Rose Daughter

"Almost 20 years after her well-received, award winning Beauty (1978), McKinley reexplores and reexpands on theBeauty and the Beast fairy tale. This is not a sequel, but a new novelization that is fuller bodied, with richer characterizationsand a more mystical, darker edge. Although the Library of Congress catalogs it in the 398s, the book really belongs on thefiction shelves alongside Beauty. The familiar plot is here, but the slant is quite different, though Beauty's sisters are onceagain loving rather than hostile as in de Beaumont's original version. A few scenes are reminiscent of Beauty; for example, the dining room scenes in the castle, in which Beauty eats but the Beast merely is present: 'I am a Beast; I cannot eat like aman.' In Rose Daughter, Beauty has an affinity for flower gardening, particularly roses, because of her memories of herdeceased mother; it is a talent that serves her in good stead as she nurtures the Beast's dying rose garden. Also, in somenicely done foreshadowing, Beauty suffers from recurring dreams of a long, dark corridor and something--amonster?--waiting for her at the end. Rose Cottage, where Beauty and her family settle after the father's financial downfall, and the nearby town and its residents, as well as the opulence of the Beast's castle and the devastation of his rose garden, arevividly depicted. Among the fantasy elements are a prescient cat, the spirit of the greenwitch who willed Rose Cottage toBeauty's family, unicorns, and preternatural Guardians. There is more background on the Beast in this version, allowingreaders to see how he came to be bewitched, and Beauty's choice at the end, a departure from that in Beauty, is just soright. Readerswill be enchanted, in the best sense of the word."--"Booklist