Fairy Tales of the Fiercer Sex

By: Alison Larkin

Narrated by: Alison Larkin

Hailed by the Times as "hugely entertaining", award-winning narrator Alison Larkin selects fairytales of strong, brave, independent, at times irreverent girls and women who take charge of their lives, go on their own adventures, rescue themselves, and sometimes even save the men they love.

These are not stories of helpless females shut up in high towers waiting around for a handsome man to rescue them while they sleep for years or brush their golden hair a lot. These heroines have far more to distinguish them than the fact that they (sometimes) end up married to a prince.

Selected and introduced by Alison Larkin, the stories are:

"The Snow Queen", "Molly Whuppie and the Double-faced Giant", "A Pottle of Brains", "Cap o' Rushes", "Hansel and Gretel", "Mr. Fox", "Clever Grethel", "Kari Woodengown", "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", "Felicia and the Pot of Pinks", "The Iron Stove", "The Hedley Kow", "The Six Sillies", "Baba Yaga", "The Old Woman in the Woods", "The Idle Spinner", "The Twelve Brothers", "Frederick and Catherine", "Little Red Cap", and "Beauty and the Beast."

Award-winning audiobook narrator, comedienne, and best-selling author of The English American Alison Larkin is also a classically trained actress who has appeared on Broadway with the Royal National Theater and off-Broadway with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Recent narrations include her AudioFile award-winning recording of Peter Pan and The Inconsiderate Waiter by J. M. Barrie and Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

©2017 Alison Larkin Presents British Classic Audio (P)2017 Alison Larkin Presents

Critic reviews

FAIRYTALES OF THE FIERCER SEX by Hans Christian Andersen, Flora Annie Steel, Joseph Jacobs, Brothers Grimm, et al.

Read by Alison Larkin

Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty (who didn't back down from the Beast), and Gretel (the smarter sister of Hansel) - these are just a few of the brave, inventive, and independent young ladies who populate this fascinating collection of folktales. Series editor and narrator Alison Larkin reads the 20 tales in this collection with a traditional approach, capturing the time-honored "once-upon-a-time" rhythms and giving an extra cackle or two to the witches and trolls. Underneath there's a historic nuance and a tone of scholarship that aligns with the dark themes of greed, gluttony, entitlement, and, of course, children as snacks. These stories of wandering in dark woods and knocking on the doors of giants may be couched as children's fare, but keep the lights on just the same. B.P. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2017]

Fantastic selection of fairy tales

Where does Fairy Tales of the Fiercer Sex rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the very best. I always love audiobooks narrated by Alison Larkin and I am a huge fan of the classics, so this is a match made in heaven.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fairy Tales of the Fiercer Sex?

The end of Mr Fox was a real shock. That story is not one I had heard before and I loved the bravery of the bride-to-be and her solution to the problem was not one a feeble girl like Rapunzel would have made!

Have you listened to any of Alison Larkin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Alison Larkin is an A List narrator who always delivers. She is also a writer and selected these perfectly. I loved her narration of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, The English American which she also wrote and her narration of the wartime novel Somewhere in France.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The girl heroines no one has heard about

Any additional comments?

It's an audiobook that appeals to all. We listened to this on a family car trip - my wife, my two daughters - 13 and 9. We all LOVED Alison Larkin's narration and thought the original story of The SNow Queen (on which the move Frozen was based) was even better than the movie and we loved listening to the original story of Beauty and the Beast, but mostly we so enjoyed hearing stories of strong women and girls that we had not heard before! These are stories that have been around for hundreds of years but in Larkin's hands they really come alive today.

Charming fairy tale collection

Any additional comments?

It's hard to critique the content, since most of these stories are classic fairytales. Alison Larkin's narration works really well for this collection. I think she'd do well narrating any children's stories. I don't know if she has a lisp or the recording wasn't able to reduce sibilance effectively, but her hissing 's' sounds were noticeably distracting through my earbuds. I'm not sure, maybe if I had downloaded at a higher quality format (which I don't like to do because of file size) this wouldn't have been an issue. Other than that, though, it was a wonderful narration :)

Amazing Narration for Brothers Grimm Short Stories

Any additional comments?

I simply loved listening to Fairy Tales of the Fiercer Sex, an anthology of 20 classic folk and fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm more than 200 years ago. Many of these stories have captured the imagination of millions, resulting in hundreds of adaptations, including a few Walt Disney movies. For example, the movie Frozen was based on "The Snow Queen," and "Beauty and the Beast" is perhaps the most famous Grimm Fairy Tale, which was made into a Broadway play, multiple television shows, and several movies.

That having been said, this collection is NOT of the Disney princess variety. The Grimm brothers wrote compelling stories often with imperfect characters and not so "happy ever after" endings. The one theme that connects this collection of short stories is that all of them feature independent women who are strong and adventurous. These girls and women don’t wait around for a man to rescue them, but rather they take charge and rescue themselves. "Hansel and Gretel” and "Little Red Riding Hood" come to mind.

Alison Larkin narrated this collection of fairytales and she was simply sublime. She brings an enthusiasm and zeal to her narrations that many actors lack. Alison uses differing voices for all characters, and changes up the tempo during the most exciting parts of each tale. [I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.] In conclusion, Fairy Tales of the Fiercer Sex is an excellent audiobook that any fan of classic folk and fairy tales would enjoy!

Women and girls to the rescue

Have you listened to any of Alison Larkin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first, but I imagine that she would do a wonderful job with childrens stories. Alison did a fabulous job with the narration of these fairy tales and while the narration was clearly aimed at a younger audience it was also enjoyable for me.

Any additional comments?

There are about 20 different stories narrated in this book, they rage from about 6 minutes to about 80 minutes in length.

All of the stories feature a girl who completes a trek or solves something to fix a problem that is currently occurring, it's great to hear examples of girls in fairy tales who don't sit around waiting for a prince to save them.

A great book to listen to as a family, although perhaps not with really young children.

Note: This book was provided free by the author/narrator/publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fairytales with strong girls and women!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! These are fairytales that have been around for hundreds of years. And they all feature brave girls and women. Which means that stories about brave girls and women have been around for centuries. This is fascinating - and the stories are really good and scary too - but exciting.

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that they were all so different.

What does Alison Larkin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Alison Larkin can do any voice. I mean ANY voice. And here she voices all kinds of animals and magical creatures and you get transported to magical worlds.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No it was a book I could listen to in bits because all the stories are self contained, which I really liked.

Any additional comments?

Fantastic stories, fantastic narrator. I loved it!

a different side of fairytales.

I know a lot of these are classic fairytales, but I only knew a few of them. I loved that the classic weak female does not apply here! its about time! these are great, a little tiny bit of gore here and there, but I would think 10 years and up may get a kick out of these!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Great collection of Bad A** women!

This is a great collection of classic tales from all different authors of the fiercest women in these stories. The narrator did a great job expressing emotions, and giving life to the characters. I have two small girls who both loved listening to the stories. It was very easy to pause in between each tale so we could listen on and off.

This audio book was graciously provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Great for Older Children

I think this retelling of fairy tales from various sources would be great for older children. Some of the stories have some gruesome elements that might be too strong for younger children. However, some of the stories would be fine for all ages, as long as parents used appropriate discretion in which ones they let younger children listen too. As an adult, I found some of the stories boring, but others made me laugh with delight at the clever heroines. The narration was excellent. The speed and tempo were perfect, and the author/narrator did a great job of varying her voice to bring out the individual characters.
I was voluntarily provided a free review copy of this audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Fun and easy read

A fun and easy read. A bit slow at times but overall a very enjoyable retelling of classic fairy tales. I always enjoy Alison Larkin. She's a great narrator.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.