Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears

First edition
Author	Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Cover artist	Matt Stawicki
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy and horror
Publisher	William Morrow & Company
Publication date	December 1995
Publication place	United States
Published in English	December 1995
Media type	Print
Pages	416 (Hardback)
ISBN	0-688-14363-6
OCLC	32590487
Dewey Decimal	813/.0876608 20
LC Class	PS648.F3 R83 1995
Preceded by	Black Thorn, White Rose
Followed by	Black Swan, White Raven

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears is the third book in a series of collections of re-told fairy tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. It has an introduction, a list of recommended readings, and 22 stories and poems.¹

Source:²

• Introduction – Terri Windling & Ellen Datlow
• "Ruby Slippers" – Susan Wade – a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of a middle-aged Dorothy.³⁴
• "The Beast" – Tanith Lee⁵⁶
• "Masterpiece" – Garry Kilworth⁶⁷
• "Summer Wind" – Nancy Kress⁸
• "This Century of Sleep or, Briar Rose Beneath the Sea" – Farida S. T. Shapiro – a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the transformations caused by time and waiting.⁹¹⁰
• "The Crossing" – Joyce Carol Oates¹¹
• "Roach in Loafers" – Roberta Lannes¹²
• "Naked Little Men" – Michael Cadnum¹²
• "Brother Bear" – Lisa Goldstein⁶¹³
• "The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon" – John Brunner¹⁴
• "Billy Fearless" – Nancy A. Collins¹⁴¹⁵
• "The Death of Koshchei the Deathless" – Gene Wolfe⁴
• "The Real Princess" – Susan Palwick
• "The Huntsman's Story" – Milbre Burch¹⁶
• "After Push Comes to Shove" – Milbre Burch
• "Hansel and Grettel" – Gahan Wilson¹⁷
• "Match Girl" – Anne Bishop¹⁸
• "Waking the Prince" – Kathe Koja⁶⁸
• "The Fox Wife" – Ellen Steiber⁴
• "The White Road" – Neil Gaiman¹⁹
• "The Traveler and the Tale" – Jane Yolen⁴
• "The Printer's Daughter" – Delia Sherman²⁰

The Toronto Star's Henry Mietkiewicz called the anthology "a stunning collection", writing, "As in Snow White, Blood Red and Black Thorn, White Rose, the editors continue to demonstrate the emotional wallop of fairy tales geared to grown-ups."²¹ In a positive review, Publishers Weekly said, "this anthology is a must for those who believe that 'once upon a time' means now".²² The Booklist reviewer Roland Green said "the writing is consistently of very high quality" but said of the stories that "far too many of them struggle to make oldtales fit the procrustean beds of modern psychology".²³

Kirkus Reviews praised the anthology, stating, "The fairy-tale tradition clearly retains its imaginative fertility, and the authors have almost without exception risen to the occasion."²⁴ The science fiction editor Gardner Dozois wrote in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection that the book is "in contention for the title of the year's best fantasy anthology" and thought "The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon" by John Brunner is the collection's "best story".²⁵