"The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde" is a fairy tale written by Mary de Morgan (1850-1907) in her collection of short stories called "The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde and Other Stories. This collection of fairy tales originally published in 1880.
Mary de Morgan helped to make the Victorian era prominent in the literature. In her short stories, she is able to use "mystery, pathos, and comedy" to create entertaining and imaginative literature for all to enjoy. In addition, de Morgan uses both female and male protagonists in her writing exhibiting her belief in inequality among the sexes. In many of her works, Mary de Morgan uses elements from the folk tales of medieval England. This is apparent in the universality of her literature, as it was easily relatable to all in Victorian England despite the different socioeconomic classes.
************************************* Fiorimonde is a beautiful princess whose father is a powerful yet kind king. The princess is unlike any woman on Earth, she has long golden locks, the fairest of skin, and big beautiful eyes. In spite of her beauty, however, Princess Fiorimonde is a wicked princess, who practices black magic and witchcraft. Every night, while the rest of the castle sleeps, Princess Fiorimonde travels to a small hut on the side of a mountain where an old and ugly witch teaches her sorcery. It is in fact by the Witch's magic that the princess grows more beautiful with each passing day.
As she grows older, the princess's widowed father, with no male heir to his throne, decides it is time for the princess to marry. So, the King and his council sends out summons to neighboring kingdoms stating that the King will choose a suitable husband for the Princess who will then become King after his death. Hearing this, the Princess knows that should she be wed, her husband will discover her secret that she visits the witch each night and will force her to stop practicing magic, which will cause her to lose her beauty.
