Enchanted Forest Chronicles
CompleteAll books have been published
Patricia C. Wrede's comic fantasy begins with Princess Cimorene, who is bored by embroidery and etiquette, runs away from home and volunteers to keep house for a dragon. The four books turn fairy-tale conventions inside out, in a forest where the rules of stories really do apply and wizards can be melted with soapy water and lemon juice. Talking to Dragons was written first but is set last, a generation later, so most readers now start with Dealing with Dragons and read in story order.
Chronological Order
The four Enchanted Forest Chronicles in the order the story happens, starting with Dealing with Dragons (1990) and ending with Talking to Dragons (1985). Talking to Dragons was the first book Patricia C. Wrede wrote, but it is set years after the other three, so here it comes last. Read this way the story builds steadily from Cimorene's first adventure, though you miss the fun of meeting the characters years on and then going back to see how it all started.
