Good Bones is a collection of short fiction (most stories only a few pages long) by Canadian author Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...

. The collection was originally published in 1992.

The collection explores the sinister side of classical myths, traditional Anglo-European folklore and literary archetypes. Through the stories, Atwood gives voice to the "bad girls": the stupid, ugly or wicked stepmothers and stepsisters who feature as antagonists in the archetypes Atwood explores. For example, the Little Red Hen and Gertrude (from Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

) get their say. Ultimately, these stories explore the danger of life (which inevitably ends in death) and the power of telling one's own story.

The book was republished in 1994, in combined with another Atwood work called Murder in the Dark

Murder in the Dark

Murder in the Dark is a collection of short fiction by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1983. Certain of the pieces were previously published. The 27 pieces range over a variety of styles, including fictionalized autobiography, parables, travel stories, satires and prose poems...

, as part of the expanded collection Good Bones and Simple Murders

Good Bones and Simple Murders

Good Bones and Simple Murders is a book by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, originally published in 1994. Although classified with Atwood’s short fiction, it is an eclectic collection, featuring parables, monologues, prose poems, condensed science fiction, reconfigured fairy tales, as well as...

.