Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister [Import] [Hardcover]

Gregory Maguire (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Headline Review (April 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755341678
• ISBN-13: 978-0755341672
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (307 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,678,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University, and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from 1979-1985. In 1987 he co-founded Children's Literature New England. He still serves as co-director of CLNE, although that organization has announced its intention to close after its 2006 institute.
The bestselling author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, Mirror Mirror, and the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men. Wicked, now a beloved classic, is the basis for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Maguire has lectured on art, literature, and culture both at home and abroad.
He has three adopted children and is married to painter Andy Newman. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inventive and compassionate retelling of Cinderella, December 6, 1999

By 

U.N. Owen (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Hardcover)

Just when you think there have been too many re-imagined versions of well-known fairy tales along comes one that brilliantly reinvents perhaps the archetype of all fairy tales. Maguire, who previously wrote a subversively political tale about the wicked witch of the west, surpasses his debut novel with this compassionate tale of beauty and familial duty. Once again his richly detailed prose captures that feeling of a once upon a time that true fairy tales require and does so without ever appearing artificial. This story of Iris and Ruth, their complex mother Margarethe, and their stepsister Clara of the 'afflicted eternal beauty' is filled with wonderfully shaded characterizations that never fall into that good/evil dichotomy that Grimm and Perault use in telling the original versions. Can kindness reside within ugliness? Is beauty and attractiveness really something to be envious of? Is a mother's apparent tyrannical household an environment that will produce wickedness? Is a nearly mute sibling nothing more than a drudge to babysit? Find the answers to these not so simple questions within Maguire's excellent story and be prepared to be reassess your own prejudices about the 'ugly' and the 'beuatiful.'

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Magic Continues....., June 22, 2000

By 

Jibia (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Hardcover)

When I first read "Wicked", the first adult novel written by Gregory Maguire, I was spellbound. I went out and recommended it to all my friends. So one can imagine my thrill when I went on-line and discovered that the author of my favorite book had written a second. This book was, of course, "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister". I didn't sit down intending to simply read it, I engulfed it, and I was very pleased to find that what Maguire did in "Wicked" was not a one-time only occurance. Needless to say, it's a very enjoyable book. It takes a classic story that everyone knows, and tells the side of the story that people don't know, the side of the so-called 'villan'. Like "Wicked", you get wrapped up in the story and the characters. Unlike "Wicked", it's a light read, no politics, no tremendous notions, just deep thought on basic human concepts. And, despite the familiarity of the story Cinderella, there is little predictability in the novel; every page is a new discovery and a new surprise. All in all, and excellent book with something for everyone, and as such, a great read.

75 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And they lived happily ever after ..., February 16, 2000

By 

Sheryl A. Lemma (Sterling, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Hardcover)

The readers of this book, that is. Gregory McGuire has hit another one out of the park with "Confessions." Following up on "Wicked," the first of McGuire's expanded fairy tales, "Confessions ..." tells the story behind the story of Cinderella.

Childhood fairy tales, true to their intended audiences, tell stories of black and white, good and evil. Once we all grow up, though, we realize that the world is many shades of gray. McGuire's stories reflect that adult knowledge. That is why this story is so fun to read. I voraciously read fairy tales as a child, and McGuire has allowed me to revisit the stories of my childhood while entrancing me as an adult. His are quick reads, which is somewhat disappointing, because the end always comes too soon.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and I will be waiting for my 'prince in shining armor' to write me another grown-up tale!