Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Description

Beautifully plays on the beloved tale of Cinderella. In this remarkable version we are taken to Amsterdam, where two impoverished sisters and their widowed mother are taken in by a Flemish painter, and the startling events that follow.

Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister; Lost; Mirror Mirror; and the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked, Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. Now a beloved classic, Wicked is the basis for a blockbuster Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. Maguire has lectured on art, literature, and culture both at home and abroad. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

?[A] bewitching story..."Confessions has its roots in a fanciful tale--the Cinderella story--but it teases out motifs deeper than the generic fall-in-love-and-marry-the-prince-happily-ever-after....Witty and wise?Adult and sophisticated, his musings on beauty, ugliness, magic, reality, and imagination explore how our past follows us always and shapes our self-perception.? --"Chicago Tribune?A ravishing meditation on the truism that 'beauty helps preserve the spirit of mankind.' Maguire is rapidly becoming one of contemporary fiction's most assured myth-makers.? --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred)?A tale so movingly told that you will say at the end of the first reading, 'It's been a long time since I've read a book this good.' For philosophical depth and lively evocative language, few writers match Gregory Maguire.? --"Nashville Tennessean?A beguiling reconstruction of the Cinderella story...Maguire's sophisticated story-telling reimagines age-old themes and folklore-familiar characters...a vision that fantasy lovers will find hard to resist.? --"Publishers Weekly"?Captivating and beautifully written..."Confessions is a rich canvas of colorful characters and fantastic events rendered by an artist attentive to every surface and texture.? --"Book Magazine?Lively and delicious...its language is an extraordinary blend of moving narrative and music....[Maguire's] books may be placed beside the works of Marion Zimmer Bradley, John Crowley and the late Mervyn Peake. This dark folktale, a reworking of the Cinderella fable, is as exotic a vision...as mysterious as life itself.? --"Memphis Commercial Appeal?[An] engrossing story...endearing and memorable.? --"Boston Herald?Highly absorbing...Maguire'sprecise, slightly archaic language...sweeps readers through this mysterious and fascinating story.? --"Booklist?[An] arresting hybrid of mystery, fairy tale, and historical novel..."Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister isn't easy to classify or forget....The characters in these ?Confessions' might not end up happily ever after, but you won't want to miss them.? --"Detroit Free Press?There was a time, long ago, when Cinderella was simply a children's tale in which good triumphed over bad, pretty over ugly, pumpkins and mice over carriages and footmen....Now, the story has much more depth. Gregory Maguire has applied his devilish writing style and vivid imagination to the story of the glass slipper, and, in doing so, turned this simple tale into a Gothic saga of 17th-century Holland.? --"Fort Worth Morning Star-Telegram