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Best of the Web Hans Christian Andersen
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The story of Snow Queen and its themes have appeared in literature and other forms of art. This page provides a small discussion of some of the better known treatments by authors and other artists. Novels produced by romance publishers are not listed on this page, but can be found on Romance Novels: Fairy Tale Romances at Snow Queen. Literature Poetry Music Film Theatre Hoffman, Alice. The Ice Queen. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005. NOVEL: Amazon.com: "A solitary New Jersey librarian whose favorite book is a guide to suicide methods is struck by lightning in Alice Hoffman's superb novel, The Ice Queen. Orphaned at the age of eight after angrily wishing she would never see her mother again, our heroine found herself frozen emotionally: "I was the child who stomped her feet and made a single wish and in so doing ended the whole world‹my world, at any rate." Her brother Ned solved the pain of their mother's death by becoming a meteorologist: applying reason and logic to bad weather. Eventually, he invites our heroine to move down to Florida, where he teaches at a university. Here, while trying to swat a fly, she is struck by lightning (the resulting neurological damage includes an inability to see the color red). Orlon County turns out to receive two thirds of all the lightning strikes in Florida each year, and our heroine soon becomes drawn into the mysteries of lightning: the withering of trees and landscape near a strike, the medical traumas and odd new abilities of victims, the myths of renewal. Although a recluse, she becomes fascinated by a legendary local farmer nicknamed Lazarus Jones, said to have beaten death after a lightning strike: to have seen the other side and come back. The burning match to her cool reserve--her personal unguided tour through Hades--Lazarus will prove to be the talisman that restores her to girlhood innocence and possibility."
Kernaghan, Eileen. The Snow Queen. Saskatoon, Sask: Thistledown Press, 2000. NOVEL
Lackey, Mercedes. The Wizard of London. New York: Daw, 2005. NOVEL: "Set in Victorian London-where magic is real and Elemental Masters control the powers of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth-the fourth novel in this best-selling series tells the story of Lord Alderscroft, Master of the British Elemental Masters Council-the most powerful Fire Master ever to lead the Council. Loosely based on The Snow Queen, The Wizard of London delves into Lord Alderscroft's youth, when he was bespelled by an evil Elemental Master who hoped to use him for political gain."
Vinge, Joan D. The Snow Queen. New York: Dial Press, 1980. NOVEL: A science fiction/fantasy reworking of the tale with subsequent books following in a companion series, World's End, The Summer Queen and Tangled in Blue. Literature:
Short Stories
Block, Francesca Lia. "Ice." The Rose and the Beast. New York: Harper Collins, 2000. SHORT STORY Byatt, A. S. "Cold." Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice. New York: Random House, 1999. SHORT STORY Dalkey, Kara. "The Lady of the Ice Garden." Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction. Sharyn November, editor. New York: Firebird, 2003. SHORT STORY
Delacroix, Claire. "The Kiss of the Snow Queen" Queen in Winter. New York: Berkley Trade, 2006. SHORT STORY
Donoghue, Emma. "The Tale of the Brother." Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins. New York: Harper Collins, 1997. SHORT STORY  Greenberg, Joanne. "With the Snow Queen." With the Snow Queen. Brooklyn, New York: Arcade, 1991. SHORT STORY Kritzer, Naomi. "In the Witch's Garden." Realms of Fantasy. October 2002. SHORT STORY
Link, Kelly. "Travels with the Snow Queen." Stranger Things Happen. Brooklyn, New York: Small Beer Press, 2001. SHORT STORY Kelly Link has made the entire text of this book, including "Travels with the Snow Queen", available online for reading free of charge. Go to Jelly Ink Press: Stranger Things Happen.
McCrumb, Sharyn. "Gerda's Sense of Snow." Once Upon A Crime. Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, eds. New York: Berkeley Prime Crime, 1998. SHORT STORY
McKillip, Patricia. "The Snow Queen." Snow White, Blood Red. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Avon, 1995. McKillip, Patricia A. "The Snow Queen." Harrowing the Dragon. New York: Ace, 2005. SHORT STORY Berman, Ruth. "Snow Queen’s Portrait." The Poet Dreaming in the Artist's House: Contemporary Poems about the Visual Arts. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 1984. Eiler, April. "The Snow Queen." The Snow Queen. Palo Alto, CA: Line Dance, 1993. Gilbert, Sandra M. "The Last Poem About the Snow Queen." Blood Pressure. New York: W. W. Norton, 1988. Gilbert actually wrote a sequence of Snow Queen poems that appear in Blood Pressure, the titles are: "You Discover You're in Love With the Dead Prince" Also appears in: Marlatt, Dorothy. "Frames." Frames of a Story. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1968. "This evocative book-length poem is based on Hans Christian Anderson's allegory of riendship and love, The Snow Queen. In "Frames" Marlatt's search for her own love parallels Gerda's search for Kay in Anderson's fable. Rich, Adrienne. "The Snow Queen." The Fact of a Doorframe: Poems Selected and New 1950-1984. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1994. The poem originally appeared in Rich's The Diamond Cutters (1955).
Sansom, Clive. "The Land of Snow." Return to Magic. London: Leslie Frewin, 1969. I have listed primarily classical compositions of music using the themes of this fairy tale in either ballet, opera or some other musical style. I have also provided links to popular recordings of the music when available at Amazon.com. The advantage to these links is that you can listen to samples of the music at no charge.
Tobin, Randall Michael. 1999. BALLET.
LaSala, John. The Snow Queen. 2000. "The Snow Queen is an eclectic, yet cohesive blend of sounds and styles, mixing acoustic instruments and voices with electronically generated textures and soundscapes, written by new-music composer, John LaSala. The music was originally commissioned to accompany the Off-Off Broadway modern dance-theater piece of the same name." Track Listings
Joyce, Paul K. The Snow Queen. 2000. Within Temptation. "Ice Queen." Mother Earth. Sony, BMG Import: 2001. Goth-metal. Read the lyrics at Lyrics Cafe. To learn more
about these films, please visit the
Snezhnaya koroleva (1957). Gennadi Kazansky, director. Soviet Union. USA Title: The Snow Queen. From Amazon.com: "Mikhail Baryshnikov brings you the extraordinary animated films of the Soyuzmultfilm Studios in Russia for your whole family to see. "Stories From My Childhood" are based on classic Russian and English fairy tales with new Dolby Digital stereo audio in English, French and Spanish. Volume One includes "The Snow Queen" featuring the voices of Kathleen Turner and Mickey Rooney (French track: Catherine Deneuve; Spanish track: Beatriz Aguirre); "The Wild Swans" with Cathy Moriarty and James Coburn (French: Sandrine Kimberlain); and "Alice and the Mystery of the Third Planet" featuring Kirsten Dunst and Jim Belushi (French: Smain; Spanish: Ludwika Paleta). "
Snezhnaya koroleva (1966). Gennadi Kazansky, director. Soviet Union. USA Title: The Snow Queen. Cast: From Amazon.com: "This fairy tale from Hans Christian Andersen's tells of the wonderful journey a modest little girl named Gerda takes while searching for her friend Kay, who has been kidnapped by the wicked fairy, the Snow Queen. Gerda meets many obstacles in her trek before she faces a final decisive battle with the Snow Queen. But Gerda's loyal heart will overcome all the adversities in this touching story of great love, human kindness and faithfulness to one's duty."
Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Snow Queen (1985) (TV). Gilbert Cates, director. Cast: This television series originally aired on Showtime for six seasons and a total of 27 episodes. To see a full episode list, go to Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre.
Lumikuningatar [Snow Queen] (1986). Päivi Hartzell, director. Finland.
Snow Queen (1995). Martin Gates, director. UK. Cast: From Amazon.com: "Hans Christian Andersen's tale has never received a first-class production. This tepid version (made in 1995, released in 1999) stars Helen Mirren (the only known talent in the cast) as the queen who wants to freeze the world. Unfortunately, her giant mirror has broken and Tom, a young boy, is put under her spell to fix it. Tom's sister, Ellie, comes to the rescue with the usual assortment of animal friends to help. Not much fun, forgettable songs, and good only for passing 75 minutes in front of the TV. --Doug Thomas"
Snow Queen (2002) (TV). David Wu, director. United States. Cast: From Amazon.com: "What begins as a simple, bittersweet tale about a widower's daughter grandly unfolds into a rich, mythical adventure in Hallmark's production of Snow Queen. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, this story whisks viewers to a remote mountain town where winter claims a surprising number of lives, beginning with the local innkeeper's wife. Many years later, the woman's daughter, Gerda (Chelsea Hobbs), finds true love when her father hires Kai (Jeremy Guilbaut) as the inn's new bellboy. About one hour into this three-hour production, the mood turns rather sinister as the Snow Queen (Bridget Fonda) bewitches and captures Kai. Scenes of Gerda's search--through the lush temptations of each season personified--are interspersed with downright creepy scenes of Kai held prisoner in the Snow Queen's ice palace. Keen acting and smart direction engross the viewer, but those under 8 years old might not be ready for the repetitive themes of seduction and temptation. --Liane Thomas"
The Snow Queen (2005) (TV). Julian Gibbs, director. UK. Cast:
Kennedy, Richard. The Snow Queen: A Christmas Pageant. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. PLAY: From School Library Journal: "Kindergarten-Grade 6. This stage adaptation of the classic Andersen tale is a welcome alternative to standard holiday fare. Kennedy alters or edits portions of the original story in the interest of maintaining the dramatic pace as well as making the stage production manageable, so purists beware. His choices are generally good, combining or eliminating some characters and scenes. He also places more emphasis on some minor characters who not only keep the story moving but also add welcome touches of humor. The play has wide family and community appeal, clever dialogue, solid dramatic tension, and respect for its audience. Gazsi's illustrations highlight the text with bright rich colors, although Kai and Gerda seem very young and remain so throughout. The paintings are packed with whimsical detail. Some of the children's faces seem to be photographs grafted onto the art; the effect is unsettling but intriguing. The book is physically appealing and lends itself well to one-on-one sharing. Only a few bars of the music are printed; the full score must be ordered separately from the address in the foreword. In a note, Kennedy explains that the play's requirements are flexible enough to accommodate the experience of the cast and crew. Adapted by one of the United States's most original storytellers, this pageant may well become a Christmas classic."
Mitchell, Adrian. The Snow Queen: A New Musical for Family Audiences. New York: Warner Brothers, 1998. MUSICAL Paterson, Stuart. The Snow Queen. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company, 1990. PLAY |
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Anne Heiner, SurLaLune Fairy Tales E-mail: heidi@surlalunefairytales.com Page created 1/2005; Last updated 6/30/07 www.surlalunefairytales.com |
