Louise O’Neill has announced that she has been working on a book which will be a retelling on one of our favourite stories.
The author will release a retelling on the classic Little Mermaid story but give it a feminist update.
Louise, who is well known for her books Asking For It and Only Ever Yours said that her dreams have come true with this new project.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about this project or how much I’m relishing the writing process,” she said on social media.
“I have been OBSESSED with The Little Mermaid since I was a small child, so Scholastic has made all my dreams come true by commissioning this.”
The original story, written by Hans Christian Andersen’s has a much darker ending to the Disney version most people are familiar with. But Louise is now retelling the story with a twist.
The book is set beneath the sea off the Irish coast, featuring a young mermaid named Gaia, who dreams of being human but could face a heavy price for her aspirations.
“Fairy tales have a dubious record when it comes to representations of women and Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, who quite literally gives up her voice and drastically changes her body, all for the flighty prince, is spun under a welcome feminist spotlight by Louise.
“We are so thrilled to be publishing The Surface Breaks – this is storytelling at its most spellbinding.” Lauren Fortune, editorial director for Scholastic UK told The Bookseller.
The Surface Breaks will be released in March 2018.
It looks to be a big year for the talented writer, who recently announced that her novel Asking For It will be adapted for the stage.
