First published 2012
Young women embark on dangerous journeys through enchanted forests where cannibalistic witches lurk in huts on chicken legs. Vasilisa the Beautiful faces trials with only a magical doll for guidance, while other heroines must outwit Baba Yaga and survive encounters with talking skulls. Cruel stepmothers transform children into geese, and tsars pose deadly riddles that mean death for those who answer incorrectly. Brothers take the forms of wise birds to help their sisters, while Father Frost tests the virtue of those who cross his path. The Frog Princess hides her true nature until the right moment arrives. These tales blend the voices of anonymous storytellers with literary masters including Alexander Pushkin, Nadezhda Teffi, Pavel Bazhov, and Andrey Platonov. Each story pulses with the raw power of oral tradition, where magic carries real consequences and survival depends on wit, courage, and sometimes a little supernatural help.
Genres: fantasy, fairy-tales, folklore, russian-literature
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, whimsical
Tropes: found-family, magical-realism
Setting: Russia
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
466 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books Ltd