Inspiration Roundup: Novel Media

From the 1890s to the 1990s…

This year the theme for our 19th century fancy dress ball is “fairy tales”, inspired by the diverse stories published throughout the period. From the first edition of Grimms’ Fairy Tales in 1812, the 19th century saw a pivotal evolution in the publication of what we know today as fairy tales and fantasy stories, producing the versions of old folkloric tales that we are still familiar with in 2025. With such a rich landscape of fantastical tales to peruse for costume inspiration, we thought a few examples might help!

Let’s take a look at 5 stories that echoed across the centuries: first published in the 19th century, and made into movies in the 20th where they appeared in our memories. Do you recognize any of these works or adaptations?

5. The Canterville Ghost (1887)

Oscar Wilde may be remembered most for his novels, but he published several fantastical short stories (including a fairy tale collection for children which includes The Selfish Giant). The Canterville Ghost is a comedic tale of an American family that moves to an English estate and encounter the ghost of its former owner…who is terrorized in a series of pranks by the American kids. Overcoming the horrors of new people in one’s space and younger siblings (respectively), the ghost and eldest daughter bond, solving the curse and setting him free.

Did you know Patrick Stewart played the titular ghost in a 1996 ABC adaptation?

4. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)

Mark Twain’s wraps satirical socioeconomic discourse in a time travel tale of a modern (19th century) man who wakes up in King Arthur’s court after experiencing a blow to the head. Leveraging his knowledge of future events and technology to convince the court that he is a powerful wizard, replacing Merlin as King Arthur’s advisor. He then uses his position to try and “improve” the past by abolishing the feudal system and instituting democratic systems, but there’s only so much of the timeline he can change.

In Twain’s 1889 novel, Lancelot and his knights ride bicycles. Rollerblades were a fitting 1990s replacement!

3. Thumbelina (1835)

Appearing in the second volume of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales Told for Children, Thumbelina tells the story of a tiny girl (no bigger than a thumb!) who survives kidnapping / courtship by several animal suitors until finally meeting her fairy prince and gaining her own set of wings. The story winds through frog ponds and mole dens, trees and flower fields with an abundance of anthropomorphized animal characters - a true fairy tale by our modern definitions (perhaps with some extra forced engagements).

In the 1994 animated adaptation Thumbelina is voiced by Jodi Benson, who also played Ariel in The Little Mermaid - another Andersen story.

2. Treasure Island (1883)

In Robert Lewis Stevenson’s tale of “buccaneers and buried gold”, an innkeeper’s son is swept up in a journey to find the treasure at the end of a mysterious map. Filled with gruff pirates, dubious plots, and double-crosses, the story parallels lessons learned in coming of age like determining who is trustworthy (but a lot more fun, because there are pirates). While one could argue adventure tales aren’t fairy tales, Stevenson originally came up with the story as a way to entertain his family during bad weather that kept them cooped up inside.

There is no tale that cannot be improved by casting the Muppets.

1. The Princess and the Goblin (1872)

George MacDonald tells the tale of a princess who is caught up in a plot by the goblins that live in her castle’s mines to take the human throne by kidnapping the princess and marrying her to the goblin prince. Luckily, a local boy who works in the mines has overheard the goblins’ one vulnerability: their feet. If combining morality lessons with absurdity feels familiar, it may be because MacDonald was a friend and mentor to Lewis Carroll, and encouraged his publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Honorable Mentions

While they didn’t quite fit our “millenial media” theme for this list, both The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby (1863) and The Reluctant Dragon (1898) were adapted on film in the 20th century. Both stories involve children encountering fantastical creatures in modern (19th century) England, and learning important life lessons from those experiences.

Whether you look for inspiration in whimsical forest creatures, adventuring pirates, or friendly dragons, there’s a million ways to dress for the Victorian Fairytale Ball!

The dance program will feature popular quadrilles and contra dances from the 1860s-1890s, but costumes of any era (historical or modern!) will be admired. This is even historically accurate - costumes from all different time periods were a popular fancy dress option throughout the 19th century! Whether you go “closet spelunking”, use paint and paper, or sew up a storm, we will be excited to see the clever and creative ideas you bring to life.