Favourite Authors Feature #1
Favourite author feature: #1
Shannon Hale
I have been reading books for a very long time. Longer than I can remember. But what I've found is that some authors have stuck in my memory much more vividly than others, and so I wanted to start this series to focus on some of those authors who have made my life to date so much more fun. I'm hoping to post a new part to the feature every six weeks or so.
I haven't seen nearly enough people who've read Shannon Hale's books. She specialises in fantasy and fairytale retellings, and her books mostly revolve around women who don't rely on men and support each other as much as possible. These are the types of women young girls can aspire to be. And that's without mentioning the time and commitment she has dedicated to creating multiple fantasy worlds- it's exhausting enough to create a world with its own history, culture, political system etc once, let alone multiple times. Yet each new land feels fresh and just as compelling to learn about as the last.
The picture I've used for this article is of Princess Academy, the very first book by Shannon Hale that I ever read- I think it was about thirteen years ago. Thinking about it again now, I'm honestly shocked that it's not better known and hasn't had even an attempt at adapting it for screen. Mount Eskel is a beautifully imagined territory, and the characters all have interesting motivations and storylines. It's a fairytale, but not one in which the women need to save themselves. Or, indeed, want to. More than that, it celebrates the deep bond formed between isolated communities, which isn't something celebrated often enough.
Once I'd read that, I found her Bayern Chronicles in my secondary school library. Those were the books that really demonstrated Hale's strength in writing for me- like I mentioned above, they are completely different to Princess Academy in their use of magic and the societies they portray, but have the same heart of epic adventures and characters who learn to be the best versions of themselves. But each one feels completely individual; they use magic in their own way, and it seems to complement their personalities.
She also goes beyond retelling well-known fairytales- Book of a Thousand Days is based on Maid Maleen, an obscure Grimm tale, which shows how far she is willing to go to find interesting and new stories to tell. And that really sums up why her books deserve a wider audience- so much attention goes into them and it results in stories with engaging characters, fascinating histories, and overwhelming originality.
I would recommend starting with Princess Academy, purely because that's where I began and it's a good introduction to her subtle use of magic, as well as her treatment of female characters. But really, anywhere would be good- and if you do, like always, let me know what you think!
I haven't seen nearly enough people who've read Shannon Hale's books. She specialises in fantasy and fairytale retellings, and her books mostly revolve around women who don't rely on men and support each other as much as possible. These are the types of women young girls can aspire to be. And that's without mentioning the time and commitment she has dedicated to creating multiple fantasy worlds- it's exhausting enough to create a world with its own history, culture, political system etc once, let alone multiple times. Yet each new land feels fresh and just as compelling to learn about as the last.
The picture I've used for this article is of Princess Academy, the very first book by Shannon Hale that I ever read- I think it was about thirteen years ago. Thinking about it again now, I'm honestly shocked that it's not better known and hasn't had even an attempt at adapting it for screen. Mount Eskel is a beautifully imagined territory, and the characters all have interesting motivations and storylines. It's a fairytale, but not one in which the women need to save themselves. Or, indeed, want to. More than that, it celebrates the deep bond formed between isolated communities, which isn't something celebrated often enough.
Once I'd read that, I found her Bayern Chronicles in my secondary school library. Those were the books that really demonstrated Hale's strength in writing for me- like I mentioned above, they are completely different to Princess Academy in their use of magic and the societies they portray, but have the same heart of epic adventures and characters who learn to be the best versions of themselves. But each one feels completely individual; they use magic in their own way, and it seems to complement their personalities.
She also goes beyond retelling well-known fairytales- Book of a Thousand Days is based on Maid Maleen, an obscure Grimm tale, which shows how far she is willing to go to find interesting and new stories to tell. And that really sums up why her books deserve a wider audience- so much attention goes into them and it results in stories with engaging characters, fascinating histories, and overwhelming originality.
I would recommend starting with Princess Academy, purely because that's where I began and it's a good introduction to her subtle use of magic, as well as her treatment of female characters. But really, anywhere would be good- and if you do, like always, let me know what you think!
I haven't heard of Hale, but then she is probably more known in the UK.
ReplyDeleteBut her use of magic seems really interesting :)