Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire (2000, Paperback)

Synopsis
The ‘Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister’, a novel by Gregory Maguire, is a story about two sisters, Iris and Clara. The plot of this fantasy novel begins with Iris, who finds herself enter a world of wealth and opulence. As the story of ‘Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister’ unfolds, Iris starts unearthing some of the secrets of her new home. This novel by Gregory Maguire depicts the heart-warming tale of two sisters whose worlds are poles apart. You will find yourself in a whirlwind of beauty, betrayal, illusion, and deception, as this fantasy novel slowly unveils itself.

Key Details
Author:	Gregory Maguire
Language:	English
Publisher:	Avon A
Format:	Paperback
ISBN-10:	0060987529
ISBN-13:	9780060987527

Additional Details
Illustrator:	Bill Sanderson

Size
Length:	372 pages
Thickness:	1.2 in
Weight:	15.2 oz

Publisher's Note

Is this new land a place where magics really happen?

From Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author of Wicked, comes his much-anticipated second novel, a brilliant and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella tale.

In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings.... When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats....

We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among 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 exquisite looks?

Extreme beauty is an affliction

Set against the rich 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.

Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale?

While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household--and the treacherous truth of her former life.

God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs.... Imps and fairy godmotbers trying to undo each other's work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes!

Far more than a mere fairy-tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed--and love unveiled--in the most unexpected of places.

A retelling of the classic fairy tale of Cinderella, told from the point of view of one of the ugly stepsisters, turns the entire legend around in a thoughtful look at what it means to be beautiful.

Retells the classic fairy tale of Cinderella from the point of view of one of the ugly stepsisters, turning the entire legend around in a look at what it means to be beautiful.

Industry Reviews
"[C]aptivating 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 - Michael Freeman

"Maguire may choose to launch his story with a children's fairy tale, but his ideas are anything but childlike. Adult and sophisticated, his musings on beauty, ugliness, magic, reality and imagination explore how our past follows us always and shapes our self-perception and how we see ourselves in the world....All the characters are precisely drawn, their motives plain for us to see, although they usually mistake each other's desires and ambitions....[A] bewitching story..."
San Francisco Chronicle Book Review - Miranda Schwartz (10/31/1999)