In Sleeping Beauty’s Bed

Erotic Fairy Tales by Mitzi Szereto

Book Review by Ashley Lister

Once upon a time, I studied a module on fairy tales. 

It was an eye-opening experience.  My original thoughts had been that fairy tales were simple stories, written to entertain children, and reinforce stereotypical role-models.  At the back of my mind I had a vague idea that fairy stories were filled with handsome and brave (empowered) masculine princes who rescued beautiful and imperilled (disempowered) female princess.  It always struck me as an orderly set up because I’m a man and, when you live in a patriarchal hegemony, being a man is probably the best thing to be. 

But the module on fairy tales suggested that perhaps this is an unfair representation of societal stereotypes.  The lecturers also suggested that these established gender stereotypes were likely acting as inculcated foundations to reinforce beliefs of male empowerment and female disempowerment. 

Not all of the module was so heavy and intense.  We had a giggle reading the comedy stylings of Andrea Dworkin, and her gag that ‘All sex is rape.’  I also had fun following some of the rather macabre and sinister themes that appeared regularly in fairy stories, such as mutilation, child abandonment and threats of murder. 

Fairy stories have been handed down to us from a legacy that is most commonly associated with the writings of Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.  Now, adding to that legacy and returning the stories to the realm of their original adult audience, comes Mitzi Szereto’s collection: In Sleeping Beauty’s Bed.

Most readers and writers of erotic fiction will be familiar with the name of Mitzi Szereto.  An erotic author in her own right, with the highly regarded M S Valentine titles to her credit, Mitzi is also the renowned anthologist behind such titles as Erotic Travel Tales, Erotic Travel Tales 2 and Foreign Affairs. 

In Sleeping Beauty’s Bed is Mitzi’s take on the fabled fiction that has influenced most of our childhood reading.  Keeping the essence of each original story, but taking the theme to an adult level that better explains the characters’ motives, In Sleeping Beauty’s Bed erotically revisits such classic stories as ‘Rapunzel,’ ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’  In addition, each story is preceded by Mitzi’s insightful and thought-provoking exploration of each story’s colourful history. 

Ashley Lister
November 2009

In Sleeping Beauty’s Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales
(Cleis Press; Second Edition; Sept 2009; ISBN 1573443670)
Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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© 2009 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms.His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books; ISBN: 0753511355), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica. Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto. He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Websites: www.ashleylister.co.uk / ashleylister.blogspot.com

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