The Girl Who Would Be King and Other Romanian Fairy Tales

Four spellbinding fairy tales from 19th century Romania, translated into English and adapted for a contemporary audience.



A girl disguises her gender to rescue her father's kingdom from the clutches of a tyrannical invader. A magic bull helps a young hero overcome his stepmother's evil plans. A king's son must learn magic or lose his love forever. A man obsessed with immortality finds that even where people don't die, Death finds a way...

The four tales included in this collection address universal themes of struggle, love, and loss.

At the same time, they offer a fascinating glimpse into 19th century Romania, a world steeped in tradition and the harsh realities of agrarian life.



Petre Ispirescu was born in 1830 in Bucharest and grew up around Romanian fairy tales. He trained at a publishing house and later used his position to publish several collections of fairy tales. A few of these tales are still part of the literature curriculum in Romania to this day, and they are slowly but surely making their way into the rest of the world.