This is a critical examination of the writers of the late 20th - early 21st centuries whose re-inventions of the literary fairy tale mirror the social, political, and cultural climate of the age. Sixteen essays consider fairy tales recreated through contemporary short stories, novels, poetry, and the graphic novel from both best-selling and lesser-known writers. The essays apply a variety of theoretical perspectives, including postmodernism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, structuralism, queer theory and gender studies.