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All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother

by Danielle Teller

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4593353,521 (3.82)12
Fiction. Literature. Mythology. Historical Fiction. HTML:

In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella's "evil" stepmother.

We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?

As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story. . . .

A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress's apprentice when she is only ten years old. Using her wits and ingenuity, she escapes her tyrannical matron and makes her way toward a hopeful future. When teenaged Agnes is seduced by an older man and becomes pregnant, she is transformed by love for her child. Once again left penniless, Agnes has no choice but to return to servitude at the manor she thought she had left behind. Her new position is nursemaid to Ella, an otherworldly infant. She struggles to love the child who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies everyone's unattainable fantasies. The story of their relationship reveals that nothing is what it seems, that beauty is not always desirable, and that love can take on many guises.

Lyrically told, emotionally evocative, and brilliantly perceptive, All the Ever Afters explores the hidden complexities that lie beneath classic tales of good and evil, all the while showing us that how we confront adversity reveals a more profound, and ultimately more important, truth than the ideal of "happily ever after."

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» See also 12 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 33 (next | show all)
I love Fairy Tale re-tellings and this one did not disappoint. This one is from the POV of the step-mother, who in this version is not so evil. Its also a very well written and obviously well-researched book. Seemingly accurate to the time period (medieval) in its descriptions of things, dialogue and terminology. So much so that I found myself looking up words I didn't know to get the exact definition. Although, if you don't enjoy keeping a dictionary close by, you can still get the gist of things from context clues. On the whole a great story. ( )
  Jen-Lynn | Aug 1, 2022 |
The writing is decent, but this story is primarily generic historical and is barely tangential to the Cinderella story. I didn't find the plot or characters compelling in the least. The 50% I got through was just bland and flat for me. ( )
  hissingpotatoes | Dec 28, 2021 |
I love fairy tales, both source material and retellings. This is one of the better, and more unusual, retellings. I appreciated considering Cinderella's story inside a broader historical context. I also found the story so imaginative, and it kept me wondering. For those who enjoy retellings, I would recommend this. There's a melancholy tone for much of the book, but this makes perfect sense given the (limited!) options available to women, especially those of a certain socioeconomic group, at the time. This one actually made me reconsider other fairy tales, too, and it's always a treat when a book stays with me like that, and sparks questions and curiosity.
  starlight-glimmer | Nov 24, 2021 |
I give this 3.75. I really enjoyed this. It reminded me a lot of the Disney Other Side of the Story books where you get the villian's side of the story and you see how these princesses were actually brats and such. Though I did really enjoy it, it is not one that I would likely read again which is why I didn't give it 4 stars. ( )
  Completely_Melanie | Sep 10, 2021 |
So this is a retelling of Cinderella that is told from the point of view of the stepmother. It's interesting. The first half however, barely has Cinderella in it. It was a telling of the stepmothers childhood into adulthood. It shows Ella in a different light. As a spoiled and sometimes ungrateful brat. It shows the stepmother and the stepsisters, different as well. While the stepmother was strict with her, she was never outright cruel. The stepsisters and Ella got along very well. It was an interesting take, but dragged on and on in my opinion. I didn't hate it, and there was enough for me to like to give it a 3 star instead of 2 star rating. I will say this. It takes all the characters from classic tale into a very realistic light. This was new and different. ( )
  starslight86 | Jul 20, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 33 (next | show all)
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Fiction. Literature. Mythology. Historical Fiction. HTML:

In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella's "evil" stepmother.

We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?

As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story. . . .

A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress's apprentice when she is only ten years old. Using her wits and ingenuity, she escapes her tyrannical matron and makes her way toward a hopeful future. When teenaged Agnes is seduced by an older man and becomes pregnant, she is transformed by love for her child. Once again left penniless, Agnes has no choice but to return to servitude at the manor she thought she had left behind. Her new position is nursemaid to Ella, an otherworldly infant. She struggles to love the child who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies everyone's unattainable fantasies. The story of their relationship reveals that nothing is what it seems, that beauty is not always desirable, and that love can take on many guises.

Lyrically told, emotionally evocative, and brilliantly perceptive, All the Ever Afters explores the hidden complexities that lie beneath classic tales of good and evil, all the while showing us that how we confront adversity reveals a more profound, and ultimately more important, truth than the ideal of "happily ever after."

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