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The wicked stepmother is a classic figure of literature. From Cinderella to Hamlet, she is portrayed as an evil manipulator out to do down her husband’s children. Reality is all too often the reverse, with stepchildren using all their cunning to do down daddy’s new wife in a no holds barred, down and dirty fight to the death.
Being on the receiving end of that kind of attack is no fun at all, as Fay’s heroine can tell you. And tell you she does in her only solace – her secret diary that is her lifeline.
Fay’s unique insights into the workings of the female mind, her comprehensive knowledge of family relationships and her wisdom about life in general are all brought brilliantly to bear in this fairytale for our times.
Being on the receiving end of that kind of attack is no fun at all, as Fay’s heroine can tell you. And tell you she does in her only solace – her secret diary that is her lifeline.
Fay’s unique insights into the workings of the female mind, her comprehensive knowledge of family relationships and her wisdom about life in general are all brought brilliantly to bear in this fairytale for our times.
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Reviews
...wry, witty take on a duplicitous world, in which unexpected quirks are adapted to the female experience - Saga Magazine.
The novel spans the spectrum of family relationships; it is profound, alarming, funny and wise … Fay Weldon is writing at the top of her game: her novel is highly recommended - Daily Telegraph
Her prose, never flabby, grows leaner with each book. It's impressive what she achieves with so few words - Independent
A heartfelt story, full of ups and downs - Scottish Daily Record.
… a blistering look at the battle between a woman and her stepdaughter… A fiendish modern morality tale - the old Cassandra is back in superb form - Kate Saunders in The Times.
Weldon's style, that virtuoso of intelligence and insinuating garrulousness, achieves a kind of ideal equilibrium between therapy and gossip - The Times