First published as part of a collection in 1998, A.S. Byatt’s Cold is an exquisite jewel of a fairytale. Cambridge Edition writer Charlotte Griffiths shares her review.
First published as part of AS Byatt’s 1998 collection of short stories, Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice, Cold is getting a deserved solo turn in the spotlight in this new, beautiful, standalone edition with a guest afterword by the brilliant RF Kuang.
Cold tells the story of delicate Princess Fiammarosa, who leads a safe and protected life in her family’s castle, until the winter when she comes of age and discovers that the long-feared ice and snow actually sustains and breathes new life into her. The prospect of marriage is raised: her family hopes she will marry into the frozen North, but her head is turned by gifts from a prince of the warm Southern regions, where the ice woman will struggle to survive. How can the two be together – and at what cost to Fiammarosa?
An exquisite jewel of a fairy story that shouldn’t be dismissed as for children: to paraphrase Katherine Rundell, it should be read by all, even those who are ‘so old and wise’. Though the themes are as old as they come, as Kuang observes in the afterword, reading it may reveal something new if it’s at the right point in your life. To quote AS Byatt herself: “You can understand a lot about yourself by working out which fairytale you use to present your world to yourself in.”
This edition would make a meaningful gift for younger women, or those trying to rediscover themselves in the new year.
Find out more at penguin.co.uk.