Naughty Fairy Tales From A to Z - book discontinued by Plume Books - review by P'Gell

Alison Tyler is one of the biggest names in “Women’s” Erotica. Tyler has been publishing erotica for 15 and is the author and/or editor of more than 25 books. Most of them fiction, several of them instructional and all of them “naughty.” She has been called “The Trollop with a Laptop” by some reviewers and seems to enjoy the title.

A good number of her books she works as editor, collecting erotica with a theme from other authors; bondage, BDSM, Lesbian Tales, and surprisingly, two books reworking traditional fairy tales into amusing smut. Her latest Alisons’s Wonderland was released this year, but her first foray into Dirty Fairy Tales is this one: Naughty Fairy Tales from A to Z Published in 2003.

As with most edited collections of any short stories, the author has not written all of them. The Naughty Librarian, Ms. Tyler, has in fact only written one of the 25 stories in this collection. (All McQueen’s Men based on the rhyme Humpty Dumpty) Some of the Usual Suspects in Erotica show up in this book, Sage Vivant, M. Christian, Thomas Roche, Dante Davidson, Echo Thomas, among others and a few new names.

Her Blog, entitled "Alison's Wonderland" can be reached here https://alisonswonderlandbook.blogspot.com/

These 25 stories are based on Classic Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes, with a few “New Fables” throw in for good measure. There is a Fairy Story for each letter of the alphabet, plus a “Bonus Chapter” at the end of the book, written by “Bettina Nelson” who may or may not be Alison Tyler under a nom de plume.

These stories run from the ridiculous to the sublime. Some are wickedly corrupt and explicit, some only hint at the sex to come after the tale is ended.

Bells on Her Toes by M. Christian, based on Ride a Cock Horse (many of the original titles to these Fairy Tales are as suggestive as the re-written ones in Ms. Tyler’s collection) is one of the best written tales. It tells of a young man whose Grateful Dead loving, hippy chick lover, who has joined the ranks of the Real Dead. She comes back to visit him, as a spirit, for blow jobs, intercourse and just hanging around his apartment.

Goldilocks and the Three Pairs (obvious which story this is based on) by Echo Thomas is a clever tale, in which a young woman moves into a three flat, with three different couples, one living on each floor. Each has a different sexual style, (one hetero “too soft” one Gay and heavily BDSM “too hard” and one lesbian couple, she finds, “just right.” This is one of the more explicit tales in the book and very humorous. The Gay Couple, on the second floor, keeps a 55 gallon drum of vegetable oil near the window, near their bed and sling. This story is very cute, clever and well written.

For Want of a Nail by Molly Laster, based on the Fairy Tale of the same name, is a good, nasty BDSM story of an S&M club, its star feature and what the Madam has to do herself, when the star Master runs out of supplies. It is also one of the best. It combines good writing skill as well as heavy erotic content and descriptions.

Kings Counting House by Julia Moore (based very loosely on Sing a Song of Six Pence) is not much more than 5 pages of talk leading up to a single spanking. Well written, but not much in the sex department. Hannah and Greta written by Erin Sanders, is closer to the original story than most, and also well written, although somewhat lacking in the smut department.

The Trials of Lady Vicarious by Sage Vivant, is one of the “New Fables” and definitely one of the best written and easily fits firmly into the “Erotica” theme. It is written in the style of Grimm’s Brothers Tales, and is also hilariously funny. It concerns the hand maid (Lady Vicarious) of a Princess (named Oralia), who, with her Mistress, must disempower the evil Lothar the Viscous. Lothar apparently is a heathen and a Barbarian, who in addition to having a “member is so large and so constantly erect that he wields it like an iron club, smiting his enemies with blows so wet and sloppy that death by drowning is not uncommon” but Lothar evidently ejaculates constantly. When Vicarious brings him to the Princess, by way of seducing Lothar’s guard and sacrificing her “maidenhead” in the process, Lothar is chastened by Princess Oralia, ”Please, Sir, I have invited you here in peace. I beg of you to restrain your incessant come-spewing.” Great sex is had by all. This tale, as the rest, do not take themselves seriously, and the reader is invited to do the same.

Some of the tales make no sense and are not well written, If the Stiletto Fits by “K.C.” is written in teenage “text speak” and evidently attempts to imitate the way High School age girls think, by someone who is obviously well past High School age. Jo White and Cocksucker Red makes absolutely no sense; neither does Ali Raver and the Glo Stick. These few authors appeared to have simply used the template of the fairy tale to place a short erotic blurb, without too much attention paid to the story itself. These stories, however are not the norm of this group, as most in the collection do a better job of staying on Story and including appropriate amounts of erotic content.

One of the interesting things edited about story collections is the variant styles and approaches to the same themes. On this, this collection succeeds. Ms. Tyler has done several collections of Fairy Tales, and this one does well in choosing an eclectic group of authors and styles to complete the collection.

Ms. Tyler had a duty to get a tale for every letter of the alphabet, and tales like the other well done ones discussed above, Zoe White and the Seven Whores by Thomas S. Roche, which is quite well written and funny as well, A Very Golden Goosing by Andre Farmer, which is one of the more arousing tales, and fun to read, concerning Class boundaries and restrictions and sex in an elevator. These and many others more than makes up for the tales which are lacking.

This may not be Ms. Tyler’s absolute best collection, but it is more than adequate. And it does do its job of arousing and entertaining. The chore she set out to do, get a naught story, based on a Classic Fairy Tale, for each letter of the alphabet, has been fulfilled. The reader may also find him or herself fulfilled, at least by the better portion of these stories.

If you enjoy written porn, with a sense of humor this collection of Naughty Fairy Tales will do its job to titillate you, and amuse you at the same time.

This particular book is an inexpensive, pulp paperback in regular paperback size. There is a hand drawn picture on the cover, and the cover itself is slightly textured. It is not a "Collector Quality" edition. But, it does the job of transmitting erotica to the reader as well as any other material. The picture on the cover could have been more engaging, but again, it is an inexpensive paperback edition. The picture could be, initially taken as a regular paperback, but on closer inspection, it is obvious the picture is rather randy. A Queen in bondage gear, sits on a throne, wearing fishnets and holding a whip, while a "knave" in chains kisses her feet and a guard, also in bondage wear, looks on. I put a stretchy book cover, (with a Kitty (the ANIMAL) on the front) on the book, as to not arouse the suspicion of smaller members of my family and to hold on to my own privacy. Most of Ms. Tyler's covers make it clear that "this is not a book for the faint of heart."

The layout is interesting. Ms. Tyler not only has the stories in alphabetical order, but tells us which classic Fairy Story or Rhyme each tale is based on a separate page. I found this useful, and entertaining.

There are no photographs or drawings inside the book to illustrate it. As with much fiction erotica, perhaps it is best to leave such illustration up the imagination of the reader.

I have found some of Ms. Tyler's other works to be a bit more strong, when one is looking for erotic content, but this collection satisfied me, as there were enough stories of good old fashioned sex and depravity mixed in with the more silly tales to do the job of arousing and entertaining.

For more of Alison’s best work, I recommend Playing with Fire,Best Bondage Erotica, Sticky Fingers and any of the other 24+ books Ms. Tyler has edited and written.

I have a number of Ms. Tyler's collections and am working on expanding my Erotica Bookshelf as we speak.

In fact, I have just received Hurt So Good, Unrestrained Erotica, by Alison Tyler, as a reward for writing this review and am currently enjoying the stories in this collection as well. My collection of Alison Tyler’s work continues to grow, as my love for her writing and her editorial choices does as well.

If you enjoy written porn or erotica, if you prefer, with a sense of humor this collection of Naughty Fairy Tales may well arouse as well as cause a smile and a giggle or two.