In Sleeping Beauty's Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales [Paperback]

Mitzi Szereto (Author), Tobsha Learner (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2009

A traditional source of sexual titillation for adult readers, fairy tales historically featured licentious themes before being cleaned up for the consumption of children in modern times. Seasoned erotica author Mitzi Szereto restores the explicit sex in the 15 tales in this provocative book — and adds a few surprises of her own. Here the bawdy humor of French fable meets the sublime eroticism of ancient Chinese myth as a far from virginal damsel weds a Prince Charming with a shoe fetish; Little Red Riding Hood discovers Grandma’s bed is open to any stray wolf; and a Japanese monk stumbles onto an S/M scene behind a forbidden door. Each tale is prefaced by a brief introduction telling its history and the sexual culture in which it was originally composed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Who can resist the erotic origins of fairy tales, from Little Red to Rapunzel's long braid? Szereto knows her way around the mythic scholarship and the most outrageous sexual deviations in Pandora's Box."—Susie Bright

From Library Journal
Like Rollins (see The Empress's New Lingerie, reviewed above), Szereto explains that the sexual content of most fairy tales was deleted by the likes of the Brothers Grimm to make them more family-friendly. Instead of researching and restoring the original erotic elements of each tale, however, the author chose to work from the clean versions and eroticize them as she saw fit, making the stories her own. The writing is sometimes uneven, as she attempts to maintain an antiquated fairy-tale narration but includes some modern phrases. While some of her rewrites take the obvious route (the above-mentioned shoe fetishism of "Cinderella"), each story contains some surprising new aspects, and none seems clich d or unoriginal. The results, in fact, are sexy and often quite humorous Rapunzel, for example, becomes a "rapstress," enticing a horseman with her rhymes. The tales chosen by Szereto, who has published four volumes of erotica under the pen name M.S. Valentine, are quite diverse, and she includes an introduction explaining the origin and history of each. Enthusiastically recommended. Amanda Glasbrenner, "Library Journal"

"A deliciously fresh and sexy look at fairy tales. Szereto takes our modern, sanitized versions and gives them an earthy twist."
-- Kelley Armstrong, New York Times bestselling author

“opens whole new perspectives into the lands and lusts of fairy tales. After reading this enchanting book, you might wish to read bedside tales to adults, rather than mere children…”
- Maxim Jakubowski, editor, the Mammoth Book of New Erotica

Making their way into the spotlight again, classic fairy tale characters like Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, just to name a few, are brought back to life in Mitzi Szereto's delightful collection of erotic fairy tales. Mitzi takes these stories back to their roots and re-creates them with an intriguing mixture of humor, satire and wit. I particularly like the way she preserved the tale's original disposition, giving a mysterious, Eastern flair to stories like The Goblin of Adachigahara and The Magic Muntr.

Deserving a write up all their own, the bonus introductions written for each story were a brilliant touch. Mitzi relates the history of her fairy tales in fascinating detail. As with her stories, this background information is delivered in Mitzi's clever and humorous, tongue-in-cheek manner, which is a real pleasure to experience.

In her Romp Through the Classics, Mitzi Szereto breaths life into even the most ancient tales dating back to a time before recorded history. Fairy tale lovers will definitely want to add her rousingly fun and entertaining book to their collection.

NANCY MADORE, Bestselling Author of Enchanted; Erotic Bedtime Stories for Women

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Cleis Press; Second Edition edition (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573443670
• ISBN-13: 978-1573443678
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #715,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MITZI SZERETO is a bestselling author and anthology editor of multi-genre and erotic fiction and non-fiction, blogger for the popular ERRANT RAMBLINGS: MITZI SZERETO'S WEBLOG (http://mitziszereto.com/blog), and the creator/presenter for the internet TV channel MITZI TV (http://mitziszereto.com/tv), which offers a quirky take on London.

Her published titles include PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: HIDDEN LUSTS; RED VELVET AND ABSINTHE: PARANORMAL EROTIC ROMANCE; IN SLEEPING BEAUTY'S BED: EROTIC FAIRY TALES (solo short story collection); THE NEW BLACK LACE BOOK OF WOMEN'S SEXUAL FANTASIES (non-fiction/survey); GETTING EVEN: REVENGE STORIES (crime/multi-genre); DYING FOR IT: TALES OF SEX AND DEATH (erotica/multi-genre); WICKED: SEXY TALES OF LEGENDARY LOVERS (erotica/romance/historical); the EROTIC TRAVEL TALES anthology series (erotica/romance); THE WORLD'S BEST SEX WRITING 2005 (non-fiction/criticism); EROTIC FAIRY TALES: A ROMP THROUGH THE CLASSICS; and the popular M. S. VALENTINE erotic novels (which have sold in excess of 100,000 copies). Her short fiction and erotic novels have been translated into Russian, Italian and German.

MITZI SZERETO's Web TV channel MITZI TV covers "all things quirky and London" and has attracted an international audience. Segments have ranged from prowling the streets of London in search of jellied eel and chatting about classic cars with Formula 1 racecar driver/BBC TV presenter Tiff Needell and couture shoe designer Jimmy Choo, to joining in a lively pub singalong, being recruited into dance by a troupe of Morris dancing software geeks, hanging out with a chapter of Harley Davidson riders, and covering a teddy bear festival with her famous bear and cohort, Teddy Tedaloo.

In addition to books and web TV, MITZI SZERETO is a pioneer of the erotic writing workshop in the UK and Europe, teaching them from the prestigious Cheltenham Festival of Literature to the Greek islands. Her outspoken views on the erotic literary scene have made her a trendsetter, cult figure, and frequent interviewee, earning her a reputation as the author and editor who's put the "literature" back into erotica. Frequently sought out for her opinions on a range of topics, she's been featured in the Sunday Telegraph, Independent, Times, Observer, London Evening Standard, Toronto Star, The London Paper, Company Magazine, Dare Magazine, First Magazine, Family Circle, Writing Magazine, Scarlet Magazine, and Forum, as well as on Bravo UK Television, Telecinco TV 5 (Madrid), BBC Radio, Newstalk Ireland, and FM4 ORF Radio (Vienna). She's performed readings of her work from Los Angeles to London and Vienna, and has given talks on such subjects as erotic writing, women's publishing, and social media. Her work as an anthology editor has earned her the American Society of Authors and Writers' Meritorious Achievement Award. She also travels in academic circles, having lectured in creative writing at a number of British universities as well as presenting papers on erotic literature at conferences. Her anthology "Erotic Travel Tales 2" is the first anthology of erotica to feature a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Originally from the USA, she now resides in London, England.

ERRANT RAMBLINGS: MITZI SZERETO'S WEBLOG: http://mitziszereto.com/blog

MITZI TV: http://mitziszereto.com/tv

Follow Mitzi on Twitter @mitziszereto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars nothing erotic about it, March 30, 2010

By 

cia R "Cia" (SC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: In Sleeping Beauty's Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales (Paperback)

I was very disappointed in this book. I thought it would be titillating,romantic and erotic. It is not. The little mention of sex in the stories so so unappealing that it is just gross. Take for instance Cinderella's Prince proffering to stick his thing into the glass slippers and ignore her. Rapunzel raps obscenities and that is what turns on the woods man who climbs up to rub against her. Little Red Ridding Hood likes to flash the men at the construction site.

This book is stupid and a waste of time. I don't understand the people who graded this book with five stars. Makes me suspect that they work for the publisher or writer.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disgusting content, bad writing, sloppy editing, and sexual assault. Shall I go on?, April 19, 2011

By 

Rachel Ravenmaster "Rachel Ravenmaster" (Yorktown, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: In Sleeping Beauty's Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales (Paperback)

At first I was annoyed by the poor quality of the book. Then I began to notice far more disturbing aspects of the book. Firstly, and not as importantly, nearly ALL the young ladies in question--and some of the men as well--were described as pale as alabaster, even those characters from the ARABIAN nights. Many of them had blonde hair and blue eyes as well, playing into the "only white girls are pretty" stereotype.

Secondly, and most importantly, this book was full of rape, sexual assault, and other acts of brutality. This book should come with a giant red trigger warning on it: from literal dungeons to impersonation in order to have sex, to peeping toms that girls are too intimidated by to turn away, to bestiality, to gang rape implied to be "good luck," to drunken or asleep or unwilling or unable women and men who are forced or coerced or tricked into having sex, this book really churned my stomach.

Add to that the the author has NO penchant for describing things appealing at all. If I have to hear one more line about "fleshy swellings" or "recklessly dancing protuberances," so help me...

Additionally, I found it ENTIRELY implausible and ridiculous to believe that apparently adult women and men would not recognize genitalia when they see it. Especially the handmaiden Czarina who thought that another woman's private area was literally a living, hissing monster. Excuse me, but if it's hissing, you need a doctor, not oral gratification.

This book was ridiculous, offensive, insensitive, AND poorly written. If I could give it no stars and a sarcastic slow clap, I would.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really sure what audience this is for..., May 25, 2010

By 

V. Burris "occassional reader" (VA, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: In Sleeping Beauty's Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales (Kindle Edition)

I was rather disappointed in this book. I only read the first three or four stories, but this is obviously written for men who are into alternate sexual ideas and not actual sex. I wish it had been a bit more detailed in the content of the stories. They are not even humorous. Mostly, they are very unsatisfying for what I consider erotica. I have a large tolerance for alternate ideas, but this book leaves very little to be desired.

I will leave the rest of this book unread which is sad. The writer is really good and her (?) use of language is very skillful. I just wish the directions she chose to take the stories were different.

A great read if you don't actually want hot steamy sex or actual sexual intercourse in your erotica. Otherwise, find another book.