Plot Summary: Beauty's real name is Honour, but she doesn't like the name. She doesn't like her nickname "Beauty" either, since she feels it's more fitting to her lovely older sisters. But Beauty has courage, and when her father's business fails she's determined to support her family. The family recovers from the blow when they move into the country and settle down, except that there's tales of an enchanted wood that Beauty is forbidden to go into. But then her father comes home with the news of a terrible promise he was forced to make to the Beast who lives in an enchanted castle in the forest. Determined to protect her family (and just maybe to have a bit of adventure) Beauty steps forward to fulfill the promise. Can a Beast be tamed?
Discussions:
First, the writing style of the book is captivating. The descriptions are perfectly clear without being over-wordy (and some of them, especially in the Beast's castle, are rather tantalizing!) and the characters are real. Even the Beast is given a personality, one that's admirably developed.
Beauty is a spirited heroine, who regrets very little about losing her fine city home except for the books she had there. She's clever and strong, if she lacks her sisters' lovely looks. Her sisters, Grace and Hope, are not the selfish, greedy sisters of the original fairy tale; both of them are good-natured and gentle. Grace's husband-to-be has been lost at sea with the girls' father's ships, which is a continual sorrow to her. Hope marries a country blacksmith who helps out the family. Their father is a merchant, who lost his ships at sea, and wishes he could give his daughters a better place to live than a country house. When he leaves because of a rumor that one of his ships has returned, he asks his daughters if there's anything he can bring back to them. All of the girls respond that what they want is for him to return safely, but Beauty adds a request for some rose seeds to plant by the house. Her father is determined to bring back rose seeds for her, and when he stumbles into an enchanted castle in a blizzard, he plucks a rose to show Beauty. When the owner of the castle, an enormous Beast, finds him, he demands that the merchant bring the daughter for whom he plucked the rose. Beauty's father is determined to go back himself, but Beauty, stricken by her wish for rose seeds, talks him into letting her go. The family's relationship is loving and caring.
The Beast himself is a masterful creature who orders his invisible servants around his castle without thought. The castle is a marvelous one, full of luxury and attended by the aforementioned invisible servants. Beauty is delighted to discover the castle's library, which contains not only the books that have been written, but those which have not yet been written. Beauty is at first frightened of the Beast, but the Beast is determined to break the enchantment he's under, although he cannot tell her of it, and so every night he asks her if she will marry him. Beauty is his only hope.
Beauty is a fascinating retelling of the famous Beauty and the Beast that I very much enjoyed. There is some romance, which is necessary in a story if it's based on this fairy tale, but there isn't a lot of it. Also, Beauty must look beyond appearances if she is to fall in love with the Beast, which will result in a deeper relationship. Just as a note, there are also a few references to magic, which is also somewhat necessary in a fairy tale.
Overall: I and my sisters really like this book. I definitely recommend it, especially if you like fairy-tale retellings.
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