The Stepsister’s Tale by Tracy Barrett is a wonderful re-telling of the Cinderella story — but it is by no means the first. Here are a few other re-imaginings of this famous fairy tale that we adore:
Ever After
Still one of my all-time favorite movies, Ever After is another fun version of Cinderella — still with the expected villains and happily ever after, but sans magic and with Leonardo da Vinci. And even though we still get pretty dreses, swoon-y romance, and one of the most satisfying comeuppances ever – Ever After also gives us a really strong female character, who is willing to stand up for herself and what she believes. Also, Angelica Huston as the stepmother is just wicked brilliant casting.
Man, just watching this trailer makes me want to go watch it again! Good thing I own this one on DVD …
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
Ash by Malinda Lo
In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.
The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash’s capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.
Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
We have all 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 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.
La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini
This two act opera from 1817 re-tells the famous fairy tale, based on the version by Charles Perault. Some characters are changed out – the stepmother is replaced by a stepfather, and in lieu of the fairy godmother, Cinderella is aided by the prince’s tutor (and philosopher).
For the comments: What are some other Cinderella re-tellings you enjoy? Tell us about them below!
Novel Novice 