"The Six Swans" and "Sevenwaters"

The Six Swans was retold, in detail, in Daughter of the Forest. Has anyone read the original Grimm version, and what do you think of Marillier's version?

I haven't read the Grimm version, but I loved Marillier's novel. Long, but worth it.

I read Daughter of the Forest some years ago and enjoyed it. For what it's worth, the Six Swans tale is one of several that is touched on in Cloaked by Alex Flinn -- a much lighter take on the story!

I loved Daughter of the forest. It was the first book I read by Marillier, and since then I read (and re-read) everything by her. As for the original I haven't read it (or if I did it was so long ago, and probably an abridged version).

I have also read another (kind-of) retelling, that is Birdwing by Rafe Martin. It isn't exactly a retelling, more of a continuation of the story, and follows the brother that ends up with the swan wing. It's quite fun (and there is a bit of the Goose Girl fairytale in there as well).

Daughter of the Forest was also the first Marillier that I read and I loved I have read all her other books now too because it was so good. I have not read the Grimm version but I have read the Hans Christian Anderson story about 12 brothers who were turned into swans and saved by their sister making nettle garments. I think it is pretty similar.

I have read the original (or a version of it anyway), and also Marillier's retelling, which I LOVE. Actually, the original original is the Irish legend called The Children of Lir, if anyone's interested.
Zoe Marriott's also written a YA retelling of the story, called The Swan Kingdom - nowhere good as Daughter of the Forest, but there aren't too many retellings of this one around, so it's always nice to find some!

#5 CRAZYELIZABETH: I accidentally read Son of the Shadows first. It actually did work on its own, and then a year later, I found Daughter of the Forest in a second-hand store. My mind nicely erased most of what I knew of the sequel so I could thoroughly enjoy the prequel.

Daughter of the Forest was the first Marillier I read, too. The only other book by her that I've gotten my hands on is Son of the Shadows. The only problem with the first book was that I picked it up from the children's box at a library book sale when I was 13, and I wished someone had warned me about the rape scene.

The Seventh Swan is another continuation of the story, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

#8 SusieBookworm:

I really wish people would proof and understand books before shelving them in the children's section. It didn't entirely phase me, but my mother had introduced me to Clan of the Cave Bear before then. She said, "There's some sex in the book, but it's still all right." I was thirteen when I read it, and I wanted to yell at her for lumping sex into the same category as rape (Gene Wolfe did the same thing when reviewing Kitty and the Midnight Hour). Such intimate relations were an embarrassing topic for me at thirteen, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller rehashes this story in the episode "The Three Ravens". My husband and I finished watching the show (including the Greek Myths segment) not too long ago on Netflix. I'd say it's worth a look. :)

I've read the Anderson version as well as a Children of Lir version. I was acually prompted to do so by the "Daughter of the Forest" I think Marillier's version was very good. I loved Sorcha when I was reading it, but I discovered I liked her daughter Liadan much better when I started "Son of the Shadows" I"m a big fan of Marillier how ever you look at it. She is very talented.

I liked Son of the Shadows better than Daughter of the Forest, though I too loved both of the books very much. Her stories and style just work for me.

#6: I won a copy of The Swan Kingdom and am planning to read it next week. It's a shame to see it's nowhere near as good, though I did enjoy Marriott's Shadows on the Moon (wait...I see where you're coming from, Marriott's writing isn't on par with Marillier's).

With two mentions, I'll have to take a look at The Swan Kingdom, sometime.

#14: I just read and enjoyed it. It mostly sticks to the original tale, though there's only three brothers and it takes about 2/3 of the book to get to where the sister starts making the tunics. There's a slight twist at the end, too.

Hmmm . . . Daughter of the Forest was lovely. I stopped midway through Son of the Shadows. I did enjoy Marillier's Wildwood Dancing. I find her a bit uneven as a writer. Her novels are either excellent or so so. In this regard, she reminds me of Charles de Lint.

What made you stop halfway through Son of the Shadows? I really liked that one. Wildwood Dancing is still on my to-read list.

>17 justjukka: Rozax,

For one thing, I find I have less and less patience with series. Also, it was less fey so to speak and more romance. I prefer fey rather than romance to carry the novel.

A second on Charles de Lint..when he is good, he is very very good, but half the time he's quite tiring and repetitive. Still, we own a fair number of his books. I've not read any Marillier, so always nice to find someone new.