I grew up with fairy tales, and the princess was always in some big, frilly, pink, sparkly dress… or she was in a dress that called to mind Medieval Europe. Then, one day I watched a version of Cinderella where everyone was in period garb right up until the ball, and then the women were all in one of five different ballgown styles, any of which would have graced a contemporary prom.
The costume designer had clearly tried to make the gowns blend into the fairy tale castle and the provincial costumes favored by the men, but the disconnect was there. Given that fairy tales come from all over the world and all different time periods, it made me start wondering why interpretations are inevitably set in a Medieval or Renaissance setting, or refer to those time periods in some fashion.
I’m reading the Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey, and I find them interesting. Each one is a retelling (some more successfully than others) of a fairy tale, and they’re all set in Victorian England. Corsets knock the wind out of a Water Master. A medium is sent away to school in England while her parents do missionary work in Africa. They don’t break that setting, and it’s refreshing.
They’re considered historical fantasy, something I’ve thought about a hundred times since my days in a Renaissance LARP. I’ve tried to capture it in themed movie afternoons that provide the background to my work sometimes. It’s interesting because fairy tales in and of themselves are historical. They were a means of teaching, a means of entertaining, which makes them perfect to my work.
