This two-part adult fairytale by the author of The Secret Garden combines a charming Cinderella story with an ironic look at class structure and the Edwardian marriage market in turn-of-the-century London.
Emily Fox-Seton is a simple but good-hearted woman struggling to make ends meet while attempting to maintain the dignity of someone distantly related to the aristocracy. The Marquis of Walderhurst is an awkward but eligible bachelor being comically pursued by a pageant of unmarried ladies. When the Marquis surprises everyone by giving his attentions to Emily, he makes himself a fairy prince in her eyes. But marrying her prince is not the end of Emily's troubles, as the forces of envy are more cunning and dangerous than she yet understands. Will Emily's innocence be her downfall after all?
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"I really loved this book. It had a great mixture of humor and suspense. The characters were so real and well developed even though I didn't necessarily like all of them they seemed genuine and stayed true to their character through out the book. " — Mark (5 out of 5 stars)
"I really loved this book. It had a great mixture of humor and suspense. The characters were so real and well developed even though I didn't necessarily like all of them they seemed genuine and stayed true to their character through out the book. "
" I enjoyed it, but frequently found the main character too good to bear. "
" Somewhat sentimental but the characterizations are fascinating. "
" My copy has a different cover-- published by Persephone Books. I loved this book-- taking me to a different time and place, the same way Pride and Prejudice does. I could read this again and again. "
" No. No need to read this. I obviously pre-judged this book by its beautiful cover. Shame. "
" A sweet story, with a different kind of protagonist. I like ladies that don't fit the literary mold, but in conventional ways. (Not sure if that makes sense to you, but it does to me, so I'm leaving it.) "
" The two-dimensional characters made this a hard book to love when first reading it as an adult, though I might have liked it a great deal if I'd read it when I was much younger. Still, it was mostly enjoyable, except for the "romantic" section and the ending. "
" Total novella. Nice old school drama. Great for reading on a plane. "
" I liked the first part much better than the second part, to me it seemed that the second part went on and on and could have been resolved rather quickly. It is a good read and I did enjoy it. "
" While I found this a pleasant read, I really didn't like any of the main characters; Emily had no spark to her and her main love interest was very 1 dimensional. Predictably, they get married and then the book goes a little weird. "
" I'm inclined to say this book was pleasant, though nothing fabulous, except that the Victorian racism towards non-Europeans (in this case Indians) pervades the last third of the book and is troubling. Even without that, this is really just a very marginal book. "
" A well written (1901) story on resilience "
" I did not know that Burnett wrote anything geared for an adult audience. Found it unexpectedly at the library and enjoyed it. "
" I loved the language. I read The Secret Garden to my third graders and wanted more- then found this beautifully written adult novel. What a treat! "
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