No, that’s not a typo; I learned long ago that retail work was not my cup of chamomile. I’m talking about retelling a familiar story from a fresh perspective, which seems to be an increasingly popular trend. I recently read a new novel titled Julia, which is a retelling of George Orwell’s 1984 from a secondary character’s point of view; and now another new novel has piqued my interest – James, a retelling of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim the slave. And this apparent trend has made me wonder if this sort of thing is something I might like to try as a writer.

To be clear, I’m not talking about straight retellings of the likes of fairy tales, Greek myths, Shakespearean plays, Arthurian legends, and classic novels; ‘contemporary reimaginings’ of such works in different or modern settings, such as Frankenstein in Baghdad and Demon Copperhead; fan fiction set in pre-existing worlds, such as Midnight Massacre (based on Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight); new fiction that incorporates pre-existing ideas and settings, such as our friend CW Hawes’ Lovecraftian In the Shadow of the Mountains of Madness (which I enjoyed, by the way); or mashups like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, etm.* I’m also not talking about trying to get a gig as a so-called ‘co-writer’ for bestselling, shall we say, ‘capitalistic’ authors who have taken to delegating the actual writing of their books these days, to put it politely (I’m sure you know who some of them are). I’m talking about original writing that delves deeper into and/or extends a pre-existing tale by focusing on a secondary character rather than the main protagonist, and fleshes out that character’s story while remaining faithful to the original plot and setting (and perhaps the original writing style, insofar as that’s possible).

What would be the point of doing this? Well, I think it might be fun to attempt to emulate a famous writer’s style and see how I could spin the story from a new angle, the way some others have successfully done over the years. And then there’s the fact that there is already a built-in fan base of readers who liked the original books and seem to like discovering new facets and backstories of their secondary characters, perhaps making it easier for this kind of book to find an audience – which is something that most indie writers (such as yours truly) eternally struggle with. Connecting with that kind of audience might also get those readers interested in other works by the alternate-POV author and provide more visibility for his or her other books.

Of course, there are some caveats in play if one chooses to look further into this kind of endeavor. The new book should be a ‘fresh take’ on an old story in order to satisfy readers; the story shouldn’t be one that’s already been covered a million times (like Frankenstein, Dracula, etc.); one should be thoroughly familiar with the original publication; and one must not engage in copyright infringement. If the original story is a public domain work, there are usually no legal problems with using it (a work typically enters the public domain 70 years after its author dies, in most countries); but if it’s still under copyright, then permission to use the work, from the author or his/her estate, would be needed. There can be exceptions to this rule (based on degree of originality and ‘fair use’), but those exceptions usually need to be sanctioned by a court.

Food for thought… Anyway – there are more, but here are some alternate POV retellings I’ve looked up and the characters they focus on, for your research and/or reading pleasure:

James (Percival Everett, 2024) – Jim from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)

Julia (Sandra Newman, 2023) – Julia from 1984 (George Orwell)

Being Mary Bennet (J.C. Peterson, 2022) – Mary from Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

The Daughter of Dr. Moreau (Silvia Moreno-Garcia, 2022) – Carlota (fictional daughter), based on The Island of Dr. Moreau (H.G. Wells)

The Other Bennet Sister (Janice Hadlow, 2020) – Mary from Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Circe (Madeline Miller, 2018) – Circe the witch from The Odyssey (Homer)

The Silence of the Girls (Pat Barker, 2018) – Briseis from The Iliad (Homer)

Mr. Rochester (Sarah Shoemaker, 2017) – Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

Caroline: Little House, Revisited (Sarah Miller, 2017) – ‘Ma’ from Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook (Christina Henry, 2017) – Captain Hook from Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie)

Juliet’s Nurse (Lois Leveen, 2015) – Angelica from Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

Longbourn (Jo Baker, 2013) – the servants from Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Tiger Lily (Jodi Lynn Anderson, 2013) – Tiger Lily from Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie)

The Madman’s Daughter (Megan Shepherd, 2013) – Juliet (fictional daughter), based on The Island of Dr. Moreau (H.G. Wells)

The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller, 2011) – Achilles from The Iliad (Homer)

Finn (Jon Clinch, 2008) – Huck’s father from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)

Lavinia (Ursula K. Le Guin, 2008) – Lavinia from The Aeneid (Virgil)

Helen of Troy (Margaret George, 2006) – Helen from The Iliad (Homer)

March (Geraldine Brooks, 2005) – Mr. March from Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), Pulitzer Prize winner

The Book of Renfield (Tim Lucas, 2005) – the vampire’s assistant from Dracula (Bram Stoker)

Mary Reilly (Valerie Martin, 2001) – the housemaid/assistant in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Wicked (Gregory Maguire, 1995) – the wicked witch from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Tom Stoppard, 1973) – Rosencrantz & Guildenstern from Hamlet (William Shakespeare)

Grendel (John Gardner, 1971) – the demon from Beowulf (anonymous)

Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys, 1966) – Mr. Rochester’s first wife Antoinette, aka Bertha ‘the madwoman in the attic’ from Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

Enjoy!

– Garrett

* Regarding ‘etm.’: In case you didn’t know, this is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase ‘et merda’, which can be translated as ‘and shit’ – for those special occasions when ‘etc.’ (‘et cetera’, or ‘and the rest’) doesn’t quite cut the mustard. 🙂