Portsmouth Fairy Tales for Grown Ups

This collection of fairy tales for grown-ups contains dark moral tales, historical fiction, sci-fi, comedy, fantasy, crime, memoir and surreal fiction. All the stories have been freshly-written and all are set in and around the UK's only island city. No chocolate box visions or soppy princesses in sight, the writers have used this magical genre to explore grown-up dilemmas, such as money problems, fear of rivalry in a relationship, floods, memories and changing bodies. Find out why the real Guildhall clock is buried in an underground city to save time. Hear about the man who wished himself onto a ship in a whisky bottle. Discover why a Victorian detective joined forces with the circus to fight Spice Island's criminals. Embrace your bank statement or the ghost ship will get you. Some stories delve into the city's rich island geography, others focus on rural Hampshire, its cow pats, mushrooms and breweries. Some have taken their favourite urban location and woven it into fantastical narratives that stretch back to Victorian times, or forward to a dystopian future. Raw, mischievous, dark and yet familiar, these tales showcase a city bubbling with literary minds. Authors are: Lynne E Blackwood, Tessa Ditness, Christine Lawrence, Zella Compton, Gareth Rees, Tom Harris, Tom Sykes, Sarah Cheverton, William Sutton, Diana Bretherick, Matt Wingett.