Tales from the Hinterland

“Rich with bloodshed, metamorphosis and inevitable comeuppance, written with the absolute assurance of a master storyteller summoning an audience to the fireside on a winter’s night, Albert’s book is uniquely transporting and discomfiting, a length of shining fabric flecked with glass that sparkles as it cuts.”—The Times Literary Supplement (UK)

“Tales from the Hinterland is filled with strange, creepy stories featuring characters readers of Albert’s previous works will recognize, along with horrifying new tales filled with blood and revenge, and women who want more than what they’re offered by both life and fate. Many of them meet tragic or terrifying ends, but all of their stories are compelling ones and will satisfy any reader hungry for some magic in this cold, dark winter.”—Culturess.com

“We first heard about the book of fairy tales written by Althea Proserpine in The Hazel Wood, and witnessed the fallout from them in The Night Country. Now Melissa Albert gifts us with the stories themselves, of Hansa the Traveler, of Twice-Killed Katherine, and of Alice-Three-Times, whose story will perhaps mean the most to readers. Don’t come into this collection expecting Disney princesses. Melissa Albert and Althea Proserpine’s stories are bloody and brutal and make the Brothers Grimm feel sugary sweet.”—Tor.com

“Tales from the Hinterland is enthralling, fantastic, and darkly haunting. Highly recommend for fans of powerful short stories, fairytales, and enchantment.”—YA Books Central

“Lush and deliciously sinister fairytales to be consumed as greedily as Turkish delight or any fairy fruit. I loved these.”—Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble

“This inventive, enchanting collection reads like the fairy tales of old, hushed stories passed woman to woman, before the Grimms came and wiped away all the blood.”—Laura Ruby, author of Thirteen Dorways, Wolves Behind Them All

“Dark, demanding, and delicious.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The writing is as spare and precise as poetry, connected to the darker, edgier elements of fairy-tale conventions. Albert’s rich and tightly focused collection forms the core of the mythology created in her novels, and her fans will be thrilled at this further glimpse into that world.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Stories fueled by feminist rage, the frustration of being under-estimated, and the insatiable longing to experience more mark this collection as timely and universal.”—School Library Journal

“Fans will thrill to this volume’s fairy tale cadences and inventive, deep-shadowed imagery.”—Publishers Weekly