Overview

We have all heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave amongst the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty ... and what curses accompanied Cinderella's looks? Set against the backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household - and the treacherous truth of her former life.

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9780063489653

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Reviews

[An] engrossing story...endearing and memorable. - Boston Herald 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 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 ""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 Highly absorbing...Maguire's precise, slightly archaic language...sweeps readers through this mysterious and fascinating story. - Booklist ""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

Author Information

Gregory Maguire is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked--the beloved classic that is the basis for the blockbuster Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name and the major motion pictures--Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. His series Another Day continues the story of Oz with The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, and The Witch of Maracoor, and his other novels include A Wild Winter Swan, Hiddensee, After Alice, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. Some of his novels for children include Cress Watercress, Leaping Beauty, and Egg & Spoon, winner of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor. He lives in New England and France.

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