The Best Folklore & Fairy Tale Fiction Books

The best folklore fiction books - as chosen by you!

On Instagram last week I asked for your favourite fiction books inspired by folklore and fairy tales. There were so many wonderful suggestions that I decided to compile them into a blog post that we can refer to whenever our reading pile needs a dose of magic!

What is folklore fiction?

Folklore can take as many guises as the creatures and characters who populate it. Folklore can be fantastical stories about talking animals, knights, fairies or humble folk. Each country has its own folklore, a collection of stories, songs, cultural myths and jokes. Folklore comes out of the “oral tradition” where people told stories to one another instead of reading or watching them.

Despite the often fantastical settings and characters, the heart of folkore lies in everyday conflicts and aspirations that the listener faces. Often these tales carry a moral instruction and give us a glimmer into society at the time.

Folklore is alive and ever changing. Think about Slender Man, a mysterious piece of mythology for the modern age.

Despite beginning as an oral tradition, folklore has found its way into literature, often giving authenticity and meaning to stories as writers connect with their cultural roots. There are hundreds of folklore themed fiction books, and I look forward to adding to the list below as I make my way through them!

Why do we love folklore and fairytale-inspired books?

Fairy tale and folklore retellings have been a favourite genre of mine ever since I read The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, when I was nineteen.

Discovering the dark, sumptuous world of The Bloody Chamber felt as raw and secretive to me as the title story’s young bride finding Bluebeard’s erotic library. A collection of contradictions, where bawdy humour and fox-like cunning cartwheel alongside terrible beauty and doe-eyed naivety. And ever the dark undertow of the original tales tugged the stories towards their often bloody conclusions.

Somehow, fairy tales and folk ballads reveal the truth of things much better than other storytelling mediums, their clothing deceptively plain, like the wolf in Granny’s dressing gown. Their simplicity is profound and often there’s more beneath the surface than meets the eye. Today’s (mostly female) authors continue the tradition of reforming familiar narratives into fairy tales fit for our own times, signaling danger or offering a breadcrumb trail towards freedom, forgiveness or healing.

Folklore Fiction Books You’ll Fall In Love With

Jane Yolen’s short stories

A few of you recommended Jane Yolen 😊

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Takes inspiration from Rumpelstiltskin. I wasn’t a fan of Uprooted but I’m drawn to the icy Russian winter and female protagonists kicking against their fates. Also, I had no idea fae were involved?

The Book of Goblins by Alan Garner

Seems like this one is out of print but worth getting a hold of if you like folktales about goblins and other supernatural beings.

Telling the Bees and Other Customs by Mark Norman

This delves into the lore and superstition surrounding bygone crafts and industries in the UK. I need this book to sit alongside my equally esoteric poacher’s handbook 😆

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

A Goose Girl retelling and the first in a series. Quite intrigued by this one!

Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain & Ireland by Kevin Crossley-Holland

I hadn’t heard of this collection, the illustrations look beautiful. I’d also vouch for The King and the Lamp by Duncan Williamson (one of Scotland’s greatest storytellers) if you’re looking for the older source material.

In the Forests of Serre by Patricia McKillip

I believe this draws on Slavic folklore related to the Firebird.

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

A Rapunzel retelling. When I discovered Kate Forsyth wrote this, it shot to the top of my list. I really enjoyed her Witches of Eileanan.

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman

Traces the story of Maria Owens, a woman accused of witchcraft in Salem.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

The Last Unicorn is one of my favourite films but I’ve never read the book. In fact, my sister and I had a passionate conversation recently about our favourite scenes in the film, like the deadly harpy’s revenge and seeing Haggard’s castle for the first time.

Rewards & Fairies by Rudyard Kipling

A historical fantasy penned in 1910. Two children in present-day Sussex encounter the mythical figure of Puck who reveals their homeland’s past to them by magically conjuring historical and fictional individuals. You can read it for free on Project Gutenberg.

Rehepapp ehk November by Andrus Kiviräkh

Sounds interesting if you can find a translation! From a quick google, it looks like the English translation is The Man Who Spoke Snakish.

Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings

Tells the mythical past of the Persian Empire.

Nikolai Leskov: Selected Tales

For fans of Slavic folklore!

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Another novel inspired by Slavic folklore which I think needs little introduction. I still haven’t read it, despite knowing I’d love the Russian setting and eerie folklore. I think it’s had so much hype that I’m worried I’ve set my expectations too high!

Folk by Zoe Gilbert

This sounds mesmerising - a portrait of a fictional island, Neverness, stitched together by fables.

Vampires, Burial & Death by Paul Barber

A non-fiction book that explores vampire folklore and history throughout the ages.

My own suggestions:

Snow White Learns Witchcraft by Theodora Goss

The tale that captivated me most was Red as Blood White as Bone. She spins something fresh out of timeless material and weaves a web of beauty with words. I think Goss is at her most powerful when writing at the overlap between fantasy and realism. I love the margin for doubt; is this stranger a wolf in disguise? Could the old tales be real? I also remember thinking highly of In the Forest of Forgetting.

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

I’ve already subjected you to my gushing above.

Second Sight by Neil Gunn

Set in the Scottish Highlands, a group of wealthy, English tourists, aided by local stalkers, hunt the legendary stag, King Brude. Gunn draws on the unusual phenomena of clairvoyance or ‘second sight’ that was once prevalent in the Highlands to create an unsettling and thought-provoking novel on progress, pride and the clash between spiritual and material values.

Let me know your favourite folklore and fairy tale inspired books in the comments and I’ll add it to the list!