very cover that it's a Bluebeard story, so I'm not spoiling much to say that Vernelia goes mysteriously missing, and Fitcher then marries Amy. When Amy, too, vanishes, it's up to Kate to find out what has happened and stop Fitcher's horrible spree. There's a storm brewing, of course, and the plot goes from atmospherically creepy to nail-biting as the storm rises to fever-pitch. I could have sworn I heard thunder when I discovered Kate's middle name, when she stood up to him as no one had previously done, when she raced against time to stop him from adding her to his collection. Does she survive? Read and see.

Gregory Frost here gives us an unforgettable rendition of one of our darkest fairy tales, a heroine to root for, and a truly terrifying villain. An added bonus is Terri Windling's introduction. Her introductions are always a treat, but she's getting even better, as evidenced first by the fascinating one for White as Snow, and now by the essay she wrote for this novel. She points out, most interestingly, that Perrault's famous version blames Bluebeard's murders on his wives' curiosity and disobedience, but that the older version give us heroines, like Kate, who save themselves by their willingness to question authority and look for answers.

The Bluebeard legend sliced, diced and transplanted to the 19th century in the "burned-over land," that section of upstate New York from which were born the Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists and other modern religious cults. Frost takes this somewhat forbidding fantasy landscape to the edge of gothic horror for a tale that is really about female empowerment: how long will we suffer from monstrous evil before SOMEBODY fights back? The fight is worth the wait, and the gruesome details leading to it. Clever readers will see that Frost is using the story to analyze why it is that the intolerance and xenophobic hatred that powers the mindless fanaticism of an era that, for all its historical trappings, seems curiously contemporary. For fans of Frost's short but very accomplished body of work, this novel is a definite joy. Frost is writing at the peak of his powers: literate, intelligent fantasy doesn't get much better than this.

Terri Windling's Fairy Tale Series never disappoints. Author Frost here creates a vivid and accurate, if bleakly creepy milieu for his take on Bluebeard. The millennial fervor of mid-19th century America is fascinating in itself and Frost elucidates as he entertains. His characterizations are apt, although I was at first discomifited by his descriptions of the sexual de-flowering of his three protagonists; eventually, it all fits and is entirely appropriate. The story of Bluebeard has always been an ugly for me and it's no less so in this re-telling. Some very engaging and aptly retro prose.

This amazing story is based on "Bluebeard" and "Fitcher's Bird", two dark fairy tales that teach the reader about the most evil sides of human nature.

The story here centers around three sisters who live with a harsh stepmother and extremely gullible father, both of whom have fallen under the spell of an evangelistic preacher and obey his every word. When the preacher, Reverend Fitcher, claims that the world will soon end, the three unhappy sisters are forced to move with their family to a new home in a secluded town where, according to Fitcher, they will all await the end of the world together. For a while, things seem to go well: the sisters adjust to their new life and begin to appreciate the seemingly peaceful community that Fitcher has created. Then one night, Fitcher announces at a community meeting that he wishes to marry and he chooses Vern, the eldest of the sisters, for his wife. Vern's parents are thrilled at the honor, of course, so the arrangements are hastily made and the marriage takes place shortly afterward. At first, Fitcher seems to honor and trust Vern; he gives her a ring of keys to every room in the house and tells her she may enter all except one: the room in the attic. For a while she resists the temptation, until her husband's strange behavior prompts her to take matters into her own hands and explore the forbidden room. There, she discovers her husband's true nature, horrors beyond her worst nightmares...and her own terrifying fate.

Reading this incredible story was like looking into the deepest part of evil's black heart; it is the most unbelievable book I've ever read. I highly recommend it to anyone that loves retold fairy tales and/or horror stories. Be warned, though: if you don't usually read horror books, I don't recommend you start with this one. It is incredibly dark and, love it or hate it, it will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Fitcher's Brides is as engrossing as any fairy tale I've ever read, but with so much more depth. The young maidens are more than just innocent fools; Fitcher is more than just your generic evil guy. How this man, both mesmerizing and menacing, maintains his power over not only his wives but over a growing congregation (which he actually refers to at one point as his "sheep") is what makes this story fascinating and universal. I had trouble putting Fitcher's Bride down; even if you're familiar with the morbid Bluebeard fairy tale, chances are you will keep reading to see how this particular version of it unfolds.

This is a retelling of the folk tail of Bluebeard, a man who married and murders two sisters-until the third saves the day. Set in the 1800's with bluebeard being cast as a preacher who supposedly knows the date for the rapture this is a slightly haunting shallow fantasy novel.

I have no strong feelings about this book. It was ok, not great, not terrible. The plot was ok, the writing quite good, and the story well paced and played out-but still there is something quite different about this book.

This book reads like it is a short story. There is no real character development; a lot of major issues go unresolved in the story and the fantasy elements of this book are very vague. Much more could have been done with them, and with the crimes of Fitcher-the bluebeard. Because there is so little development early on it feels like the last 50 pages in the book were just jammed full of the info and hints we should have been getting since page one. The effect is that the ending is abrupt, and does not have any where near the closure it needed.

Long story short-it's an ok book. If you really like short fantasy stories or vague and dreamy books then you'll probably like this. For me, it was just ok.

Three stars.

I'd like to start this review off by saying that "Fitcher's Brides" was extremely well written. Mr. Frost definitely has a way with words and the scripture passages included were on the dot. However, I found the story to be extremely morbid and disturbing. Even now I have a hard time pushing the gory descriptions from my mind. Having never read either "Bluebeard" or "The Fitcher Bird" I cannot say as to whether or not "Fitcher's Brides" is a good retelling. But, if you enjoy reading about the devil posing as a most holy reverend and preaching that he knows the date of Judgment Day and killing his wives for succumbing to Eve's curiosity and in the end good somewhat triumphing over evil..then this is the book for you.

In the 1840s western New York was known as the Burned- Over District because it was where Smith and the Mormons came from. Where Finney toured the country leading revivals in tents, where Miller prophesied the world would end in 1843, Noyes led a utopian community in Onieda and the Fox sisters heard ghosts "rapping" and began the spiritualist movement. The last four are all plot elements in this novel set in that place and time, rather reminiscent of Coville and Yolen's contemporary Armageddon Summer. The three Charter sisters Vern, Amy and Kate come to the attention of the Rev. Elias Fitcher, and one after the other they marry him. Kate succeeds in rescuing herself, her sisters and most of the people living in Harbinger - when the world ends but only for Fitcher.

A dark retelling of an already dark tale. Gregory Frost has masterfully imagined this classic fairy tale (a combination of BLUEBEARD and THE FITCHER BIRD) in 1843 in upstate New York, amidst an end-of-the-world "Utopian" community under the leadership of Elias Fitcher. Three girls, Vernelia, Amy and Catherine Charter, are brought to the community when their father and step-mother fall under the preacher's influence. Fitcher is a charismatic, but ominous figure. Ghostly voices whisper through the walls of the girls' old house, seductive and mesmerizing. With the world about to end, Fitcher, determined to spend eternity with a wife, marries Vernelia, the eldest. When she is taken into the heart of the community, away from her family, Fitcher quickly reveals his darker instincts. Women disappear, men commit suicide, mysterious shadows roam the halls... Erotically charged, full of brutality and treachery, this novel goes places the original tales only hinted. It's a rollicking, at times uncomfortable read. An exploration of lust, masochism, messianic psychosis and the nature of evil combined with social commentary. Highly recommended.

Firstly, let me say this. The book really isn't all that bad. It just really didn't end up as one of my favorites. I thought that was rather too bad, because I was excited about reading, one of the less retold fairy tale stories
I thought the story was slow passed and I didn't like the fact that abuse was such a key plot line in the story.
I honestly don't mind such stories, but I just didn't really care for the way that it was represented.
I found it very little entertaining and thought the writer switched writing sequences quiet a bit.
Not the worst retelling fairy tales that I have ever read, but not the best either.