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Series · historical romance

Fairy Tales

by Eloisa James

The Fairy Tales series by Eloisa James has 5 known books (5 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with A Kiss at Midnight (2010).

Books
5 known books (5 novels)
Published
5
First published
2010
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: A Kiss at Midnight (2010) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of A Kiss at Midnight

A Kiss at Midnight (2010)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. A Kiss at Midnight

    Novel

    A Kiss at Midnight opens Eloisa James's Fairy Tales series in 2010 with a Regency-era reworking of Cinderella, the first of five novels that use classic fairy-tale structure as scaffolding for full historical courtships.

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  2. When Beauty Tamed the Beast

    Novel

    When Beauty Tamed the Beast , published in 2011 at 384 pages, is the series' Beauty and the Beast retelling, following A Kiss at Midnight 's Cinderella variation.

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  3. The Duke Is Mine

    Novel

    The Duke Is Mine , also from 2011 at 400 pages, reworks The Princess and the Pea into a Regency courtship, the third of the series' five fairy-tale retellings.

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  4. The Ugly Duchess

    Novel

    The Ugly Duchess , the shortest book in the series at 226 pages, retells The Ugly Duckling as a Regency romance, published in 2012.

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  5. Once Upon a Tower

    Novel

    Once Upon a Tower , at 416 pages the longest entry, closes out the Fairy Tales series in 2013 with a Rapunzel retelling, the last of James's five fairy-tale-structured Regency romances.

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About the Fairy Tales series

Fairy Tales is Eloisa James's series of Regency-era retellings, each novel reworking a classic fairy tale -- Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and others -- into a full-length historical romance. A Kiss at Midnight (2010) opens the series with a Cinderella retelling, followed by When Beauty Tamed the Beast (2011) and The Duke Is Mine (2011, a Princess and the Pea variation), then The Ugly Duchess (2012) and Once Upon a Tower (2013, a Rapunzel retelling).

James, an English literature professor as well as a novelist, brings her academic interest in fairy-tale structure directly into the series' premise, using each classic story's shape as scaffolding for a full Regency courtship rather than simply borrowing surface details.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Fairy Tales series?

Five: A Kiss at Midnight (2010), When Beauty Tamed the Beast (2011), The Duke Is Mine (2011), The Ugly Duchess (2012), and Once Upon a Tower (2013).

What fairy tales does the series retell?

A Kiss at Midnight reworks Cinderella, When Beauty Tamed the Beast reworks Beauty and the Beast, The Duke Is Mine reworks The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duchess reworks The Ugly Duckling, and Once Upon a Tower reworks Rapunzel.

Do I need to read the Fairy Tales books in order?

No -- each is a standalone retelling of a different fairy tale with its own self-contained romance.

Is Fairy Tales connected to James's Happily Ever After novellas?

They're separate series, though both were published around the same period and share James's interest in classic story structures reworked as Regency romance.

Is a sixth Fairy Tales book planned?

None has been announced as of August 2026; the series appears complete.

Reading order last verified .