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What happens when an author of adult fiction mixes
genres usually considered popular, non literary, and
often for children? Can the result be viewed as
literary and potent for an adult audience? Deerskin
by Robin McKinley and Daughter of the Forest by
Juliet Marillier exemplify the modern technique of
adapting classic fairy tales into modern adult
fantasy fiction. Little scholarship exists on this
relatively recent subgenre. This book considers
these two novels in terms of literary quality and
technique, and particularly for the ways in which
they deal with the sensitive topics of rape and
healing at the core of each story. This text
explores how these forms of fantasy and fairy tale,
often considered light reading, lend themselves to
such weighty topics as these, how, in fact, the often
unmentionable topic of rape can be dealt with in a
way that is both protective and therapeutic to the
reader specifically due to the form of the modern
fantasy fairy tale. This book would appeal to
audiences interested in fairy tales, fantasy,
folklore, feminism, or trauma writing.

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