This book is strong in
story.
Summary:
This is the story of Cinderella, retold as part of the past of a seventeenth-century Dutch family.
When Margarethe Fisher's husband is killed and the family hunted, she and her
daughters, big, dimwitted Ruth, and plain Iris, run from England to her hometown
of Haarlem, Holland.
The family is taken in as household help of a Master painter before moving on to
become help in the home of a rich tulip merchant, whose beautiful daughter the
master painter is to paint a portrait of, and Iris is to teach English.
So begins the story of Cinderella...
I might recommend this book.
Why?
I'm not sure how much I really liked this book. It is a fairly well written
story - interesting enough - but just not enough of the fairy tale I thought it
would be. The twist of the epilogue actually annoyed me. If I would recommend
this book, I would tell the reader that it wasn't what I expected it to be, and
perhaps that is what tainted my view.
Other suggested reading:
Gregory Maguire also wrote Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (which I thought was great!) and Lost: A Novel.
Employee Initials: ALSM
Review Date: February 2003
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