An upcoming edition of 鈥淗ansel and Gretel鈥� combines the dark and singular talents of two literary giants who apparently never met: and the late .
HarperCollins Publishers announced Thursday that the King-Sendak re-imagining of the famed Brothers Grimm tale about two lost children in a frightening forest is scheduled for Sept. 2. King's words will be complemented by sketches Sendak drew up for set and costume designs for a 1997 production of the Humperdinck opera adaptation.
The book was initiated by the Maurice Sendak Foundation. King, author of 鈥淭he Shining,鈥� 鈥淐arrie鈥� and other horror classics, said he decided to agree to the project after seeing Sendak's illustrations.
鈥淭wo of his pictures in particular spoke to me: One was of the wicked witch on her broom with a bag of kidnapped children riding behind her; the other was of the infamous candy house becoming a terrible face. I thought, 鈥楾his is what the house really looks like, a devil sick with sin, and it only shows that face when the kids turn their backs. I wanted to write that!鈥�" King said in a statement issued through HarperCollins.
"To me, it was the essence of this story and, really, all fairy tales: a sunny exterior, a dark and terrible center, brave and resourceful children. In a way, I have been writing about kids like Hansel and Gretel for much of my life.鈥�
Representatives for King say he has no memory of meeting Sendak, although King has expressed admiration for the musical 鈥淩eally Rosie,鈥� a Sendak-Carole King collaboration.
Lynn Caponera, the Sendak foundation's executive director, said in a statement that she thought King ideal because outside of the Grimms, 鈥渉e's the master of scary stories and a wonderful writer to boot.鈥�
Sendak, who died in 2012, spoke about Hansel and Gretel around the time he was working on the opera. In an interview published in the 2003 book 鈥淭he Art of Maurice Sendak鈥� he called the fairy tale 鈥渢he most profound鈥� of the Grimm canon.
鈥淕enerally speaking, most of Grimm is about heroic children. 鈥楬ansel and Gretel鈥� are the most heroic of them all,鈥� said Sendak, known for 鈥淲here the Wild Things Are,鈥� 鈥淚n the Night Kitchen鈥� and other children's favorites. "It鈥檚 the toughest story in the world and people are afraid of it, yet it鈥檚 famous because it鈥檚 so truthful.鈥�
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This story corrects the publishing date to Sept. 2.
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
