From Daniel Mallory Ortberg comes a collection of darkly mischievous
stories based on classic fairy tales. Adapted from his beloved
"Children's Stories Made Horrific" series, The Merry Spinster takes up
the trademark wit that endeared Ortberg to readers of both The Toast and
his best-selling debut Texts From Jane Eyre. The feature has become
among the most popular on the site, with each entry bringing in tens of
thousands of views, as the stories proved a perfect vehicle for
Ortberg's eye for deconstruction and destabilization. Sinister and
inviting, familiar and alien all at the same time, The Merry Spinster
updates traditional children's stories and fairy tales with elements of
psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist
mischief.
Readers of The Toast will instantly recognize Ortberg's boisterous good
humor and uber-nerd swagger: those new to Ortberg's oeuvre will delight
in his unique spin on fiction, where something a bit mischievous and
unsettling is always at work just beneath the surface.
Unfalteringly faithful to its beloved source material, The Merry
Spinster also illuminates the unsuspected, and frequently, alarming
emotional complexities at play in the stories we tell ourselves, and
each other, as we tuck ourselves in for the night.
Bed time will never be the same.
