Press Release: MERMAID by Carolyn Turgeon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Anna Mintz
(212) 572-6186
Thought you knew everything about the classic fable? Think again!
MERMAID
A Twist on the Classic Tale
By Carolyn Turgeon
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Praise for Mermaid
“[A] surprisingly dark retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid…Turgeon has done a superb job of creating compelling characters and conflict from a story already familiar to readers.” —Publishers Weekly “Turgeon adds a mature depth to this classic tale of tragic love. The edges are softened; each character’s motives and actions are more complex and less easily judged by the reader. The effect is absorbing, poignant, and heartbreaking.” —Library Journal “A gothic love triangle with two equally matched heroines. This isn’t kid’s stuff.” —Kirkus Reviews |
Everyone knows the story of The Little Mermaid, if not through Hans Christian Andersen’s original story, then through Walt Disney’s version. In Carolyn Turgeon’s mystical retelling, MERMAID: A TWIST ON THE CLASSIC TALE (Broadway Paperback Original; March 1, 2011), she spins the original story in a beautifully written, compulsively readable novel that will make you think twice about the fairy tale you heard as a child.
When Lenia, a young mermaid princess, rescues a man from a shipwreck and carries him to shore, her selfless act is witnessed by Princess Margrethe, who is staying in a convent nearby for protection from the war her father is fighting against another kingdom. The shipwrecked young man’s name is Christopher, and in the weeks that he’s nursed back to health at the convent, he and Margrethe fall in love—but it’s not until after he leaves that Margrethe discovers he’s the prince from the kingdom her family is at war with.
Meanwhile, in the sea Lenia is suffering; she fell in love with Christopher in the moments she carried him to shore, so she makes a deal with the sea witch: in exchange for her voice and tongue she receives a potion that changes her into human form. Margrethe comes up with a plan of her own: she’ll be offered in marriage to Christopher, thus uniting the kingdoms and putting an end to the years of conflict between the two lands. But when Margrethe arrives, ready to win and wed her prince, she finds him enraptured with a beautiful woman who looks very familiar. Margrethe is sure she’s seen her before….
With lush imagery and beautiful prose, MERMAID is sure to enchant and delight all readers. Carolyn Turgeon’s evocative writing transports the reader to medieval Scandinavia and seamlessly entwines the stories of the mermaid and the princess, and will keep readers in suspense until the last, captivating pages.
About the Author
Carolyn Turgeon is the author of Rain Village (2006) and Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (2009), which has been optioned for film. Visit her online at www.carolynturgeon.com.
MERMAID
A Twist on the Classic Tale
By Carolyn Turgeon
Broadway Paperback Original
March 1, 2011 • $14.00
ISBN 978-0-307-58997-2
