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A review by english_lady03
The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson
3.0
Review of this book and others may also be seen on my blog http://crossromance.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/review-of-fairest-beauty-by-melanie.html
Overall rating 3.5 stars.
Overall, this was a generally good and fairly original retelling of the Snow White tale. Melanie Dickerson seems have a knack for cleverly transfer and adapt fairy tales to a real historical setting, in this case Germany in the 1300s. I do not know much about the historical background of this tale, but it seemed unusual and to work rather well, the only shortcoming might have been the casting of Sophie (Snow White) as a servant girl unaware of her true status as a Duke’s daughter.
There were some interesting and well-drawn characters, my favourite probably being Gabehart the hero, as the impetuous and perhaps slightly roguish younger son, determined to prove himself.
Sophie (‘Snow White’) also had her moments, and she was my no means perfect, not a shrinking violent, and was sufficiently independent and feisty to please most- yet I cannot help thinking she could have been a little better developed, and sometimes almost seemed to passive.
Duchess Ermengard, the villain and archetypal fairy-tale ‘wicked stepmother’ was probably the greatest disappointment, she reminded me a little of Tilda Swinton as the White Witch in ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ movie.
That is, as hard as she tried to appear utterly and inexorably evil, malignant and dangerous, it was just hard to take her seriously. It also appeared that her hatred of Sophie seemed to have little basis, except that the latter was more beautiful than her, but even so, what would it matter if she was a servant whom hardly anyone knew about anyway?
Perhaps if Sophie had been raised as girl of noble birth she was, then she may have posed a more real and credible threat to the Duchess (at least in her view).
Then there was also the way on which it was supposed to have been well known that it was nigh on impossible to escape from the Duchess’ domain of Hohendorf Castle alive- a fact which could made her malevolent power and influence seem more real. Yet no fewer than three characters manage to escape by rather obvious means within a short time.
Finally, there were ‘The Seven’ who were not Seven Dwarves (although one could have been described as such), but seven men with what we would not call learning of physical disabilities. One or two of them were interesting, particularly the former priest, but most seemed a little underdeveloped.
I had some of the same issues with the rather simplistic writing style in this book, as with the last. The story itself was good at the beginning, but seemed become weaker about halfway through, and the ending did seem a little predictable.
Perhaps though, as an adult reading a book aimed at teenagers my expectations were a little too high. It is generally enjoyable and charming story that could appeal to both teenagers and an older audience.
Christianity/Morality: Aside from some characters referring to the Duchess Ermengard dabbling in Black Magic, and Sophie and Gabe’s relationship blossoming when she was still betrothed to Gabe’s brother, there was little objectionable in the book. This said, all Sophie and Gabe really did was kiss and embrace, so nothing that was actually immoral actually conspired between them when the betrothal still stood, although their behaviour may well have been considered improper by the standards of the time.
There are also references to the Duchess having murdered and poisoned a number of people, and she tries to kill Sophie a number of times, though there is nothing especially violent or gratuitous.
Gabe does go against the wishes of his parents by setting out to rescue Sophie, but this is essential to the story, and an aspect of his rather impetuous nature, and he does regret this course of action later on.
History: The novel, as stated above is set in the medieval period, but there were some aspects of the setting that did not seem very plausible, and a few anachronisms.
One was the characters having pockets in their clothes, which were not invented at this time, (though this was only mentioned twice and seems to have been corrected in the course of the story) and the Seven when playing their instruments being described as a ‘band’, which was way too modern and out of touch with the setting for my liking.
Sometimes the characters’ speech did seem a little too modern, though I do not remember any words that conspicuously stood out, and I supposed language that appeared too ‘Old’ might be off-putting in a children’s book.
Finally, the idea of a Duke’s son like Gabe being allowed to pursue a career as a Master Mason or architect seemed a little implausible, as craftsmen such as these might have been seen as commoners and such a profession as ‘beneath’ someone who was nobly born.
I received a copy of this book free from the Publisher for the purposes of a Review. All the opinions expressed in it are my own, and was not required to write a positive one.
Overall rating 3.5 stars.
Overall, this was a generally good and fairly original retelling of the Snow White tale. Melanie Dickerson seems have a knack for cleverly transfer and adapt fairy tales to a real historical setting, in this case Germany in the 1300s. I do not know much about the historical background of this tale, but it seemed unusual and to work rather well, the only shortcoming might have been the casting of Sophie (Snow White) as a servant girl unaware of her true status as a Duke’s daughter.
There were some interesting and well-drawn characters, my favourite probably being Gabehart the hero, as the impetuous and perhaps slightly roguish younger son, determined to prove himself.
Sophie (‘Snow White’) also had her moments, and she was my no means perfect, not a shrinking violent, and was sufficiently independent and feisty to please most- yet I cannot help thinking she could have been a little better developed, and sometimes almost seemed to passive.
Duchess Ermengard, the villain and archetypal fairy-tale ‘wicked stepmother’ was probably the greatest disappointment, she reminded me a little of Tilda Swinton as the White Witch in ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ movie.
That is, as hard as she tried to appear utterly and inexorably evil, malignant and dangerous, it was just hard to take her seriously. It also appeared that her hatred of Sophie seemed to have little basis, except that the latter was more beautiful than her, but even so, what would it matter if she was a servant whom hardly anyone knew about anyway?
Perhaps if Sophie had been raised as girl of noble birth she was, then she may have posed a more real and credible threat to the Duchess (at least in her view).
Then there was also the way on which it was supposed to have been well known that it was nigh on impossible to escape from the Duchess’ domain of Hohendorf Castle alive- a fact which could made her malevolent power and influence seem more real. Yet no fewer than three characters manage to escape by rather obvious means within a short time.
Finally, there were ‘The Seven’ who were not Seven Dwarves (although one could have been described as such), but seven men with what we would not call learning of physical disabilities. One or two of them were interesting, particularly the former priest, but most seemed a little underdeveloped.
I had some of the same issues with the rather simplistic writing style in this book, as with the last. The story itself was good at the beginning, but seemed become weaker about halfway through, and the ending did seem a little predictable.
Perhaps though, as an adult reading a book aimed at teenagers my expectations were a little too high. It is generally enjoyable and charming story that could appeal to both teenagers and an older audience.
Christianity/Morality: Aside from some characters referring to the Duchess Ermengard dabbling in Black Magic, and Sophie and Gabe’s relationship blossoming when she was still betrothed to Gabe’s brother, there was little objectionable in the book. This said, all Sophie and Gabe really did was kiss and embrace, so nothing that was actually immoral actually conspired between them when the betrothal still stood, although their behaviour may well have been considered improper by the standards of the time.
There are also references to the Duchess having murdered and poisoned a number of people, and she tries to kill Sophie a number of times, though there is nothing especially violent or gratuitous.
Gabe does go against the wishes of his parents by setting out to rescue Sophie, but this is essential to the story, and an aspect of his rather impetuous nature, and he does regret this course of action later on.
History: The novel, as stated above is set in the medieval period, but there were some aspects of the setting that did not seem very plausible, and a few anachronisms.
One was the characters having pockets in their clothes, which were not invented at this time, (though this was only mentioned twice and seems to have been corrected in the course of the story) and the Seven when playing their instruments being described as a ‘band’, which was way too modern and out of touch with the setting for my liking.
Sometimes the characters’ speech did seem a little too modern, though I do not remember any words that conspicuously stood out, and I supposed language that appeared too ‘Old’ might be off-putting in a children’s book.
Finally, the idea of a Duke’s son like Gabe being allowed to pursue a career as a Master Mason or architect seemed a little implausible, as craftsmen such as these might have been seen as commoners and such a profession as ‘beneath’ someone who was nobly born.
I received a copy of this book free from the Publisher for the purposes of a Review. All the opinions expressed in it are my own, and was not required to write a positive one.