Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears

First edition
Author	Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Cover artist	Matt Stawicki
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy and horror
Publisher	William Morrow & Company
Publication date	December 1995
Publication place	United States
English publication date	December 1995
Media type	Print
Pages	416 (Hardback)
ISBN	0-688-14363-6
OCLC	32590487
Dewey Decimal	813/.0876608 20
LC Class	PS648.F3 R83 1995
Preceded by	Black Thorn, White Rose
Followed by	Black Swan, White Raven

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears is the third book in a series of collections of re-told fairy tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. It has an introduction, a list of recommended readings, and 22 stories and poems. ^[1]

Contents

Source: ^[2]

• Introduction – Terri Windling & Ellen Datlow
• "Ruby Slippers" – Susan Wade – a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of a middle-aged Dorothy. ^{[3] [4]}
• "The Beast" – Tanith Lee ^{[5] [6]}
• "Masterpiece" – Garry Kilworth ^{[6] [7]}
• "Summer Wind" – Nancy Kress ^[8]
• "This Century of Sleep or, Briar Rose Beneath the Sea" – Farida S. T. Shapiro – a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the transformations caused by time and waiting. ^{[9] [10]}
• "The Crossing" – Joyce Carol Oates ^[11]
• "Roach in Loafers" – Roberta Lannes ^[12]
• "Naked Little Men" – Michael Cadnum ^[12]
• "Brother Bear" – Lisa Goldstein ^{[6] [13]}
• "The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon" – John Brunner ^[14]
• "Billy Fearless" – Nancy A. Collins ^{[14] [15]}
• "The Death of Koshchei the Deathless" – Gene Wolfe ^[4]
• "The Real Princess" – Susan Palwick
• "The Huntsman's Story" – Milbre Burch ^[16]
• "After Push Comes to Shove" – Milbre Burch
• "Hansel and Grettel" – Gahan Wilson ^[17]
• "Match Girl" – Anne Bishop ^[18]
• "Waking the Prince" – Kathe Koja ^{[6] [8]}
• "The Fox Wife" – Ellen Steiber ^[4]
• "The White Road" – Neil Gaiman ^[19]
• "The Traveler and the Tale" – Jane Yolen ^[4]
• "The Printer's Daughter" – Delia Sherman ^[20]

Reception

The Toronto Star 's Henry Mietkiewicz called the anthology "a stunning collection", writing, "As in Snow White, Blood Red and Black Thorn, White Rose , the editors continue to demonstrate the emotional wallop of fairy tales geared to grown-ups." ^[21] In a positive review, Publishers Weekly said, "this anthology is a must for those who believe that 'once upon a time' means now". ^[22] The Booklist reviewer Roland Green said "the writing is consistently of very high quality" but said of the stories that "far too many of them struggle to make oldtales fit the procrustean beds of modern psychology". ^[23]

Kirkus Reviews praised the anthology, stating, "The fairy-tale tradition clearly retains its imaginative fertility, and the authors have almost without exception risen to the occasion." ^[24] The science fiction editor Gardner Dozois wrote in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection that the book is "in contention for the title of the year's best fantasy anthology" and thought "The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon" by John Brunner is the collection's "best story". ^[25]

References

1. "Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears". Booklist . Vol. 96, no. 18. 2000-05-15. p. 1753. Gale   A62724725. Archived from the original on 2026-03-29. Retrieved 2026-03-29– via Gale.
2. Table of Contents – Locus Magazine
3. Altmann & de Vos 2001 , p. 261
4. Dozois 1996 , p. 592
5. Altmann & de Vos 2001 , pp. 34–35
6. Dozois 1996 , p. 589
7. Altmann & de Vos 1999 , p. 256
8. Altmann & de Vos 1999 , p. 305
9. Donna Scanlon's article about Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
10. Altmann & de Vos 1999 , p. 315
11. Altmann & de Vos 1999 , p. 306
12. Altmann & de Vos 2001 , p. 270
13. Altmann & de Vos 2001 , p. 267
14. Dozois 1996 , p. 587
15. Altmann & de Vos 2001 , p. 271
16. Altmann & de Vos 1999 , p. 354
17. Altmann & de Vos 1999 , p. 140
18. Altmann & de Vos 2001 , p. 260
19. Altmann & de Vos 2001 , p. 269
20. Dozois 1996 , p. 591
21. Mietkiewicz, Henry (1997-02-22). "Sawyer takes invigorating stretch". Toronto Star . ProQuest   437621396. Factiva   TOR0000020080121dt2m00kv8. NewsBank 10BBDE4DCB29FC88.
22. "Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears". Publishers Weekly . Vol. 242, no. 45. 1995-11-06. p. 86. Gale   A17538228. Archived from the original on 2026-03-29. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
23. Green, Roland (1995-12-15). "Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears". Booklist . Vol. 92, no. 8. p. 689. Gale   A17891474. Archived from the original on 2026-03-29. Retrieved 2026-03-29– via Gale.
24. "Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears". Kirkus Reviews . 1995-10-15. Archived from the original on 2026-03-29. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
25. Dozois 1996 , p. xxix

Bibliography

• Altmann, Anna E.; de Vos, Gail (1999). New Tales for Old: Folktales As Literary Fictions for Young Adults Paperback. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 140, 256, 305–306, 315, 354. ISBN   1-56308-447-3 . Retrieved 2026-03-29– via Internet Archive.
• Altmann, Anna E.; de Vos, Gail (2001). Tales, Then and Now: More Folktales As Literary Fictions for Young Adults. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 34–35, 260–261, 267, 269, 270–271. ISBN   1-56308-831-2 . Retrieved 2026-03-29– via Internet Archive.
• Dozois, Gardner, ed. (1996). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. xxix, 587, 589, 591–592. ISBN   0-312-14451-2 . Retrieved 2026-03-29– via Internet Archive.

External links

• Ellen Datlow's Bibliography
• Rhiona's story-by-story description at Library Thing