The Door in the Hedge and Other Stories
by Robin McKinley
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Description
From ensorcelled princesses to a frog that speaks, an enchanting collection of fairy tales from the Newbery Medal-winning author. The last mortal kingdom before the unmeasured sweep of Faerieland begins has at best held an uneasy truce with its unpredictable neighbor. There is nothing to show a boundary, at least on the mortal side of it; and if any ordinary human creature ever saw a faerie-or at any rate recognized one-it was never mentioned; but the existence of the boundary and of faeries show more beyond it is never in doubt either. So begins "The Stolen Princess," the first story of this collection, about the meeting between the human princess Linadel and the faerie prince Donathor. "The Princess and the Frog" concerns Rana and her unexpected alliance with a small, green, flipper-footed denizen of a pond in the palace gardens. "The Hunting of the Hind" tells of a princess who has bewitched her beloved brother, hoping to beg some magic of cure, for her brother is dying, and the last tale is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses in which an old soldier discovers, with a little help from a lavender-eyed witch, the surprising truth about where the princesses dance their shoes to tatters every night. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
ncgraham The obvious recommendation ... can't think why LT didn't provide it!
30
Member Reviews
Typical Mckinley short story collection. Very enjoyably written gentle faerie tales featuring the common sorts of themes - dancing shoes, missing babies and the like. The frog/prince one is twisted wonderfully even though you know it's coming. There's nothing intense here, no peril, little drama, just quiet romance, picturesque countryside, and people living their lives as princes and princesses as best they can - amongst the manipulations of the fae.
Short but enjoyable.
Short but enjoyable.
So far my summer reading seems to be centering upon the rediscovery of old favorites, and Robin McKinley certainly qualifies. When I was about twelve years old I gobbled up everything I could find by the author, and after Beauty this was my favorite. The Door in the Hedge consists of four stories; two of them are original creations of the author's, and the other two are reworkings of old and beloved folktales. All are awash in McKinley's beautiful prose, all deal with the unknowable and ethereal, and I would class all of them under the category of "modern fairy tales." Additionally, they all contain elements that are left unexplained, which different readers may find either weakens the plot considerably, or adds to the mystique of the show more stories. Otherwise, they vary quite widely in setting and tone.
"The Stolen Princess" is a charming, graceful, and even somewhat haunting story that tells of the last mortal kingdom on the border to Faerieland. The focus is on the royal family and their immortal neighbors' custom of stealing mortal children. I loved all the characters, but was more interested in the elder generation than the young, love-at-first-sight romance. I thought Galvin a particularly well-developed character, and found he and Alora's story beautiful, and McKinley's description of it as being unpoetical quite hilarious. My only criticism is that I felt, given the author's treatment of the fairies, she ought to have come up with a reason for their child-stealing customs.
The shortest tale in the collection, "The Princess and the Frog" used to be by far my favorite of McKinley's short stories, and it is still stunning what she is able to do with so simple and childlike a story as "The Frog Prince." Here it becomes a highly-wrought family drama set against the backdrop of an epic battle between good and evil. It is the most action-filled tale in The Door in the Hedge, which is probably why it appealed to me most as a child.
"The Hunting of the Hind" has its faults, which have been enumerated many times by other reviewers; in addition to a woefully short climax and a magic that seems to operate without rules (which will appeal to some as much as it alienates others), it is one of those everyone-finds-a-mate-even-though-it's-not-necessary-to-the-plot stories. Yet it also boasts a quiet but resilient heroine, and the atmosphere and use of illusion invite the most delicious comparisons with Patricia McKillip's work, as well as McKinley's own The Hero and the Crown.
Surprisingly, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," which I used to find deadly dull, may now be my favorite story in the collection. It is a fairly unassuming retelling, but full of striking images, from the doe-like appearance of one princess at the dinner table to the vision of them dancing with their dark suitors in the palace beneath the earth, looking like captured butterflies. I've spoken about the great characters in almost all of the other stories, but in my opinion the protagonist of "Princesses" takes the cake. McKinley emphasizes the description of him in the original tale as sad and old (at 38!), but he has the good humor to joke about it with his friend the ostler, and a ready, spontaneous smile that wins him into the heart of the king—and into the heart of this reader. There is a kind of silent communication between he and the eldest princess throughout the tale, and when he chooses her as his bride at the end, it is no longer a random decision, but the beautiful climax of so many hopes and whispers.
I don't think The Door in the Hedge ranks quite as high on my list of favorites from McKinley as it used to, and it would not be my first recommendation as an introduction to her work, but it is a lovely memento of one of our best young adult fantasy authors in her prime. show less
"The Stolen Princess" is a charming, graceful, and even somewhat haunting story that tells of the last mortal kingdom on the border to Faerieland. The focus is on the royal family and their immortal neighbors' custom of stealing mortal children. I loved all the characters, but was more interested in the elder generation than the young, love-at-first-sight romance. I thought Galvin a particularly well-developed character, and found he and Alora's story beautiful, and McKinley's description of it as being unpoetical quite hilarious. My only criticism is that I felt, given the author's treatment of the fairies, she ought to have come up with a reason for their child-stealing customs.
The shortest tale in the collection, "The Princess and the Frog" used to be by far my favorite of McKinley's short stories, and it is still stunning what she is able to do with so simple and childlike a story as "The Frog Prince." Here it becomes a highly-wrought family drama set against the backdrop of an epic battle between good and evil. It is the most action-filled tale in The Door in the Hedge, which is probably why it appealed to me most as a child.
"The Hunting of the Hind" has its faults, which have been enumerated many times by other reviewers; in addition to a woefully short climax and a magic that seems to operate without rules (which will appeal to some as much as it alienates others), it is one of those everyone-finds-a-mate-even-though-it's-not-necessary-to-the-plot stories. Yet it also boasts a quiet but resilient heroine, and the atmosphere and use of illusion invite the most delicious comparisons with Patricia McKillip's work, as well as McKinley's own The Hero and the Crown.
Surprisingly, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," which I used to find deadly dull, may now be my favorite story in the collection. It is a fairly unassuming retelling, but full of striking images, from the doe-like appearance of one princess at the dinner table to the vision of them dancing with their dark suitors in the palace beneath the earth, looking like captured butterflies. I've spoken about the great characters in almost all of the other stories, but in my opinion the protagonist of "Princesses" takes the cake. McKinley emphasizes the description of him in the original tale as sad and old (at 38!), but he has the good humor to joke about it with his friend the ostler, and a ready, spontaneous smile that wins him into the heart of the king—and into the heart of this reader. There is a kind of silent communication between he and the eldest princess throughout the tale, and when he chooses her as his bride at the end, it is no longer a random decision, but the beautiful climax of so many hopes and whispers.
I don't think The Door in the Hedge ranks quite as high on my list of favorites from McKinley as it used to, and it would not be my first recommendation as an introduction to her work, but it is a lovely memento of one of our best young adult fantasy authors in her prime. show less
Robin McKinley’s strong suit is not short stories. Her books usually start off slow and take a while to warm up and become interesting, and with short stories, that sort of thing just doesn’t work out as well. While the stories themselves had interesting plots, the way McKinley writes most of them is plodding, to say the least. The first story kept losing my interest, but I know how her writing works, so I continued on, regardless of how bored I was from her initial set-up. With that said, however, the first story is by far the weakest and the stories only get stronger and more interesting as the book moves along, which I really appreciated. Well done on whoever created the chronology for this anthology, because the best stories show more were put last, so there was only buildup and things to look forward to rather than reading a great story at first and then getting disappointed by the next one.
I’m a huge fan of fairy tales, which is part of the reason why I picked up this book. I very much enjoyed the retelling of the Princess and the Frog. While predictable, it was still an interesting twist on the original tale, and I absolutely LOVED the twelve dancing princesses retelling. It could have been several pages shorter, but it was overall quite well done.
Basically, this is great if you’re a fan of fairy tales and Robin McKinley. It takes a lot to to get through the set ups of most of the stories, but they do have some sort of payoff that I felt was worthwhile. It’s not amazing by any means, nor are these particular retellings must-reads, but they’re great if you’re in need for a fairy tale fix.
Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less
I’m a huge fan of fairy tales, which is part of the reason why I picked up this book. I very much enjoyed the retelling of the Princess and the Frog. While predictable, it was still an interesting twist on the original tale, and I absolutely LOVED the twelve dancing princesses retelling. It could have been several pages shorter, but it was overall quite well done.
Basically, this is great if you’re a fan of fairy tales and Robin McKinley. It takes a lot to to get through the set ups of most of the stories, but they do have some sort of payoff that I felt was worthwhile. It’s not amazing by any means, nor are these particular retellings must-reads, but they’re great if you’re in need for a fairy tale fix.
Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less
I prefer McKinley's longform stuff, but I did like these. I think the first story might have been my favorite, mostly because I am very into various tellings of Faerieland and I liked this one, but overall they're just pretty good stories with strong female characters. Not my absolute favorite retellings, but they serve well as such. I was fairly confused during most of them and I genuinely don't think it was like a McKillip type of bewilderment it was just... vague and unexplanatory in some senses. Also good Lord the age gaps but that is kind of irrelevant.
I remember being 10 and trying to read this book so many times and always giving in after a few pages because it was so boring. The passing of two decades has not changed that. While I was able to make my adult self slog through it, I am not sure it was worth the effort. There are a few lovely images and turns of phrase scattered here and there, but for the most part this a wholly unimaginative retelling of fairytales. Nothing is complicated, nothing is troubled, nothing is any more than you expect it to be. McKinley attempts to play with gender norms, but really just plays right into them.
Anthology of short stories by Robin McKinley. They're all beautifully written and none of the stories are particularly tense (sometimes to the point of being anticlimactic, unfortunately).
The Door in the Hedge
The kingdom borders the fairy land and the occasional infant boy and teenage girl are kidnapped by the faeries. Nobody expects the beautiful, accomplished (though surprisingly not Mary Sueish) princess to be taken, because the faeries have always before been careful not to end families, and she is the only one. But, of course...
The writing, the language of the story is typical fantastic beautiful McKinley. I used to like this story - at least, the first half of it - but this time reading it, I couldn't help but wonder about all the show more unanswered questions. Why do the faeries have to steal children? Why do the people living in that kingdom stand for it? Neither is adequately, convincingly explained and if you really think about it, it's horrifying.
Even so, there really are no 'bad guys' in this story, and it just sort of meanders along from start to finish. Unfortunately, though, the resolution doesn't really make much sense or explain things.
The Princess and the Frog
This story is much better - we're dropped into the middle of a conflict of wills where an evil smiling wizard or mage or what-have-you is slowly, insidiously taking over the kingdom from the inside. The princess is spunky and holds her own as well as she can, and the frog is great. Once again the climax leaves a little to be desired, though.
The Hunting of the Hind
The princess in this story is one of my favorite fairy-tale princesses. She is reminiscent of Aerin from The Hero and the Crown, the all-but-forgotten daughter of a king's second marriage who nonetheless loves her country and her family. For her beloved brother, she embarks on a quest that a dozen men have already failed at.
As with the other stories, I like the first half of the story but the second half doesn't quite live up to it. There is too much love at first sight as a replacement for plot and the climax is wanting. Also, I always thought there was more chemistry between Korah and Sellena than between any other pairing.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The twelve princess dance holes through their slippers every night and a retired soldier takes the challenge of finding out how and why.
Definitely the strongest story of the bunch, start to finish. There are a few unexplained bits, but overall it works. This is my favorite story in the book. show less
The Door in the Hedge
The kingdom borders the fairy land and the occasional infant boy and teenage girl are kidnapped by the faeries. Nobody expects the beautiful, accomplished (though surprisingly not Mary Sueish) princess to be taken, because the faeries have always before been careful not to end families, and she is the only one. But, of course...
The writing, the language of the story is typical fantastic beautiful McKinley. I used to like this story - at least, the first half of it - but this time reading it, I couldn't help but wonder about all the show more unanswered questions. Why do the faeries have to steal children? Why do the people living in that kingdom stand for it? Neither is adequately, convincingly explained and if you really think about it, it's horrifying.
Even so, there really are no 'bad guys' in this story, and it just sort of meanders along from start to finish. Unfortunately, though, the resolution doesn't really make much sense or explain things.
The Princess and the Frog
This story is much better - we're dropped into the middle of a conflict of wills where an evil smiling wizard or mage or what-have-you is slowly, insidiously taking over the kingdom from the inside. The princess is spunky and holds her own as well as she can, and the frog is great. Once again the climax leaves a little to be desired, though.
The Hunting of the Hind
The princess in this story is one of my favorite fairy-tale princesses. She is reminiscent of Aerin from The Hero and the Crown, the all-but-forgotten daughter of a king's second marriage who nonetheless loves her country and her family. For her beloved brother, she embarks on a quest that a dozen men have already failed at.
As with the other stories, I like the first half of the story but the second half doesn't quite live up to it. There is too much love at first sight as a replacement for plot and the climax is wanting. Also, I always thought there was more chemistry between Korah and Sellena than between any other pairing.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The twelve princess dance holes through their slippers every night and a retired soldier takes the challenge of finding out how and why.
Definitely the strongest story of the bunch, start to finish. There are a few unexplained bits, but overall it works. This is my favorite story in the book. show less
I have a confession: Robin McKinley is one of my favorite authors. I love how she takes a fairy tale and makes it her own. The four stories in this collection are wonderful. My favorite is "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."
Highly recommended for fans of retold fairy tales.
Highly recommended for fans of retold fairy tales.
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Author Information
42+ Works 50,667 Members
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Awards and Honors
Awards
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Door in the Hedge and Other Stories
- Original title
- The Door in the Hedge
- Original publication date
- 1981
- People/Characters
- Prince Aliyander; Princess Rana; Prince Inthur/Crown Prince; Prince Lian/Frog Prince; Queen Alora; Queen Ellian (show all 13); King Gilvan; King Thold; Princess Linadel; Prince Donathor; Princess Korah; Darin; Sellena/Golden Hind
- Important places
- Faerieland
- Dedication
- This book is dedicated to the memory of my grandfathers: Albert Turrell, who told me stories even more wonderful than those I could find in Andrew Lang, and Thomas McKinley, who was a soldier and fought for a Queen
- First words
- The last mortal kingdom before the unmeasured sweep of Faerieland begins has at best held an uneasy truce with its unpredictable neighbour.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)They went so far as to ask some of the folk who lived along the road to the King's city if they knew of her; but none did.
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- Someone is trying to add this to McKinley's Damar series, but really they're not connected at all.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ7 .D — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
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- 20
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- 8