The Stepsister’s Tale by Tracy Barrett

Such a fun reworking of the Cinderella story from the perspective of the “wicked stepsisters’.  Jane and Maude are the sisters of the house, with a father who left them in debt with a house that is crumbling around them and their mother who is, for lack of a better word, oblivious.  Told entirely from Jane’s perspective, the fresh and honest viewpoint of a girl who isn’t prone to fancy, and despite her anger is struggling to move forward and provide for her family while not upsetting “Mama”, who is stuck in the past glories of wealth, balls and positions of favor in society.

When Mama leaves to purchase soap and flour, she returns with a new husband and his incredibly spoiled and beautiful young daughter, Isabella.  The stepfather is believed to be rich and Mama believes their troubles to be over: his cash will repair the house and allow her girls to resume their positions in society.  But nothing is ever that simple. The stepfather is a sham: deep in debt he dies and leaves them in worse shape than they had been.

Slowly the story manages to show the grabs for attention that Ella makes, claiming that her ‘new family’ is cruel to her. Far from the truth: Ella is obsessed with her perceived due, and her obsession with her father’s empty promises keep her removed from the other girls.

With an exploration into the façade of wealth and the evil that lurks beneath the luxury of the palace contrasted with the penury of Jane’s life and the struggles of the people of the woods, this was  a wholly unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable story.  One of several retellings of a Cinderella story that wasn’t my first but certainly one of the more unique, I enjoyed every page.