Have you ever wondered how the Wicked Witch of the West became so wicked? Or wanted to read Jane Eyre from Bertha’s point of view? A good origin story turns the tables on what you’ve imagined or think you know. These reimaginings shed new light on familiar characters and leave you with a whole new perspective on some of the best known tales of modern times.
What’s The Back Story? 6 Origin Stories to Blow Your Mind
Garden of Shadows
The evil grandmother from Flowers in the Attic has an origin, revealed in this 1986 title, published after the Dollanganger family saga was completed. Thin, spinsterish Olivia came to Virginia as Malcolm Foxworth's bride. But instead of a joyful life, she finds a stain of jealous obsession and an evil that will threaten her children.
Garden of Shadows
The evil grandmother from Flowers in the Attic has an origin, revealed in this 1986 title, published after the Dollanganger family saga was completed. Thin, spinsterish Olivia came to Virginia as Malcolm Foxworth's bride. But instead of a joyful life, she finds a stain of jealous obsession and an evil that will threaten her children.
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Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys's reputation was made upon the publication of this novel, in which she focuses on one of fiction's most mysterious characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Rhys portrays a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.
Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys's reputation was made upon the publication of this novel, in which she focuses on one of fiction's most mysterious characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Rhys portrays a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.
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Hannibal Rising
As if The Silence of the Lambs wasn’t enough to mess you up. Contained in these pages is the early history of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, modern literature’s most psychotic psychiatrist. Hopefully, you’ll stop screaming before the lambs do.
Hannibal Rising
As if The Silence of the Lambs wasn’t enough to mess you up. Contained in these pages is the early history of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, modern literature’s most psychotic psychiatrist. Hopefully, you’ll stop screaming before the lambs do.
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Wicked
This clever tome is the origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West. It was adapted into a really great musical, but fair warning: the ending of the show differs greatly from the book. A certain someone on our staff REALLY didn't like the way the show ends...further proof that the BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER!
Wicked
Based on L. Frank Baum’s beloved The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Gregory Maguire’s novel views the land of Oz, its inhabitants, its Wizard, and the Emerald City, through a darker lens. Brilliantly inventive, it offers a radical new evaluation of one of the most feared and hated characters in all of literature: the much maligned Wicked Witch of the West.
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Tiger Lily
Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. Told from the perspective of Tinkerbell, Tiger Lily reveals her history with Peter, what happened when Wendy Darling arrived in Neverland, and how far Tiger Lily is willing to go to keep Peter with her.
Tiger Lily
Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. Told from the perspective of Tinkerbell, Tiger Lily reveals her history with Peter, what happened when Wendy Darling arrived in Neverland, and how far Tiger Lily is willing to go to keep Peter with her.
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Ahab's Wife
Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick and informed by the spirit of the greatest American novel from its famous opening line—“Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last”—this book lets you know that you are in the hands of a master storyteller. Sure, Captain Ahab is a fictional character, but this novel is so rich and enthralling, we just had to bend the rules for it.
Ahab's Wife
Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick and informed by the spirit of the greatest American novel from its famous opening line—“Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last”—this book lets you know that you are in the hands of a master storyteller. Sure, Captain Ahab is a fictional character, but this novel is so rich and enthralling, we just had to bend the rules for it.
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