Rapunzel lives in a tower block with mean aunt Edna. Unfortunately in her haste to leave the party, Greta loses a slipper but Prince Roderick is determined to find the owner of the shoe…Ĭinderella is set in the 1930s and it’s fascinating to see the characters dressed in Hollywood inspired fashions and feathers, even the kindly woman is wearing beads! We found the household equipment and kitchen utensils particularly interesting to look at – the vacuum cleaner, the mangle and the art deco crockery on the dresser. But a kindly woman appears and with the help of her magic Greta spends a wonderful evening dancing with Prince Roderick.

They excitedly prepare for the Prince’s ball while Greta is left with the housework. After a business trip he brings his new wife and two stepdaughters to live with him and Greta. Greta lives with her shortsighted, forgetful father. We laughed at lots of the changes that have been made to the stories – Sleeping Beauty (Annabel) pricks her finger on the stylus of a record player which is mysteriously delivered on her birthday, Rapunzel becomes a wig maker and Cinderella (Greta) goes to the ball in a leek that was transformed into a limousine. We love the flying ducks in Aunt Edna’s flat and the 1930s kitchen in Cinderella. We pored over the details in the illustrations which wonderfully recreate each era. David Roberts’ illustrations are fabulously detailed and provide an amazing insight into life in three very distinctive eras.ĭelightfully Different Fairy Tales are given new twists by changing the historical period that they are set in and this also adds elements of humour to the stories.

The stories take us back in time to different time periods during the twentieth century and introduce readers to fashions and styles intrinsic to the era. Delightfully Different Fairy Tales retell the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Cinderella in the most wonderfully original way.

Rapunzel by Lynn Roberts-Maloney