What if Little Red Riding Hood had Really Lived?
Ninety years before the Brothers Grimm penned their version of “Little Red Riding Hood,” an historic, gruesome series of events shocked all of Europe. Starting in 1764, an unidentified wolf-like animal ferociously mauled dozens of peasants in the Gévaudan region of France. Whispered rumors of unnatural creatures blended with age-old superstition to cause mass hysteria. A werewolf was blamed for the carnage. Alarmed, King Louis XV sent his best huntsmen to rid the province of the beastly scourge, but this legendary massacre had only just begun.
Scarlette, a 19-year-old seamstress who is laboring to make ends meet, lives under this dark threat. Although fearful of the nightmarish monster lurking in the surrounding forest, she remains skeptical of the supernatural gossip.
Until her grandmother is attacked…
Based on both the traditional Grimm fairy-tale and older known French versions of “Little Red Riding Hood,” this dark young adult novel is set against the 18th century Beast of Gévaudan attacks and blends fairy-tale with Gothic romance in a modern, accessible prose style. Unique to the genre, the novel revives the fable of the girl-in-the-red-cloak with a new historical angle that blurs the line between folklore and reality.
“Juroe’s skill is evident in her writing, since the reader may often feel like s/he is reading a classic gothic romance novel, rather than something created for the modern teenaged audience.” – Dayla F. M., Seattle Post-Intelligencer Book Review
To read more about the Beast of Gévaudan check out my post on the mystery behind what the animal really was. Creepy fun!
Want to see how “Scarlette” was made from first idea to novel? Check out my ‘What if Little Red Riding Hood was Real’ post.