The Fairy Tale Fan Club: Legendary Letters Collected by C.c. Cecily

What if you could send fan mail to your fairy tale idols? And what if they wrote back? “Happily ever after” takes on a new meaning in this book from actor-comedian-author Richard Ayoade and best-selling illustrator David Roberts.

It’s once upon a time . . . as only the irreverently witty Richard Ayoade can tell it. In this series of letters organized by C. C. Cecily, Senior Secretary of the Fairy Tale Fan Club, the fairest of them all (and a few bitter foes) correspond with curious—and opinionated—fans. So if you’ve ever wondered how a less-than-genius (and less-than-clothed) emperor fell for a certain con, how the Big Bad Wolf is handling meatless Mondays, or whether Rapunzel recommends going for the big chop, no need to look far, far away. Multihyphenate Richard Ayoade, author of The Book That No One Wanted to Read, hilariously imagines what questions modern children would have for characters such as Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming, and Little Red Riding Hood—and what they might have to say in return. Complete with clever, spoof-gothic illustrations from David Roberts, this wry storybook may have even the Brothers Grimm cackling in their graves.

Richard Ayoade is a much-loved comedian, BAFTA-winning actor (The IT Crowd), writer, director, and TV presenter (the 2021 BAFTAs, Have I Got News for You?, Travel Man) as well as a bibliophile. He regularly appears on comedy shows, was the voice of Zero in The Mandalorian, and directed the films Submarine and The Double. He has written three books on film for adults and a children’s book titled The Book That No One Wanted to Read, illustrated by Tor Freeman. Richard Ayoade lives in London.

David Roberts is the award-winning author-illustrator of Suffragette: The Battle for Equality and the illustrator of various other titles, including The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman, The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong, and His Royal Highness, King Baby by Sally Lloyd-Jones. He also illustrated the New York Times best-selling Rosie Revere, Engineer and the other books in the Questioneers series by Andrea Beaty. David Roberts lives in Liverpool, England.