--- product_id: 48201138 title: "The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Vintage Classics)" price: "VT7692" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/48201138-the-bloody-chamber-and-other-stories-vintage-classics store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Vintage Classics) **Price:** VT7692 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Vintage Classics) - **How much does it cost?** VT7692 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/48201138-the-bloody-chamber-and-other-stories-vintage-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Discover Angela Carter's classic feminist retelling of favourite fairy tales woven in seductive, luminous storytelling. Beauty is turned into a Beast, Little Red Riding’s grandmother is stoned to death as a witch and, in the title story, a beautiful young pianist is swept into the world of a rich and sinister aristocrat, a man whose previous three wives have all died in mysterious circumstances. From familiar fairy tales and legends – Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves – Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories. 'Magnificent set pieces of fastidious sensuality' Ian McEwan 'A quirky, original, and baroque stylist' Margaret Atwood With an introduction from award-winning short story writer Helen Simpson Review: A fascinating and more contemporary rewrite of Fairy Tales - Angela Carter was an extraordinary writer. A staunch feminist, she was acutely aware of how misogyny and stereotyping has existence for as long as humans have walked the earth. Some inequality is easy to spot, others, less so. This is a collection of Fairy Tales, written with a clear focus on how women and girls are portrayed in them. It’s important to understand that Fairy Tales were not solely designed to entertain. They are in fact, fables and were used to explain, for example, the dangers of children (frequently with a focus on girls) wandering alone into forests inhabited with wolves and to reinforce the belief that girls should remain at home, helping their mothers to cook and clean. Similarly, Beauty and the Beast focuses on the value girls can be (to their parents) if they marry wealthy husbands, whether by choice, or not. The stories within this collection are familiar and recognisable, but it’s easier to see what the subtext is. Angela Carter’s writing is very descriptive, she relies far less on actual conversation between the characters. Her imagery is fantastic and it’s easy to feel connected to the characters, particularly because I am a woman. The female characters may initially be in a very weak position, but Carter allows them to see their quandary and to make decisions about themselves, which in turn strengthens their position, something that’s rare in traditional Fairy Tales. It’s important to note that these are not merely ‘feminist literature’, nor indeed an ‘attack on men’, as I am certain would be the conclusion immediately jumped to by some people.They are each stand alone stories, with humour, some black, others fairly racy. Puss in Boots is particularly bawdy and highly entertaining. Puss is a phenomenal character and anyone whose had a cat will recognise his bravado. Of course, Puss in Boots is also male, so his extreme confidence and never ending self esteem, is instantly recognisable as akin to the behaviour of some younger males, out on a Saturday night, drenched in aftershave and chatting up girls in a macho fashion! It’s a fantastic book, enjoyable as simply stories, with the extra level providing the ability to see how women have been viewed and treated since time immemorial. But, Angela Carter would not be viewed as the genius she was, had she not crafted each tale carefully. They are more about women being empowered, than an attack on men. I cannot recommend this book enough. Review: Enaging and Insightful into the World of something rather Twisted - Firstly, I don't usually do lots of short stories or anthologies of any kind, but I had to read this one for school and surprise me it did. I enjoyed it immensely with its dark, twisted take on the fairy tales meaning Carter makes something very unique. The collection is made up of The Bloody Chamber, The Courtship of Mr Lyon, The Tiger's Bride, Puss-In-Boots, The Erl-King, The Snow Child, The Lady of The House of Love, The Werewolf, The Company of Wolves and Wolf-Alice. One thing to be highly aware of throughout all the short stories is that they are highly explicit on sexual and violent terms. Here are a selection of short reviews for a few of the short stories within. The Bloody Chamber `The Bloody Chamber' was probably my least favourite of the short stories that make up Carter's short stories even though it's the title and the first one. It's a modern retelling of Bluebeard which I honestly didn't know anything about before picking up `The Bloody Chamber' is interesting to say the least. However I found its protagonist weak and naive and very much deluded and she frustrated me. She depended upon other people to save her and whilst this is all part of the meanings behind `The Bloody Chamber' I wanted to throw something at the girl. "Then, slowly yet teasingly, as if he were giving a child a great, mysterious treat," The plot is engaging and I found it slightly disturbing but all the little foreshadowing moments and twists and turns kept the pace moving. The Marquis is a despicable man and he's truly wicked. He's the embodiment of a villain and a cradle snatcher. There is nothing to like about the man and he's probably the main reason I didn't appreciate `The Bloody Chamber' as a short story. "He was older than I. He was much older than I; there were streaks of pure silver in his dark mane. But his strange, heavy, almost waxen face was not lined by experience." The Tiger's Bride Without a doubt, this was my favourite story of the selections. This is an adaption of Beauty and the Beast and the better of the two that Carter attempted. The other one, The Courtship of Mr Lyon wasn't nearly as engaging. Carter looks at a Beast as a Lord and whether he's human or animal and I found this really interesting and the whole dynamic of his character was exciting. It was added to by his servant who is supposed to be an animal too that I didn't quite pick up on in my first reading and this contrast between humans and animals is interesting. "And then he moved; he buried his cardboard carnival head with its ribboned weight of false hair in, I would say, his arms; he withdrew his, I might say hands from his sleeves and I saw his furred pads, his excoriating claws." I liked Belle as a character. She wasn't very strong to start with, but she built herself up as a character and she was pretty smart. I liked her ability to think on her feet and move with the direction of the novel rather than oppose it. Puss-in-Boots `Puss-in-Boots' probably doesn't require a genius to figure out what it's a retelling off. I found this one to be more humorous and entertaining than Carter's other additions to the stories because it wasn't quite as dark and twisted and it made a refreshing addition to the collection with something a little different. Puss was quite the enigmatic character and I took a shinning to him immediately. He was clever and oozing charm, especially around the lady felines, but that only added to his character to make him entertaining. "So Puss got his post at the same time as his boots and I dare say the Master and I have much in common for he's proud as the devil, touchy as tin-tacks, lecherous as liquorice and, though I say it as loves him, as quick-witted a rascal as ever put on clean linen." Overall, I really enjoyed `Puss-in-Boots' more for Puss as a character than his master who was a little foolish and blinded by love, but the extravagance of that made it all the more amusing. The Company of Wolves This makes for an interesting read as a modern adaption to Little Red Riding Hood because this Little Red Riding Hood is incredibly far from the version I remember as a child so it may very well change your opinion entirely on Little Red Riding Hood, be warned! Carter gathers together lots of mythology about wolves and tales and uses them as a warning from the Grandmother who is an old crone. I didn't like her one bit and I was glad we got her out of the way. That sounds really mean, but she isn't a character you can like. "There is no winter's night the cottager does not fear to see a lean, grey, famished snout questing under the door, and there was a woman once bitten in her own kitchen as she was straining the macaroni." Little Red Riding Hood isn't silly or naive, but she uses her brain and other parts of herself to get what she wants and to secure her safety and you can clearly see the wave of feminism that Carter was writing through coming out in `The Company of Wolves' in embracing freedom and sexuality and it's something I quite liked. I liked the werewolf aspect to `The Company of Wolves' and all the elements of wolves and magic. The film however is rather dire, they use great big Alsatians and German Shepards to play wolves so it doesn't quite reflect the wolves as it could and things change a little, so if you've seen the film which is humorous for how bad it is, then do read the short story because it's so much better! Do be aware that Carter likes to take things overboard and it makes for an interesting read to say the least! "She stands and moves within the invisible pentacle of her own virginity. She is an unbroken egg; she is a sealed vessel; she has inside her a magic space the entrance to which is shut tight with a plug of membrane; she is a closed system; she does not know how to shiver. She has her knife and she is afraid of nothing." Be warned, stepping into the world of Carter is entering a completely different realm! So beware. ## Features - Warning:Not suitable for children under 10 months. - New Store Stock ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 2,890 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 10 in Fantasy Anthologies (Books) 11 in Gaslamp Fantasy 25 in Paranormal & Unexplained Phenomena | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,710 Reviews | ## Images ![The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Vintage Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71QtC4C3sRL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fascinating and more contemporary rewrite of Fairy Tales *by J***D on 4 November 2022* Angela Carter was an extraordinary writer. A staunch feminist, she was acutely aware of how misogyny and stereotyping has existence for as long as humans have walked the earth. Some inequality is easy to spot, others, less so. This is a collection of Fairy Tales, written with a clear focus on how women and girls are portrayed in them. It’s important to understand that Fairy Tales were not solely designed to entertain. They are in fact, fables and were used to explain, for example, the dangers of children (frequently with a focus on girls) wandering alone into forests inhabited with wolves and to reinforce the belief that girls should remain at home, helping their mothers to cook and clean. Similarly, Beauty and the Beast focuses on the value girls can be (to their parents) if they marry wealthy husbands, whether by choice, or not. The stories within this collection are familiar and recognisable, but it’s easier to see what the subtext is. Angela Carter’s writing is very descriptive, she relies far less on actual conversation between the characters. Her imagery is fantastic and it’s easy to feel connected to the characters, particularly because I am a woman. The female characters may initially be in a very weak position, but Carter allows them to see their quandary and to make decisions about themselves, which in turn strengthens their position, something that’s rare in traditional Fairy Tales. It’s important to note that these are not merely ‘feminist literature’, nor indeed an ‘attack on men’, as I am certain would be the conclusion immediately jumped to by some people.They are each stand alone stories, with humour, some black, others fairly racy. Puss in Boots is particularly bawdy and highly entertaining. Puss is a phenomenal character and anyone whose had a cat will recognise his bravado. Of course, Puss in Boots is also male, so his extreme confidence and never ending self esteem, is instantly recognisable as akin to the behaviour of some younger males, out on a Saturday night, drenched in aftershave and chatting up girls in a macho fashion! It’s a fantastic book, enjoyable as simply stories, with the extra level providing the ability to see how women have been viewed and treated since time immemorial. But, Angela Carter would not be viewed as the genius she was, had she not crafted each tale carefully. They are more about women being empowered, than an attack on men. I cannot recommend this book enough. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enaging and Insightful into the World of something rather Twisted *by L***V on 29 January 2013* Firstly, I don't usually do lots of short stories or anthologies of any kind, but I had to read this one for school and surprise me it did. I enjoyed it immensely with its dark, twisted take on the fairy tales meaning Carter makes something very unique. The collection is made up of The Bloody Chamber, The Courtship of Mr Lyon, The Tiger's Bride, Puss-In-Boots, The Erl-King, The Snow Child, The Lady of The House of Love, The Werewolf, The Company of Wolves and Wolf-Alice. One thing to be highly aware of throughout all the short stories is that they are highly explicit on sexual and violent terms. Here are a selection of short reviews for a few of the short stories within. The Bloody Chamber `The Bloody Chamber' was probably my least favourite of the short stories that make up Carter's short stories even though it's the title and the first one. It's a modern retelling of Bluebeard which I honestly didn't know anything about before picking up `The Bloody Chamber' is interesting to say the least. However I found its protagonist weak and naive and very much deluded and she frustrated me. She depended upon other people to save her and whilst this is all part of the meanings behind `The Bloody Chamber' I wanted to throw something at the girl. "Then, slowly yet teasingly, as if he were giving a child a great, mysterious treat," The plot is engaging and I found it slightly disturbing but all the little foreshadowing moments and twists and turns kept the pace moving. The Marquis is a despicable man and he's truly wicked. He's the embodiment of a villain and a cradle snatcher. There is nothing to like about the man and he's probably the main reason I didn't appreciate `The Bloody Chamber' as a short story. "He was older than I. He was much older than I; there were streaks of pure silver in his dark mane. But his strange, heavy, almost waxen face was not lined by experience." The Tiger's Bride Without a doubt, this was my favourite story of the selections. This is an adaption of Beauty and the Beast and the better of the two that Carter attempted. The other one, The Courtship of Mr Lyon wasn't nearly as engaging. Carter looks at a Beast as a Lord and whether he's human or animal and I found this really interesting and the whole dynamic of his character was exciting. It was added to by his servant who is supposed to be an animal too that I didn't quite pick up on in my first reading and this contrast between humans and animals is interesting. "And then he moved; he buried his cardboard carnival head with its ribboned weight of false hair in, I would say, his arms; he withdrew his, I might say hands from his sleeves and I saw his furred pads, his excoriating claws." I liked Belle as a character. She wasn't very strong to start with, but she built herself up as a character and she was pretty smart. I liked her ability to think on her feet and move with the direction of the novel rather than oppose it. Puss-in-Boots `Puss-in-Boots' probably doesn't require a genius to figure out what it's a retelling off. I found this one to be more humorous and entertaining than Carter's other additions to the stories because it wasn't quite as dark and twisted and it made a refreshing addition to the collection with something a little different. Puss was quite the enigmatic character and I took a shinning to him immediately. He was clever and oozing charm, especially around the lady felines, but that only added to his character to make him entertaining. "So Puss got his post at the same time as his boots and I dare say the Master and I have much in common for he's proud as the devil, touchy as tin-tacks, lecherous as liquorice and, though I say it as loves him, as quick-witted a rascal as ever put on clean linen." Overall, I really enjoyed `Puss-in-Boots' more for Puss as a character than his master who was a little foolish and blinded by love, but the extravagance of that made it all the more amusing. The Company of Wolves This makes for an interesting read as a modern adaption to Little Red Riding Hood because this Little Red Riding Hood is incredibly far from the version I remember as a child so it may very well change your opinion entirely on Little Red Riding Hood, be warned! Carter gathers together lots of mythology about wolves and tales and uses them as a warning from the Grandmother who is an old crone. I didn't like her one bit and I was glad we got her out of the way. That sounds really mean, but she isn't a character you can like. "There is no winter's night the cottager does not fear to see a lean, grey, famished snout questing under the door, and there was a woman once bitten in her own kitchen as she was straining the macaroni." Little Red Riding Hood isn't silly or naive, but she uses her brain and other parts of herself to get what she wants and to secure her safety and you can clearly see the wave of feminism that Carter was writing through coming out in `The Company of Wolves' in embracing freedom and sexuality and it's something I quite liked. I liked the werewolf aspect to `The Company of Wolves' and all the elements of wolves and magic. The film however is rather dire, they use great big Alsatians and German Shepards to play wolves so it doesn't quite reflect the wolves as it could and things change a little, so if you've seen the film which is humorous for how bad it is, then do read the short story because it's so much better! Do be aware that Carter likes to take things overboard and it makes for an interesting read to say the least! "She stands and moves within the invisible pentacle of her own virginity. She is an unbroken egg; she is a sealed vessel; she has inside her a magic space the entrance to which is shut tight with a plug of membrane; she is a closed system; she does not know how to shiver. She has her knife and she is afraid of nothing." Be warned, stepping into the world of Carter is entering a completely different realm! So beware. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great story teller. *by L***D on 11 April 2026* Love Angela Carter. Read her book of fairy tales back in the 90s now read this one and am reading 'Wise Children' her last book before she died. I will certainly read more of her work. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories - Dracula: Stoker Bram (Penguin Classics) - Wuthering Heights: Emily Brönte (Penguin Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/48201138-the-bloody-chamber-and-other-stories-vintage-classics](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/48201138-the-bloody-chamber-and-other-stories-vintage-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-06-05*