LADY TREMAINE by Rachel Hochhauser

5 stars

Set aside all you think know about Cinderella’s evil stepmother as this wondrous, bold novel reveals her to be a fierce heroine doing all she can to keep a roof over the heads of her daughters and stepdaughter in medieval times.

Lady Eltheldreda Tremaine Bramly has been twice widowed: first from the love of her life and father of her two daughters Mathilde and Rosamond, and secondly from the Lord father of Elin (Cinderella in this tale). Elin’s father left his deteriorating manor to Lady Tremaine but tied up all his money in a marital dowry trust for Elin. With the roof caving in and the manor falling to pieces, Etheldreda (Ethel) struggles to maintain appearances of good standing in society. She takes in a lesbian couple who help with the cooking and housekeeping to be able to secretly live together, and she and her daughters endlessly work the apple orchards, take in sewing, sew their own clothes, and all pitch in on the housework. Given the medieval setting, Ethel has to be particularly cunning to survive without a husband or family fortune.

All of them except Elin, who her father raised to be a lady, and who does not want to dirty her hands in that it may impact her prospects for marriage. Instead, teenager Elin lives in her turret room being a lady: practicing her manners, sewing, playing music and reading a small book full of platitudes. Despite endless begging by her stepmother and harassment from her stepsisters, Elin refuses to pitch in to support the household, the house, or contribute work for keeping them clothed and fed. She stays aloof and disdainful which infuriates everyone else.

When the Queen announces a ball to find a wife for her son the Prince, only Elin receives an invitation. Lady Tremaine has to beg an invitation for her two daughters, and they all have to scramble to earn the money to create the dresses and buy adornments. Elin refuses to help, including being unwilling to gather the household fire ashes to sell for lye-making – a wink to poor Cinderella having to sweep the fireplace ashes by her evil stepmother. Having missed the shared ride to the ball, Cinderella borrows from the attic Ethel’s own wedding dress for her first marriage without permission and gets the local gypsy to take her to the ball in his freshly painted old carriage. As Elin sweeps in late, she grabs the Prince’s attention away from her stepsisters and lands a marriage proposal from him.

While being affiliated with the royal household would be a huge boost to her own daughter’s marriage prospects, Lady Tremaine has reason to distrust the Queen from their shared past and becomes suspect of the intense rush to get the Prince and Elin wed. When her doubts get confirmed by a trusted advisor to the Queen, Lady Tremaine must marshal all her considerable determination and fierceness to save Elin and to save the day.

You will happily never think about the Cinderella tale the same way again!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.