THE MAKER OF SWANS. By Paraic O'Donnell. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. $29.99.

The Maker of Swans, the debut novel of Irish writer Paraic O'Donnell, alternates between magical-realist fantasy and gothic mystery. The timeframe is deliberately vague and the narrative viewpoints often elliptical. The wealthy but dissolute Mr Crowe lives in a faded country house with his manservant Eustace and a young mute girl, Clara. Crowe belongs to a mysterious secret order, but breaks their code through a crime of passion. Clara is kidnapped and Eustace, who becomes the main character, sets out to rescue her and redeem himself. Clara discovers her own powers in captivity, but remains something of a cipher. O'Donnell cleverly combines literary references and Dickensian intrigue.

THE ORIGINAL FOLK AND FAIRY TALES. By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Princeton University. $82.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published Children's and Household Tales in 1812 and 1815, not realising that many of their fairy stories would become world-famous. The stories, however, were much more realistic and brutal than those revised and published in later editions. Professor Jack Zipes has translated the 156 original stories for the first time in a sumptuous edition, supplemented by new black-and-white illustrations from award-winning artist Andrea Dezsö. Zipes' introduction provides the historical context to the stories, as well is reprinting the Grimms' original prefaces and notes. The unsanitised stories, represented, for example, by a much more gruesome 'Cinderella', constitute a definitive edition which certainly undumbs the Grimms.

THE ANGEL OF HIGHGATE. By Vaughn Entwistle. Titan. $16.99.

British author Vaughn Entwistle is best known for his Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle series. The Angel of Highgate, set in 1859 in Victorian Britain, blends fantasy, romance and horror. Lord Geoffrey Thraxton, a notorious womaniser, is a Flashman type figure, although with less compassion. Thraxton's meeting with the mysterious and ethereal Aurelia, changes everything, although he is unsure whether she is simply a figment of his drug addiction. Against a backdrop of London lowlife and personal conflict, Thraxton renounces all in the hope of gaining Aurelia's love, if not in this world, then the next. Entwistle is carving out an interesting paranormal fantasy slot.