A Hero We Can All Get Behind: Liesl Shurtliff's 'Rump'

Fairytales never grow old, just like many of the characters who inhabit them. And Liesl Shurtliff's Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin (Knopf, April 2013) is a delightfully cheeky (forgive me) retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin tale. Consider it a backstory of the curious and misunderstood little man of spinning gold and stolen babies. This is Liesl's debut novel, and with a starred review from Kirkus, as well as Publisher's Weekly trumpeting that "the picaresque-style narrative gives the maligned character a refreshingly plainspoken voice," we're sure to see more wonderful works from her.

Twelve-year-old Rump has never known his full name. Having lost his mother young, before she could utter or explain it, he's been the butt of everyone's jokes for as long as he can remember. However, things begin to change for Rump when he stumbles upon an old spinning wheel. Suddenly, Rump has something to offer as he learns he can spin straw into magical gold. On Rump's journey to figure out his full name and his destiny, he discovers much more about himself.

Question: What inspired you to put your own spin on the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale?

Liesl Shurtliff: I was actually brainstorming another story idea when I imagined a world where names are much more than just a title, but a person’s destiny. Instantly my mind gravitated toward the Rumpelstiltskin tale, for if there was ever a name of great importance in a story, it’s that one. And yet, for the crucial role he and his name play in the story, we know so little of Rumpelstiltskin in the traditional tale. We know nothing of where he comes from, what his name means, how he learned to spin straw into gold, or why on earth he would want someone’s first born child. I’ve read a few retellings that are well written and answer some of these questions, but I wanted to tell a story from Rumpelstiltksin’s point-of-view, and not only so we would understand him, but also love him. Shortening his name to Rump got me on the right track and everything grew from there.

Q: In the world of fairytales, the princesses tend to get most of the attention and shelf space. Did you choose to write about Rump and his plucky best friend, Red, for a reason? Were you trying to reach a particular audience?

LS: I can’t say that I was writing it for any reason other than to carry out an idea that was growing inside of me. I didn’t think of what is or isn’t on the shelf, necessarily. (Though I will admit that I felt my premise was a unique one and that gave me confidence.)

It was clear to me from the beginning that this was going to be a middle-grade book, not because that’s what I wanted, but because that’s just where the voice and story naturally fell. Rump always had a lightness and humor that felt very natural to the age. I guess my inner 10-year-old is alive and well.

Q: Rump has some delightful quirks to his personality, especially a knack for making up rhymes. Do you share Rump's idiosyncrasies? 

LS: I do! Though I’m not so carefree with showing those idiosyncrasies with people I don’t know. Admittedly I cover myself up a lot of time, and don’t reveal my “weirdness” until I feel comfortable that a person isn’t going to think I’m completely mad. But really, we’re all a little mad around here, aren’t we?

Q: Rump makes wonderful realizations as he wrestles with his destiny. "Deep inside I have a power that no one can take away from me. A deep magic more powerful than any magic placed upon me. A magic I that I was born with, that grew inside me, deep in my bones." What do you hope kids take away from your story?

LS: Mostly, I just hope kids will enjoy the story, and come away with a sense of satisfaction that my version of a classic tale filled in the holes of a tale with many holes. I never write something with the motive to make people learn or understand something I feel they should know. However, if readers so choose to contemplate a lasting message from Rump I hope it will be that as humans, we are living paradoxes. We are complete messes sometimes, whether we inherited the mess or created the mess ourselves, but we also have this incredible power inside of us to confront those messes and untangle them and clean them up. No one gets through life without encountering hard things, but we can do hard things!

Q: What's ahead in your writing? Will we see more of Rump and Red? Or another completely original take on a traditional fairytale?

I think Rump’s tale has essentially been told. He could possibly crop up in a very off-hand way in another tale, but I don’t have any plans for him. As for Red, I adore her character and hope to tell her story some day, but for now she is taking a rest because, good golly, she went through a lot, too, and I imagine her own path is a difficult one.

I am working on another fairy-tale! One that I think will be just as fun and satisfying as Rump, if not more so, but I am keeping the details a secret until I am certain it’s going to work out. It’s still in the beginning stages and I don’t want to tell anyone what’s up next when I’m not certain that it’s actually going to happen. I hope it does!

Marianne Malone Has the Magic Touch With '68 Rooms' Series

Anyone who has been to the Art Institute of Chicago has probably seen – if not fallen in love with – the Thorne Rooms. A collection of 68 unbelievably realistic miniature rooms, they are designed to showcase furniture and styles of various eras in Europe and the United States. When touring this exhibit, it's hard not to wonder what it would be like to walk through this dollhouse-size world. Author Marianne Malone wondered the same thing, and her debut middle-grade novel The Sixty-Eight Rooms is a fantasy adventure set in these very spaces.

The Sixty-Eight Rooms (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2010) was an instant hit with readers and was named a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book and a Parent's Choice Recommended Winner. She followed it up with the sequel Stealing Magic in 2012. And coming this May, she releases the third in the series, The Pirate's Coin. In each book, sixth-graders Ruthie Stewart and Jack Tucker are up for the adventures the Thorne Rooms – and a little magic – have in store.

One of the Thorne Rooms miniatures

Question: What inspired you to set your stories in the Thorne Rooms?

Marianne Malone: I grew up in Chicago (born in Hyde Park, we moved to the suburbs when I was little), and I can’t remember a time that I didn’t know of and love the Thorne Rooms. I am not alone in this. Since The Sixty-Eight Rooms came out, I’ve met people who have had the same experience.  The rooms are enchanting and unique in the world. When I visit the rooms, I see stories unfolding in each room, and when I was a child I wanted to be in them in the worst way. I am writing the books that I would have devoured as a 10-year-old. But you don’t need to have seen the Thorne Rooms in person; anyone who has had a small fort, or a dollhouse, or any kind of secret place can understand the impulse. (And of course, they can see all of the rooms beautifully photographed on the Art Institute website).

One of the Thorne Rooms miniatures

When I had the idea and started writing, I was inspired by Mrs. Thorne herself. Imagine having the tenacity to stick with such an unusual project! She actually made 100 rooms, only 68 of which are in the Art Institute. But it was quite an obsession, which she carried out with such perfection.

Q: How much fun has it been to write each of these books? And will there be more?

MM: I am having so much fun writing these books! The process pulls together my love of the rooms, my love of art history (my college major), and my love of teaching. My love of writing is newfound, as I always considered myself a visual artist. But I’ve discovered that I approach writing from a visual perspective; the stories come to me as images, like movies. I’ve enjoyed the editing process as well, taking the rough cut and polishing and improving it until the prose is the way I want it, and the pace flows from fast to slow and back again in just the right proportions.

Q: Time travel can be tricky to write. And Ruthie and Jack make trips to periods like 1937 Paris, 19th-century South Carolina, as well as 1753 Cape Cod. How did you handle the historical aspects of your story as well as the sci-fi?

MM: Yes! Time travel can be very tricky. I have on occasion given myself headaches trying to keep the details straight with regard to how the time travel works in my stories. I have made a list of rules – about the magic and the time travel – and it’s important to follow them. Young readers will believe the story if the logic of the magic is consistent. I can invent any sort of magic that I want, but I can’t break my own rules.

I do a lot of research to make sure that the historical facts in the books are accurate. It’s wonderful when I have sent Ruthie and Jack to a certain time in history and it just happens to coincide with something unexpected and exciting. In Stealing Magic, for instance, they go back in time to Paris 1937, mid–summer, during the World’s Fair. And then I discovered that Amelia Earhart took her fateful flight at exactly the same time. I had to include that!

Q: It's great to remind kids (and adults) to look for the magic in everyday life. What do you hope kids take away from your stories?

MM: I hope that kids (and adults) read the books first for enjoyment, for that wonderful feeling of being swept off your feet by a story. I think the magic helps because you can’t recreate that in your real life (I haven’t figured out how to, anyway!).

Second, I hope that my books open the doors to museums for readers who might not be familiar with or comfortable in them. My favorite fan mail has come from parents who say that after reading my books, their son or daughter insisted they go to the Art Institute! I do a lot of school visits, and I like to tell students that they don’t have to like everything in a museum, just find the one thing that speaks to them. I guarantee that they will find that something if they look, and it might even be something that changes their life.

Third, I hope that I’ve snuck in just enough history that readers have an urge to learn a little more. I think art history is a wonderful way to introduce anyone to history; any given object can tell a story of where it came from, whose life it was a part of (and it doesn’t have to be "high" art found in a museum – family memorabilia is a great way to start). That is rather magical to me and a little bit like time travel.

Q: What's ahead for you, and for Ruthie and Jack?

MM: The third book in the series will be out in May, The Pirate’s Coin. I’m so excited about this one. In each book, the danger and the complications of time travel have become more consequential for Ruthie and Jack. Plus, there is a pirate!

And as I write this, I am editing the fourth book (still working on the title!), but I am loving this story, too. Just a couple of hints: they not only visit New York City, but Ruthie and Jack stumble upon an old mystery that they solve by going back to early 18th century England.

As for me, I have several ideas for other books I’d like to write both for the middle-grade audience and perhaps slightly younger. I’d really love to try my hand at combining my own story and artwork in a book as well.