A Curse Dark as Gold

By: Elizabeth Bunce, Elizabeth C Bunce

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Hardcover | 1 March 2008

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"If you'll allow me to demonstrate, I do think I could be of some help to you here."

I smiled tightly. "You'd have to be able to make gold appear from thin air to be much help to us now, I'm afraid."

"Gold, you say?" he said quietly. "Well, not out of the air, maybe, but--" He reached toward Rosie and drew a length of straw free from her hat. From out of a pocket in his jacket appeared an old-fashioned handheld drop spindle, the kind no one uses anymore, and he sent it spinning with a turn of his hand. Slowly, as we watched, he drew out the straw and spun it--spun it! (CONT.)

As if it were a roving of wool! Rosie and I stood there and watched him, moment by moment, as the spindle bobbed and twirled. Something pulled out from the brown straw and through his knobby fingers, and where it should have gone onto the spindle, the finest strands of gleaming gold threads appeared. Round and round the spindle went, and the gleaming of gold turned with it. I don't know how long we watched it, turning and turning, flashing gold with every revolution. I could not take my eyes away.

Industry Reviews

"Bunce blends multiple elements in her savory stew of genresmystery, romance, work, and chicanery simmer in a rich broth of history infused with light touches of traditional beliefs and folk magic. The Rumpelstiltskin story progression is deftly integrated into a plot that enfolds and extends its implications regarding class and the value of skilled workmanship. In an author's note, Bunce readily admits where she has tweaked historical detail to align more favorably with folkloric belief, and her instincts prove right on target as she gives flesh to distinctively individual characters with almost archetypal resonance. Charlotte's complex loyalties to her family, the mill, and the townsfolk who depend upon it for their livelihood make her an estimable character indeed, well worth applauding in a tale that is as spooky and suspenseful as it is satisfying." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
"An innovative interpretation of Rumpelstiltskin. . . . The pastoral microcosm of Shearing is classic fairy tale, but it gains traction in the gritty social and economic details of small-town life, and the sisters, subtly differentiated, are strong characters defined by fierce loyalty, pride, and determination that goes beyond simple feistiness. Similarly, the villains are rendered with nuance. The result is a fully realized dramatic conflict characterized by the folkloric magic of memory imprinted upon place; inherited legacies; and the power of recognition, recompense, and forgiveness." -- Horn Book
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